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John Fought

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John Fought
Personal information
Full nameJohn Fought III
Born (1954-01-28) January 28, 1954 (age 70)
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight230 lb (100 kg; 16 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceScottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Career
CollegeBrigham Young University
Turned professional1977
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins4
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT33: 1980
PGA Championship5th: 1983
U.S. OpenT50: 1976
The Open ChampionshipDNP
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year
1979

John Fought III (born January 28, 1954) is an American golf course architect and professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour.

Amateur career

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Fought (rhymes with "boat") was born in Portland, Oregon. His grandmother started him playing golf at age 7.[1] Fought attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he was a distinguished member of the golf team for four years; he helped the Cougars win four titles at the Cougar Classic, four WAC Championships, and 29 tournament titles overall during his college career. At the end of 1976 Fought was ranked the #6 amateur in the country by Golf Digest.[2] Fought was eventually ranked number one by Golf Digest and won the 1977 U.S. Amateur.[3] He played on the 1976 Eisenhower Trophy and 1977 Walker Cup teams.

Professional career

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He turned professional in 1977 and joined the PGA Tour in 1978. Fought played on the PGA Tour full-time from 1979–1985. He has a dozen top-10 finishes including two back-to-back wins in September 1979. He received the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award in 1979. His best finish in a major was a solo 5th at the 1983 PGA Championship.[4] Injuries to his back and neck in the mid-1980s forced him to retire from full-time tour play. Since then, he has played in a limited number of Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour events.

Fought established a second career as a golf course architect beginning in the late 1980s, founding John Fought Design in Scottsdale, Arizona. Early in this phase of his career, he worked with Bob Cupp Design before starting his own firm in the 1990s. His award-winning designs have included Pumpkin Ridge in North Plains, Oregon, Centennial Golf Course, Oregon, The Reserve Vineyards & Golf Club also in Oregon, and a restoration of an original Donald Ross design at Pine Needles Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Other John Fought designs or collaborations include The Gallery Golf Club North and South courses in Tucson (the North course hosted the 2000 Tucson Open and the South course hosted the WGC Match Play in 2007 and 2008). Fought also is responsible for the 2008 redesign of the Dogwood and Azalea courses at The Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi which has hosted the Sanderson Farms Championship on the PGA Tour since 2014. Fought and his wife Mary have three children.[5]

Amateur wins

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Professional wins (4)

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PGA Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Sep 16, 1979 Buick-Goodwrench Open −8 (71-72-68-69=280) Playoff United States Jim Simons
2 Sep 23, 1979 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic −11 (69-68-71-69=277) 1 stroke United States Buddy Gardner, United States Alan Tapie,
United States Bobby Wadkins

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1979 Buick-Goodwrench Open United States Jim Simons Won with par on second extra hole

Other wins (2)

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Results in major championships

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Tournament 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
Masters Tournament 50 T33 CUT
U.S. Open T50 LA T58 WD CUT CUT
PGA Championship T41 T61 5 CUT

Note: Fought never played in The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

LA = low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

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Amateur

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Biographical information from PGA Tour's official site Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Dunaway Finds His Game..." The Charlotte Observer. January 30, 1977. p. 56. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  3. ^ Biographical information from Brigham Young University Athletics official site[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Golf Major Championships".
  5. ^ Biographical information from John Fought Design Archived 2006-05-06 at the Wayback Machine
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