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Jerry Barber

United States · born , Woodson, Illinois · died

1major championship

Summary

  • First major 1961 PGA Championship
  • Ryder Cup 2 Cups · 1-4-0 · 1 points (20.0%)
  • Ryder Cup captain 1961
  • Runner-up in majors 1 time

Wins

  1. 1961 PGA Championship Olympia Fields Country Club · 277 (-3) · won a playoff against Don January

Near misses

  1. 1959 PGA Championship Minneapolis Golf Club · runner-up to Bob Rosburg · 278

Ryder Cup

2 Cups, 5 matches: 1 won, 4 lost, 0 halved, 1 points. Foursomes 1-1-0, four-ball 0-0-0, singles 0-3-0.

  1. 1955 Thunderbird Ranch & Country Club USA · USA won 8–4 · 0-2-0, 0 points
  2. 1961 Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club USA · USA won 14.5–9.5 · 1-2-0, 1 point
  3. 1961 Captain USA · won 14.5–9.5

Rivals

Beat him

Beaten in finals and playoffs

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Bob Rosburg's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1961 PGA Championship Trailing Don January by four with three holes left, Jerry Barber holed putts of about 20, 40 and 60 feet on 16, 17 and 18 to force a playoff.
  2. 1961 PGA Championship Barber, 45, won the Monday 18-hole playoff 67–68 when January bogeyed the last, becoming the oldest PGA champion to that point.
  3. 1955 Ryder Cup John Fallon and John Jacobs beat Chandler Harper and Jerry Barber 1 up for GB's only foursomes point.
  4. 1955 Ryder Cup Arthur Lees, all square with Marty Furgol at lunch, won 3 & 2, and Eric Brown beat Jerry Barber 3 & 2, but the USA still took the singles 5-3.

Records and firsts

  1. 1961 PGA Championship Oldest PGA champions: 45 years 3 months 6 days

Results by championship

    Best day

    1961 PGA Championship

    Olympia Fields Country Club, Olympia Fields, Illinois · 277 (-3) · won a playoff against Don January (Barber 67; January 68)

    Trailing Don January by four with three holes left, Jerry Barber holed putts of about 20, 40 and 60 feet on 16, 17 and 18 to force a playoff.

    Barber, 45, won the Monday 18-hole playoff 67–68 when January bogeyed the last, becoming the oldest PGA champion to that point.

    Record: 45 years 3 months 6 days

    Chosen by rule: the major win our record tables single out. Year page: 1961.

    Career line, 1955–1961

    PGA Championship
    1959 PGA Championship: runner-up to Bob Rosburg1961 PGA Championship: won
    Ryder Cup
    1955 Ryder Cup (USA): 0-2-01961 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-2-0
    1956195819601962

    4 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Jerry Barber was born on April 25, 1916, in Woodson, Illinois. Barber won one major championship: the 1961 PGA Championship. Barber played in 2 Ryder Cups for USA (1955, 1961), winning 1, losing 4 and halving 0 of 5 matches for 1 point, and captained the side in 1961.

    See Jerry Barber in our rooms: Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (1)

    1. 1961 PGA Championship Olympia Fields Country Club, Olympia Fields, Illinois · 277 (-3) · won a playoff against Don January (Barber 67; January 68)

    Near misses

    1. 1959 PGA Championship Minneapolis Golf Club · runner-up to Bob Rosburg · 278

    Ryder Cup

    Barber played 2 Ryder Cups for USA: 5 matches, 1 won, 4 lost, 0 halved, 1 points (20.0% of those available). By format: foursomes 1-1-0, four-ball 0-0-0, singles 0-3-0 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1955 Thunderbird Ranch & Country Club USA · USA won 8–4 · 0-2-0, 0 points
    2. 1961 Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club USA · USA won 14.5–9.5 · 1-2-0, 1 point
    3. 1961 Captain USA · won 14.5–9.5

    Partners, with matches played together: Chandler Harper (1), Dow Finsterwald (1).

    PGA Championship match play

    Every recorded match in our bracket file, 1916–1957: 3 won, 3 lost.

    1. 1953 Round of 64 lost to Cary Middlecoff 2 & 1
    2. 1954 Round of 64 beat Bob Gajda 2 & 1
    3. 1954 Round of 32 beat Fred Haas Jr. won on 19th hole
    4. 1954 Round of 16 beat Charles Bassler won on 38th hole
    5. 1954 Quarterfinal lost to Chick Harbert 1 up
    6. 1955 Round of 64 lost to Lionel Hebert 2 & 1

    Records and firsts

    Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

    1. 1961 PGA Championship Oldest PGA champions: 45 years 3 months 6 days

    Sources

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. where2golf
    2. Golf Compendium PGA Tour career wins
    3. Golf Compendium winners list
    4. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    5. rydercup.com — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://rydercup.com/news-media/usa/ryder-cup-team-usa-past-captains
    6. Golf Compendium
    7. Golf Compendium 1961
    8. PGA of America 2012 media guide
    9. The Golf News Net history table (2026)
    10. Today's Golfer purse history
    11. PGA of America 1961 leaderboard
    12. Golf Compendium playoff results
    13. PGA of America 2013 media guide, p. 69
    14. Golf Compendium 1953
    15. Golf Compendium 1954
    16. GC: 1955 ryder cup
    17. Wikipedia: 1955 Ryder Cup
    18. GC: 1961 ryder cup
    19. WP 1961