Chandler Harper

Chandler Harper Biography

John Chandler Harper (March 10, 1914 - November 8, 2004) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the PGA Championship in 1950. He won seven times on the PGA Tour and played in the Ryder Cup in 1955.

Harper was born, raised and lived his entire life in Portsmouth, Virginia. He was prominent in Virginia golf, winning the Virginia State Amateur three times (1930, 1932, 1934) and the Virginia State Open nine times (1932, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1952, 1960, 1967, 1968, 1970), a record which stands today. His golfing career was interrupted by service in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Harper's competitive career lasted from 1938 to 1955; and like most professional golfers of his generation, he spent most of his time as a club professional. Harper compensated for his lack of driving distance with a strong short game; Ben Hogan said that Harper was the best putter on Tour.

After Curtis Strange's father died when he was 14, Harper became Strange's mentor. He was also a long-time friend of Bobby Jones. He was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1973 and to the PGA Hall of Fame in 1968. In 1956, Harper founded Bide-A-Wee Golf Course in his hometown of Portsmouth, and managed the course until he retired in 1992. He died at the age of 90 of complications from pneumonia.

Professional wins (20)

PGA Tour wins (7)

1942 (1) Miami Biltmore International Four-Ball (with Herman Keiser)
1950 (2) Tucson Open, PGA Championship
1953 (1) El Paso Open
1954 (1) Texas Open
1955 (2) Virginia Beach Open, Colonial National Invitation

Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins (12)

1932 Virginia Open (as an amateur)
1938 Virginia Open
1940 Virginia Open
1941 Virginia Open
1952 Virginia Open
1954 Middle Atlantic PGA Championship
1960 Virginia PGA Open
1967 Virginia PGA Open
1968 Virginia PGA Open, Virginia PGA Open
1969 Virginia PGA Open
1970 Virginia PGA Open

Senior wins

1968 PGA Seniors' Championship

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Runner-up
1950	PGA Championship	4 & 3	Henry Williams, Jr.

Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958

Results timeline

Tournament	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT	DNP	CUT	DNP	CUT
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	13	NT	NT	NT	19	T8	T40	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	NT	NT	NT	NT	T15	WD	WD	CUT
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	NT	DNP	DNP	R32	R32	R32	R16

Tournament	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament	DNP	WD	T38	T10	WD	WD	DNP	CUT	CUT	T14
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	T41	WD	CUT	WD	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	1	R64	R32	R64	DNP	DNP	R16	R128	CUT	WD

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	CUT	WD	T49	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DQ	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1970	1971
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	WD

Note: Harper never played in The Open Championship.
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament	Wins	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	2	5	14	7
U.S. Open	0	0	0	1	11	2
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0
PGA Championship	1	1	3	7	14	10
Totals	1	1	5	13	39	19

Most consecutive cuts made - 5 (twice)
Longest streak of top-10s - 1 (five times)