Bone Daddy, the original Sportsphile, was a huge golf fan of Mysterious Mister X Miller Barber….who was an American professional golfer….who enjoyed significant success on the PGA Tour in the 1960’s and 1970’s….while winning 11 PGA events….and even greater success on the Senior PGA Tour, now the Champions Tour, in the 1980’s….where he won 24 PGA Seniors championships.
Miller Barber won his first PGA Tour event in 1964….on his way to earning 11 career tour wins….but did not win a major championship…..as the closest he came was in 1969 at the U.S. Open at Houston, where he held a three-shot lead over the field after three rounds….but shot 78 in the last round to finish three shots behind winner Orville Moody….whereas, also in 1969, Barber entered the final round of the Masters Tournament two shots out of the lead and was paired in Sunday’s final group….but shot a final round 74 to finish 7th. Mysterious Mr X played on the Ryder Cup team in 1969 and 1971. In 1973, Barber won the longest regulation tournament in PGA Tour history….which was the World Open Golf Championship played at Pinehurst Country Club….which was a 144-hole affair….which Barber won by three strokes over Ben Crenshaw.
Barber became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour around a year after it was founded….where he was one of the dominant players on the tour throughout the entire decade of the 1980’s….while competing on even terms with players who had had much more distinguished earlier careers….such as Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer….where his 24 wins on the Seniors Tour included five senior majors….with three of them being U.S. Senior Opens….as Miller Barber holds the record for combined PGA Tour and Champions Tour starts at 1,297. Barber played with an unusual looped backswing/downswing, but squared up very consistently through impact. Several other PGA Tour players, including Jim Furyk, have had success with similar methods. Our Bone Daddy never missed a Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf Tournament that was played at Onion Creek Country Club in Austin,TX….and this video brings back such fond memories of watching golfers of that era that he enjoyed watching so much…..guys like Don January, Art Wall, Tommy Bolt, Byron Nelson, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead, Julios Boros, Roberto DiVicenzo, Gene Littler et al….but none could grab his attention like Mr. X.
