Hubert Green

Hubert Green

Hubert Myatt Green (born December 28, 1946) is a former American professional golfer who won 23 professional golf tournaments on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour.

Green was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He grew up playing at the Birmingham Country Club, where his parents were members. Green played on the golf team at Florida State University, graduated in 1968 with a degree in marketing, and turned pro in 1969. He won the Houston Champions International and was the PGA Tour's Rookie of the Year in 1971. Green is among the top 38 all-time PGA Tour winners with 19 victories during his 26 years on the PGA Tour. He won two major championships: the 1977 U.S. Open which was held at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the 1985 PGA Championship which was held at the Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. He played on three Ryder Cup teams: 1977, 1979, and 1985. In 1977, Green finished third in The Open Championship at Turnberry, that became known as the "Duel in the Sun", as Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus finished respectively 11 and 10 shots clear of Green in third place; fittingly, perhaps, Green also finished the year ranked third in Mark McCormack's world golf rankings that year.

In the 1978 Masters, Green reached the final hole about 30 minutes after Gary Player had finished a round of 64. Player had a 1-shot lead over Green, who hit a good drive and then a great approach to within three feet of the cup. Green had to back away from the putt when he overheard radio announcer Jim Kelly say something. When Green took the stroke, he pushed it a little to the right and the putt slid by. Green never blamed Kelly, however, telling Golf Digest, "Only an amateur would have been put off by the interruption — or would try to make excuses about it."

In his second season on the Senior PGA Tour in 1998, Green won the Bruno's Memorial Classic in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. He has four career victories on the Champions Tour, which was known as the Senior PGA Tour until 2002. He retired from professional golf in 2009.

Green is active in golf course design having designed the TPC at Southwind, the site for the PGA Tour's St. Jude Classic. He also designed Greystone, the site of his victory in the Bruno's Classic, and Reynolds Plantation in Georgia.

In the spring of 2003, Green was diagnosed with oral cancer after his dentist noticed an unusual swelling on the back of his tongue after a routine cleaning and referred him to a medical specialist for evaluation. Green underwent a very difficult and painful regimen of radiation and chemotherapy treatments during the summer of 2003. By the end of 2003, however, his cancer was in remission; his weight crept up to 165 pounds from a low of 143 pounds.

In April 2007, Green was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in the Veteran's category; he was inducted in November 2007.