Harbert won seven times on the
PGA Tour, including one
major championship, the
1954 PGA Championship, then a
match play event. A three-time finalist, he was also that event's runner-up twice, in
1947 (falling to
Jim Ferrier) and
1952 (to
Jim Turnesa). Harbert was one of the great PGA Championship match play competitors, compiling a 24–10 () record between
1946, his first appearance, and
1957, the final year of the match play format. In
1949, Harbert played on the
Ryder Cup team, winning his singles match against Sam King, 4 and 3, at
Ganton Golf Club in Scarborough, England. He was playing-captain of the U.S. team in
1955, with a singles victory against Syd Scott (3 and 2) to his credit. In 1955, he represented the United States at the
Canada Cup team competition at
Columbia Country Club outside Washington, D.C. He teamed with
Ed Furgol, with the duo outdueling Australia's team of
Peter Thomson and
Kel Nagle by nine strokes. He finished fourth in the individual competition, two strokes out of the Furgol, Thomson and
Flory Van Donck playoff that Furgol won. After turning 50, he made two official
Senior PGA Tour appearances. He tied for 43rd at the 1981
Michelob Senior Classic and then tied for 40th in the same tournament the following year. In addition, he played in nine
Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf team events, with his top showing a fifth-place performance in the inaugural event in 1978, when he teamed with
Bob Toski. == Personal life ==