Rodney Dean Curl (born January 9, 1943) is an American professional golfer best known for being the first full-blooded Native American to win a PGA Tour event.

Born in Redding, California, Curl is a Wintu Indian.[2][3] Before taking up golf at age 19, he was an outstanding baseball player at Central Valley High School in Shasta County, California.[4]

Curl joined the PGA Tour in 1969 and played regularly through 1978. He had 42 top-10 finishes in official PGA Tour events including one win and a half-dozen second and third-place finishes. In 1974, he won the Colonial National Invitation in Fort Worth by one stroke after runner-up Jack Nicklaus bogeyed the 17th hole and a birdied the last.[5][2][6][7]

Curl played in a limited number of Senior Tour events after reaching the age of 50 in 1993. He lives in Jupiter, Florida and is a corporate instructor with VIP Golf Academy.

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 May 19, 1974 Colonial National Invitation 70-67-71-68=276 −4 1 stroke United States Jack Nicklaus

Pro Golf Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 May 29, 1988 Pointe Royale Invitational 68-71-64-64=267 −13 4 strokes United States Ben Theobald

Other wins (1)

  • 1977 World Indian Open[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Indian with the Clubs Is Rod Curl, Top Pro Golfer
  2. ^ a b "Curl refuses to fold, beats Nicklaus in Colonial". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). Associated Press. May 20, 1974. p. 10.
  3. ^ Grimsley, Will (April 10, 1975). "Rod Curl only playing for himself". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. (Florida). Associated Press. p. 1C.
  4. ^ Biographical information from Shasta County Sports Hall of Fame
  5. ^ Radosta, John S. (May 20, 1974). "Rod Curl wins golf by stroke". New York Times. p. 41.
  6. ^ PGATOUR.com - Bank of America Colonial
  7. ^ Rabun, Mike (May 20, 1974). "Dream come true for Rod Curl". Beaver County Times. (Pennsylvania). UPI. p. C-3.
  8. ^ Official 1991 PGA Tour Media Guide. PGA Tour Creative Services. 1991. p. 190.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_Curl
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