Sam Parks, Jr.

Sam Parks, Jr.
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name	Samuel McLaughlin Parks, Jr.
Born	(1909-06-23)June 23, 1909 Bellevue, Pennsylvania
Died	Clearwater, Florida
Nationality	United States
Career
College	University of Pittsburgh
Turned professional	1933
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	5
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	1
Other	4
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	T15: 1935
U.S. Open	Won: 1935
The Open Championship	DNP
PGA Championship	T9: 1935

Samuel McLaughlin Parks, Jr. (June 23, 1909 – April 7, 1997) was an American professional golfer, the winner of the U.S. Open in 1935, his only major title.

Born in Bellevue, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, Parks used his knowledge of the nearby Oakmont Country Club to win in June 1935 at age 25. Although a comparatively recent convert from college and amateur ranks and little-known nationally, Parks, the professional at the nearby South Hills Country Club, was the only player to negotiate Oakmont's furrowed bunkers and shaved greens in less than 300. After winning the U.S. Open, Parks played for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, matched against Alf Perry (the reigning British Open champion), the first time the U.S. Open champion would play the British Open Champion of the same year in the Ryder Cup Match. During that event, at the 36th hole, Parks made a 30-foot (9 m) birdie putt to win the hole and tie the match, so that both he the British champ remained undefeated in Ryder Cup play.

Parks, a University of Pittsburgh alumnus who helped found the school's golf team in the 1920s, died in 1997 at age 87 in Clearwater, Florida.

Professional wins (5)

PGA Tour wins (1)

Year	Tournament	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1935	U.S. Open	+11 (77-73-73-76=299)	2 strokes	Jimmy Thomson

Other wins (4)

this list may be incomplete

• 1937 Tri-State PGA Championship
• 1940 Pennsylvania Open Championship
• 1943 Tri-State PGA Championship
• 1945 Tri-State PGA Championship

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1935	U.S. Open	Tied for lead	+11 (77-73-73-76=299)	2 strokes	Jimmy Thomson

Results timeline

Tournament	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
Masters Tournament	NYF	NYF	NYF	T46	T15	T20	T36	24	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT	T66	DNP	T37	1	CUT	T16	CUT	T38
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	R16	DNP	R32	R64	R64

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949
Masters Tournament	DNP	T19	DNP	NT	NT	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T29	T33	NT	NT	NT	NT	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	R32	NT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	51	72	61	T65	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1960	1961	1962
Masters Tournament	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP

Note: Parks never played in The Open Championship.
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	0	0	4	16	10
U.S. Open	1	0	0	1	1	2	13	7
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	1	3	5	5
Totals	1	0	0	1	2	9	34	22

• Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (twice)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1935 U.S. Open – 1935 PGA)