Billy Joe Maxwell (July 23, 1929 – September 20, 2021)[1] was an American professional golfer.

Billy Maxwell
Personal information
Full nameBilly Joe Maxwell
Born(1929-07-23)July 23, 1929
Abilene, Texas, U.S.
DiedSeptember 20, 2021(2021-09-20) (aged 92)
Height5 ft 7.5 in (1.71 m)
Weight165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceJacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Career
CollegeNorth Texas State College
Turned professional1954
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins10
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour7
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT5: 1962
PGA ChampionshipT5: 1963
U.S. OpenT5: 1963
The Open ChampionshipDNP
U.S. AmateurWon: 1951
British AmateurT9: 1952

Maxwell was born in Abilene, Texas. He played college golf at North Texas State College and helped them win four consecutive NCAA Division I team championships (1949–1952). Maxwell also won the U.S. Amateur title in 1951. After an impressive amateur career, he served in the Army and turned pro in 1954.

Maxwell won seven times on the PGA Tour. He also played on the 1963 Ryder Cup team and was elected to the Texas Golf Hall of Fame. He has a twin brother, Bobby, who was also a golfer. He resided in Jacksonville, Florida where, along with former PGA touring pro, Chris Blocker, he owned and operated Hyde Park Golf Club, a Donald Ross designed course.

Amateur wins

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This list is probably incomplete

Professional wins (10)

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PGA Tour wins (7)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Apr 3, 1955 Azalea Open Invitational −18 (65-68-68-69=270) 1 stroke   Mike Souchak
2 Apr 22, 1956 Arlington Hotel Open −16 (64-69-70-69=272) 1 stroke   George Bayer,   Ernie Vossler
3 Oct 27, 1957 Hesperia Open Invitational −13 (67-67-67-74=275) 2 strokes   Dow Finsterwald
4 May 18, 1958 Memphis Open −13 (69-65-68-65=267) 1 stroke   Cary Middlecoff
5 Feb 5, 1961 Palm Springs Golf Classic −14 (68-70-68-68-71=345) 2 strokes   Doug Sanders
6 Aug 13, 1961 Insurance City Open Invitational −13 (69-68-68-66=271) Playoff   Ted Kroll
7 Sep 3, 1962 Dallas Open Invitational −3 (68-70-68-71=277) 4 strokes   Johnny Pott

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1955 Baton Rouge Open   Jimmy Clark,   Bo Wininger Wininger won 18-hole playoff;
Wininger: −6 (66),
Clark: −2 (70),
Maxwell: −1 (71)
2 1957 Western Open   George Bayer,   Doug Ford,
  Gene Littler
Ford won with par on third extra hole
Littler and Maxwell eliminated by par on first hole
3 1961 Insurance City Open Invitational   Ted Kroll Won with birdie on seventh extra hole

Other wins (3)

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this list is probably incomplete

Major championships

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Amateur wins (1)

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Year Championship Winning score Runner-up
1951 U.S. Amateur 4 & 3   Joe Gagliardi

Results timeline

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Amateur

Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953
Masters Tournament T49
U.S. Amateur R16 1 R256
The Amateur Championship R16

Professional

Tournament 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971
Masters Tournament T43 T18 T34 WD T9 T8 T25 T5 T15 T18 T26 T39
U.S. Open 27 12 T8 T27 T26 T22 T8 T5 14 T36 T52
PGA Championship T25 T11 T24 T27 WD T5 T13 T43 T63 T10 T40

Note: Maxwell never played in The Open Championship.

  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play

Sources: Masters,[2] U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur,[3] PGA Championship,[4] 1952 British Amateur[5]

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 1 3 7 13 12
U.S. Open 0 0 0 1 3 6 11 11
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 2 6 11 10
Totals 0 0 0 3 8 19 35 33
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 14 (1963 Masters – 1971 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (three times)

U.S. national team appearances

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Professional

References

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  1. ^ "Seven-time Tour winner Billy Maxwell, a former Ryder Cup player, passes away". PGA Tour. September 20, 2021. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  2. ^ "Past Winners & Results". Masters Tournament. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  3. ^ USGA Championship Database Archived December 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Player Stats for Billy Maxwell". PGA of America. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
  5. ^ "Scot Beats Two Of Best Americans". The Glasgow Herald. May 30, 1952. p. 2. Retrieved October 31, 2013.
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