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Andy North

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Andy North
Personal information
Full nameAndrew Stewart North
Born (1950-03-09) March 9, 1950 (age 74)
Thorp, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceMadison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Career
CollegeUniversity of Florida
Turned professional1972
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins15
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
PGA Tour Champions1
Other11
Best results in major championships
(wins: 2)
Masters TournamentT12: 1979
PGA Championship4th: 1975
U.S. OpenWon: 1978, 1985
The Open ChampionshipT39: 1990

Andrew Stewart North (born March 9, 1950) is an American professional golfer who had three wins on the PGA Tour, including the U.S. Open twice. Since 1992, he has served as a golf analyst for ESPN.

Early life

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North was born in Thorp, Wisconsin, and raised in Monona, Wisconsin.

He attended Monona Grove High School, graduating in 1968. While still in high school, he lost in the final match of the Wisconsin State Amateur Match Play Championship at Merrill Hills Country Club. Two years later, he won the 1969 Wisconsin State Amateur Championship at Westmoor Country Club in Brookfield, Wisconsin by defeating Archie Dadian in the match play final.

Amateur career

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North accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. He played for coach Buster Bishop's Florida Gators men's golf team from 1969 to 1972.[1] He was a three-time first-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection,[1] and an All-American in 1970, 1971 and 1972.[2] North graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1972 and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as "Gator Great."[3]

Professional career

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North turned professional in 1972. He had a moderately successful career on the PGA Tour made remarkable by the fact that two of his three wins on tour were in the U.S. Open. The first PGA Tour win of North's career came at the 1977 American Express Westchester Classic. The following year he won the 1978 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. He moved into the lead after the second round, and was one shot ahead going into Sunday, but an erratic final round left him needing to make a five on the last hole to take the championship. He struggled at the 18th hole finding the rough twice and then landing in a greenside bunker. However, he made a four-foot putt to win by one stroke over J. C. Snead and Dave Stockton.

At the 1985 U.S. Open, on the South Course at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, North found himself two shots behind Chen Tze-chung of Taiwan going into the final round, but three shots clear of the rest of the field. Chen moved into a four-shot lead early, but threw the tournament wide open by shooting a quadruple bogey eight on the fifth hole. The lead swung between North, Chen, Denis Watson, Payne Stewart,[4] and Dave Barr. However, North went into the last hole with a two-shot lead, and his bogey five was enough to give him a second major championship.[5]

North played on the 1985 Ryder Cup team. In 1990, he won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Since turning 50 in 2000, North has played intermittently on the Champions Tour. His best finish at this level is a win at the 2008 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.

Broadcasting career

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In 1992, North joined ESPN as an on-course reporter.[6] In 2004, he was promoted to the lead on-course reporter for ESPN and ABC Sports. He also has been the lead analyst on ESPN's golf studio shows with host Scott Van Pelt since 2003. According to ESPN, his preview shows for major championships have been so in-depth that Tour players have been known to watch them to help with course strategy. From 2003 to 2014, North concluded his U.S. Open preview show by dressing up in a doctor's outfit and using an often modified formula to pick the winner of the tournament. North eliminates groups of players who he believes will not win by writing them on large white placards which he then tosses over the edge of the set. In addition, North occasionally serves as a substitute analyst for Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball radio broadcast. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.

Amateur wins

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Professional wins (15)

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PGA Tour wins (3)

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Legend
Major championships (2)
Other PGA Tour (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Aug 21, 1977 American Express Westchester Classic 66-70-65-71=272 −12 2 strokes United States George Archer
2 Jun 18, 1978 U.S. Open 70-70-71-74=285 +1 1 stroke United States J. C. Snead, United States Dave Stockton
3 Jun 16, 1985 U.S. Open (2) 70-65-70-74=279 −1 1 stroke Canada Dave Barr, Taiwan Chen Tze-chung,
Zimbabwe Denis Watson

South American wins (1)

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Other wins (5)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Dec 3, 1978 World Cup
(with United States John Mahaffey) 		141-144-138-141=564 −12 10 strokes  Australia − Wayne Grady and Greg Norman
2 Aug 7, 1979 PGA Grand Slam of Golf 73 +3 Shared title with South Africa Gary Player
3 May 28, 1990 PGA Grand Slam of Golf (2) 70 −2 4 strokes United States Craig Stadler
4 Jul 31, 1990 Jerry Ford Invitational 68-65=133 −10 Shared title with United States Jim Gallagher Jr. and United States Donnie Hammond
5 Jun 28, 2005 ING Par-3 Shootout $350,000 $260,000 United States Gary McCord

Champions Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 Apr 27, 2008 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
(with United States Tom Watson) 		59-62-64=185 −31 1 stroke United States Jeff Sluman and United States Craig Stadler

Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2001 Emerald Coast Classic United States Mike McCullough Lost to par on first extra hole

Other senior wins (5)

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Major championships

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Wins (2)

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Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runners-up
1978 U.S. Open 1 shot lead +1 (70-70-71-74= 285) 1 stroke United States J. C. Snead, United States Dave Stockton
1985 U.S. Open (2) 2 shot deficit −1 (70-65-70-74=279) 1 stroke Canada Dave Barr, Taiwan Chen Tze-chung,
Zimbabwe Denis Watson

Results timeline

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Tournament 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T37 T24 T32 T12
U.S. Open T12 T14 CUT 1 T11
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship T39 4 T49 CUT T42 CUT
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T24 CUT CUT T30 T41 CUT T36 CUT
U.S. Open T8 T43 T22 T10 CUT 1 67 CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship T45 T47
PGA Championship T15 T11 T70 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT T58
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
Masters Tournament T27
U.S. Open T51 T37 CUT CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship T39
PGA Championship
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 3 13 9
U.S. Open 2 0 0 2 4 8 21 12
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3
PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 1 3 15 8
Totals 2 0 0 3 5 14 53 32
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1974 PGA – 1977 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
The Players Championship T49 T34 CUT CUT T4 T20 CUT T69 T32 CUT CUT T55 CUT T54 71 CUT CUT T27 CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

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Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 34, 39, 41 (2010). Retrieved July 13, 2011.
  2. ^ 2008–09 Florida Gators Men's Golf Media Guide Archived March 22, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 36 (2008). Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  3. ^ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  4. ^ McDermott, Barry (June 24, 1985). "A Blast From The Past". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  5. ^ Hard-luck Andy North scrambles to U.S. Open title
  6. ^ "Andy North - ESPN Press Room U.S."
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