Harry Cooper (golfer)
Harry E. Cooper (
August 6,
1904 –
October 17,
2000) was a prominent
PGA Tour golfer of the 1920s and 1930s. He was born in the town of
Leatherhead,
England. His father was a professional golfer who had served as an apprentice to
Old Tom Morris at
St. Andrews. Cooper's family moved to
Texas when Cooper was young, and his father took a job as a club professional in
Dallas.
A perennial
U.S. Open contender (with seven top-10 finishes and second place in 1927 and 1936), "Lighthorse Harry", as he was nicknamed, also placed second in the 1936 and 1938
Masters as well as reaching the semi-finals of the 1925
PGA Championship. In all, he finished 19 times in the top-10 at major championships.
In the 1936 U.S. Open at
Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, Cooper was involved in a highly controversial match with
Tony Manero, who was suspected of cheating. Manero defeated Harry Cooper by two shots to win the tournament. In later years, Cooper would say that he had a mental hangup during major tournaments and couldn't picture himself in the winner's circle. His greatest successes were across the border, as he won the
Canadian Open in 1932 and 1937. Cooper won 31
PGA Tour titles in all and the inaugural
Vardon Trophy in 1937. Subsequently was active as a senior golfer, placing sixth in the 1955
Senior PGA Championship. He was inducted into the
World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.
Harry Cooper was classified as the greatest golfer who never won a major tournament, and he is the only golfer in the PGA Hall of Fame who does not have a major title to his credit. After his PGA tour career ended, he became the head professional at the
Metropolis Country Club in Greenburgh, NY. He held that position for many years. Following his retirement from Metropolis, he took a teaching position at
Westchester Country Club in Rye, NY, where he remained until his death. Harry Cooper was remarkable for his ability to work in the golf industry into his nineties.
In the 1960s and 1970s, he was the Director of Golf on the
Oceanic Cruise Liner, which sailed between New York City and the Caribbean during the Christmas season.
Harry Cooper had no children. He died in a hospital in
White Plains, New York at the age of 96. He is interred with his wife Emma in an unmarked grave in the Kensico Gardens Section of the
Kensico Cemetery in
Valhalla, New York.
*1923 Texas Open
*1924 Texas Open
*1926 Los Angeles Open, Del Monte Open
*1929 Western N.Y. PGA, Medinah Open, Oklahoma Open, Shawnee Open
*1930 Pasadena Open, St. Paul Open
*1932
Canadian Open, Tri-State Open
*1933 Illinois Open
*1934
Western Open, Illinois Open, Illinois PGA Championship
*1935 St. Paul Open, Medinah Open, Illinois Open
*1936 St. Paul Open, Florida West Coast Open
*1937 Los Angeles Open, Houston Open, St. Petersburg Open,
Canadian Open, True Temper Open, Oakland Open, Crescent City Open, New Orleans Open
*1939 Goodall Round Robin Invitational
*1942
Bing Crosby Pro-Am
