Russ Cochran

For the comics publisher, see Russ Cochran (publisher).
Not to be confused with Russ Cochrane.
Russ Cochran
Personal information
Full nameRussell Earl Cochran
Born (1958-10-31) October 31, 1958 (age 66)
Paducah, Kentucky, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidencePaducah, Kentucky, U.S.
Career
CollegeUniversity of Kentucky
Turned professional1979
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins11
Highest ranking64 (June 14, 1992)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
PGA Tour Champions5
Other5
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT21: 1993
PGA ChampionshipT7: 1992
U.S. OpenT33: 1992
The Open ChampionshipT28: 1992
Achievements and awards
Champions Tour
Rookie of the Year		2009

Russell Earl Cochran (born October 31, 1958) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions, having previously been a member on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. He is one of the few natural left-handed players to win a PGA Tour event. For much of the 1980s through 1992, he was the only left-hander on the PGA Tour.

Cochran was born, raised and has lived most of his life in Paducah, Kentucky. He grew up playing on Paxton Park Public Golf Course in Paducah, as did fellow PGA Tour player Kenny Perry, who came along a couple years later. After graduating from St. Mary High School in Paducah, he attended the University of Kentucky and was a member of the golf team. He turned pro in 1979 and joined the PGA Tour in 1982.

Cochran has about 60 top-10 finishes in official PGA Tour events including a victory at the 1991 Centel Western Open when he made up seven shots over eight holes to beat Greg Norman.[2] His career year was 1991, when in addition to his win at the Western Open, he had two second-place finishes—including a playoff loss to Craig Stadler at the Tour Championship – and a third and finished 10th on the money list. His best finish in a major was a tie for seventh at the 1992 PGA Championship.[3] Cochran set the Valhalla Golf Club course record (65) in the third round of the 1996 PGA Championship which stood until broken (63) in the same tournament four years later by José María Olazábal. He played some on the Nationwide Tour in his mid-to-late 40s in preparation for the Champions Tour. His best Nationwide finish was a tie for third at the 2003 Chitimacha Louisiana Open.

Cochran debuted on the Champions Tour with a tie for seventh at the Allianz Championship on February 15, 2009, at Boca Raton, Florida. He finished third at the U.S. Senior Open on August 2, 2009, at Carmel, Indiana, setting the Crooked Stick Golf Club course record with a third-round score of 8-under par 64. He ended the year by winning the Rookie of the Year award. In 2010, he earned his first victory on the Champions Tour, defeating Fred Funk on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff in the Posco E&C Songdo Championship in South Korea, and followed that up with another win in the tour's next event, the SAS Championship in North Carolina.

Cochran won his maiden senior major championship at the 2011 Senior British Open Championship at Walton Heath. Cochran finished two strokes ahead of the third round leader Mark Calcavecchia. He shot a final round 67 which included six birdies in the first ten holes to open up a five stroke advantage. Despite a late charge by Calcavecchia, Cochran parred the last four holes and held on for a two stroke victory. Afterwards Cochran claimed having his son on the bag was a factor in his success. "It feels great, I had my son (Reed) on the bag, I told him I was going to work hard and come away with something good and I think he was the lucky charm."[4]

In June 2013, Cochran won for the fourth time on the Champions Tour at the Principal Charity Classic. He came from two shots back with a final round 67 to finish a single stroke ahead of Jay Don Blake. This ended a two-year title drought that Cochran had spent battling rib and wrist injuries. In October 2013, he won his second title of the year at the SAS Championship, where he finished with four consecutive birdies to beat David Frost by a single stroke.

Cochran and his wife, Jackie, have four children: three sons and a daughter. His oldest son, Ryan, played golf at the University of Florida and aspires to play professionally like his father. Russ's son Case and nephew Rick III are also professional golfers.

Professional wins (11)

[edit]

PGA Tour wins (1)

[edit]
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Jul 7, 1991 Centel Western Open −13 (66-72-68-69=275) 2 strokes Australia Greg Norman

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1992 The Tour Championship United States Craig Stadler Lost to birdie on second extra hole

Tournament Players Series wins (2)

[edit]
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Apr 10, 1983 Magnolia Classic −7 (70-70-63=203)* 2 strokes United States Sammy Rachels
2 Jul 24, 1983 Greater Baltimore Open −6 (71-70-66-67=274) 1 stroke United States Terry Snodgrass

*Note: The 1983 Magnolia Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.

Other wins (3)

[edit]
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Sep 11, 1984 The Shootout
(with New Zealand Bob Charles) 		−3 (33) Shared title with United States Charlie Bolling and United States Bob Tway
2 Dec 3, 2011 LIME Jamaica Open −10 (68-70-68=206) 2 strokes Canada Dave Levesque, United States Dave Rummells
3 Dec 1, 2012 Half Moon Jamaica Open (2) −13 (66-71-66=203) 3 strokes Canada Dustin Risdon

Other playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1991 Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic United States Mike Nicolette, United States Larry Silveira Silveira won with birdie on first extra hole

Sources:[5][6][7]

Champions Tour wins (5)

[edit]
Legend
Senior major championships (1)
Other Champions Tour (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Sep 12, 2010 Posco E&C Songdo Championship −12 (73-65-66=204) Playoff United States Fred Funk
2 Sep 26, 2010 SAS Championship −14 (64-67-71=202) 2 strokes United States Tom Pernice Jr.
3 Jul 24, 2011 The Senior Open Championship −12 (72-70-67-67=276) 2 strokes United States Mark Calcavecchia
4 Jun 2, 2013 Principal Charity Classic −11 (71-67-67=205) 1 stroke United States Jay Don Blake
5 Oct 13, 2013 SAS Championship (2) −17 (66-66-67=199) 1 stroke South Africa David Frost

Champions Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2010 Posco E&C Songdo Championship United States Fred Funk Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2011 Boeing Classic United States Mark Calcavecchia Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

[edit]
Tournament 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open T66
The Open Championship
PGA Championship T10 CUT T28 CUT CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Masters Tournament CUT T21 T33
U.S. Open CUT T33 CUT CUT
The Open Championship T28
PGA Championship CUT CUT T7 T44 CUT T17 T61 T34 CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

[edit]
Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 2
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 2 3 14 7
Totals 0 0 0 0 2 4 23 12
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (1992 U.S. Open – 1993 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

[edit]
Tournament 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Players Championship T44 CUT CUT 60 CUT CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Players Championship CUT WD T49 27 T69 CUT T10 CUT T71
Tournament 2000 2001
The Players Championship T61 CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = Tied

Senior major championships

[edit]

Wins (1)

[edit]
Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
2011 The Senior Open Championship Tied for lead −12 (72-70-67-67=276) 2 strokes United States Mark Calcavecchia

Results timeline

[edit]

Results not in chronological order.

Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
The Tradition T41 T18 T5 T5 WD T57 T47 T43 T53 NT 65 T59
Senior PGA Championship T33 T23 T29 T6 12 T17 CUT T56 NT WD
U.S. Senior Open 3 T28 T17 WD T14 T15 CUT NT
Senior Players Championship T41 T5 T15 T30 WD 3 T3 T71 70 T60 WD 74
The Senior Open Championship T19 T3 1 T14 T10 T31 T66 T31 72 CUT NT CUT T58 CUT WD
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Week 24 1992 Ending 14 Jun 1992" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  2. ^ Cochran wins Western Open
  3. ^ "Golf Major Championships". Retrieved January 23, 2008.
  4. ^ "Cochran wins Senior British Open Championship". Sky Sports. July 24, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  5. ^ "12 Sep 1984, 20 - The Sacramento Bee at Newspapers.com". Retrieved August 3, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "American Cochran Tops 48th LIME Open". The Gleaner. December 4, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  7. ^ Frater, Adrian (December 2, 2012). "Russ Cochran Tops Them Again". The Gleaner. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
[edit]
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