Bruce Crampton

In 1935, Crampton was born in Sydney, New South Wales. He attended Kogarah High School from 1948 to 1950. In August 1953, Crampton reached final of the New South Wales Amateur Championship, losing 5&4 to Harry Berwick. As an amateur, he also had success at professional tournaments. In October 1953, at the age of 18, he led the Lakes Open after two rounds. According to Norman Von Nida, he was "probably" the first amateur in roughly 15 years, since Jim Ferrier, "to lead a big tournament after two rounds." In 1953, Von Nida also stated: "Crampton proves my prediction that he would become one of the greatest players Australia has produced." ==Professional career==

In 1953, Crampton turned professional, becoming an assistant to Billy McWilliam at Beverley Park in Sydney. His decision to turn professional came soon after he had been left out of the Australian amateur team to tour Britain in 1954 and play in the Commonwealth Tournament at St Andrews. Crampton won the Vardon Trophy for the player with the lowest stroke average on the PGA Tour in 1973 and 1975. He had 14 career wins on the PGA Tour between 1961 and 1975 and was runner up in four major championships – one Masters, one U.S. Open, and two PGA Championships – all to Jack Nicklaus. He was ranked among the top five golfers in the world in both 1972 and 1973, according to Mark McCormack's world golf rankings. His other regular career victories included the Australian Open, New Zealand PGA Championship, Far East Open and the Philippine Open. As a senior, he won 20 times on the Champions Tour, and topped the money list in 1986. == Awards and honors ==

• Crampton is an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). • He is also a member of the New South Wales Hall of Champion. ==Professional wins (45)==

PGA Tour wins (14) PGA Tour playoff record (0–2) Source: PGA Tour satellite wins (1) • 1968 West End Classic Other wins (8) this list may be incomplete • 1954 New Zealand PGA Championship • 1956 Australian Open, Speedo Tournament • 1957 Pelaco Tournament • 1958 North Coast Open • 1959 Far East Open, Philippine Open • 1971 Wills Masters Senior PGA Tour wins (20) Senior PGA Tour playoff record (2–2) Other senior wins (2) • 1987 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Orville Moody) • 1988 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Orville Moody) ==Results in major championships==

CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place Summary • Most consecutive cuts made – 33 (1961 U.S. Open – 1973 Masters) • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice) ==Team appearances==

Amateur • Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing New South Wales): 1953 Professional • World Cup (representing Australia): 1957, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1972 • Slazenger Trophy (representing British Commonwealth and Empire): 1956 • Vicars Shield (representing New South Wales): 1956 (winners) ==See also==