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Jerry Pate

United States · born , Macon, Georgia, USA

1major championship

Summary

  • First major 1976 U.S. Open
  • Ryder Cup 1 Cups · 2-2-0 · 2 points (50.0%)
  • Runner-up in majors 2 times
  • Other titles 1974 U.S. Amateur

Wins

  1. 1974 U.S. Amateur Ridgewood Country Club · 2 & 1
  2. 1976 U.S. Open Atlanta Athletic Club · 277 (-3) · by 2 strokes from Al Geiberger and Tom Weiskopf

Near misses

  1. 1978 PGA Championship Oakmont Country Club · runner-up to John Mahaffey · 276 · lost playoff
  2. 1979 U.S. Open Inverness Club · runner-up to Hale Irwin

Ryder Cup

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

  1. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club USA · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 2-2-0, 2 points · automatic

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: John Mahaffey's rivals →

Results by championship

    Best day

    1976 U.S. Open

    Atlanta Athletic Club, Duluth, GA · 277 (-3) · by 2 strokes from Al Geiberger and Tom Weiskopf

    Chosen by rule: his widest winning margin in a major. Year page: 1976.

    Career line, 1974–1981

    PGA Championship
    1978 PGA Championship: runner-up to John Mahaffey
    U.S. Open
    1976 U.S. Open: won1979 U.S. Open: runner-up to Hale Irwin
    Ryder Cup
    1981 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-2-0
    U.S. Amateur
    1974 U.S. Amateur: won
    19741976197819801982

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

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

    Jerry Pate was born on September 16, 1953, in Macon, Georgia, USA. Pate won one major championship: the 1976 U.S. Open. Pate played in 1 Ryder Cup for USA (1981), winning 2, losing 2 and halving 0 of 4 matches for 2 points.

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    The record

    Wins in the majors (1)

    1. 1974 U.S. Amateur Ridgewood Country Club · 2 & 1
    2. 1976 U.S. Open Atlanta Athletic Club, Duluth, GA · 277 (-3) · by 2 strokes from Al Geiberger and Tom Weiskopf

    Near misses

    1. 1978 PGA Championship Oakmont Country Club · runner-up to John Mahaffey · 276 · lost playoff
    2. 1979 U.S. Open Inverness Club · runner-up to Hale Irwin

    U.S. Open top-10 finishes in his career: 2 (GNN U.S. Open room data).

    Ryder Cup

    Pate played 1 Ryder Cups for USA: 4 matches, 2 won, 2 lost, 0 halved, 2 points (50.0% of those available). By format: foursomes 1-0-0, four-ball 1-1-0, singles 0-1-0 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1981 Walton Heath Golf Club USA · USA won 18.5–9.5 · 2-2-0, 2 points · automatic

    Partners, with matches played together: Lee Trevino (2), Ben Crenshaw (1).

    Other wins in championships we cover

    1. 1974 U.S. Amateur Ridgewood Country Club · 2 & 1

    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. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    2. GNN U.S. Open room (champions data)
    3. GC: 1981 ryder cup
    4. Wikipedia: 1981 Ryder Cup
    5. Wikipedia: U.S. Amateur
    6. championships-plt.usga.org: u s amateur champions
    7. Wikipedia: Ridgewood Country Club