Chandler Harper, 90; Golfer Won 1950 PGA Championship

Chandler Harper, 90, who won the 1950 PGA championship and was a major figure in Virginia golf for more than 70 years, has died.

Harper died Monday in Portsmouth, Va., of complications from pneumonia, said two-time U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange, who as a teenager was taught by Harper.

Harper won 10 other PGA Tour events and played on the 1955 Ryder Cup team. He was elected to the PGA of America Hall of Fame in 1968 and inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1973.

Harper set what was then a PGA Tour record by taking only 20 putts in his third-round 63 when he won the 1950 Tucson Open. After opening with a 70 in the 1954 Texas Open, he closed with three straight rounds of 63. Only three other men have shot 189 over three rounds. The last to do it was Tommy Armour III in last year’s Texas Open.

The highlight of Harper’s career came at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, where he beat Bob Toski, Lloyd Mangrum and Jimmy Demaret to reach the finals of the 1950 PGA championship. He easily defeated Henry Williams Jr. in the final.