Coe did not turn professional. He later stated, "When I was growing up, golf was a gentleman's game." In addition, his wife did not think Coe's potential career as a touring professional was amenable for family life. "If I thought I was going to raise three children out of a suitcase, I was crazy," she later said. For his career, Coe worked in the oil business. Coe won the
U.S. Amateur in 1949, beating
Rufus King 11 & 10 in the finals, and won it again in 1958 with a 5 & 4 victory over
Tommy Aaron. He finished runner-up to
Jack Nicklaus in the 1959 tournament. Coe won the
Western Amateur in 1950, and made the finals of the
British Amateur in 1951, losing to
Dick Chapman. He won four
Trans-Mississippi Amateurs, in 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1956. He played on six
Walker Cup teams from 1949 to 1963, including as playing captain on the 1959 team, and was non-playing captain on a seventh team in 1957. Coe made 19
Masters Tournament appearances and owns almost every Masters amateur record, including most cuts made (15); top-25 finishes (9); top-10 finishes (3); eagles (6), rounds played (67) and most times low amateur (6). Coe won low amateur honors at Augusta in four consecutive decades: 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. He also holds the amateur records for best finish (2nd in 1961), lowest third round score (67 in 1959), and lowest 72-hole score (281 in 1961). In 1961, Coe rallied in the final round from six shots down to finish one stroke behind
Gary Player. == Personal life ==