"PGA Champion" Lanny Wadkins Hand Signed 3X5 Card Todd Mueller COA

Description

Up for auction the
"PGA Champion" Lanny Wadkins Hand Signed 3X5 Card.
This item is certified authentic by Todd Mueller Autographs and comes with their Certificate of Authenticity.
ES-1802
Jerry Lanston
"
Lanny
"
Wadkins Jr.
(born December 5, 1949) is an American professional
golfer
. He ranked in the top 10 of the
Official World Golf Ranking
for 86 weeks from the ranking's debut in 1986 to 1988.
Born in
Richmond, Virginia
, Wadkins attended Meadowbrook High School, then
Wake Forest University
on an
Arnold Palmer
golf
scholarship
. He won the
U.S. Amateur
in 1970 in
Oregon
, one stroke ahead of runner-up
Tom Kite
, and turned professional in 1971. Wadkins' first win on the
PGA Tour
came at the
Sahara Invitational
in
Las Vegas
in October
1972
, where he finished one stroke ahead of runner-up Palmer, his scholarship benefactor.
Wadkins was later voted Rookie of the Year on the tour in 1972. Two more wins followed in
1973
before his form dipped for three years. He bounced back to win his sole
major
title at the
PGA Championship
in
1977
. He prevailed on the third hole of a sudden-death playoff at
Pebble Beach
against
Gene Littler
. It was the first time the sudden-death format was used in a stroke play major championship.
Wadkins was runner-up in four subsequent majors (
U.S. Open
in
1986
,
PGA Championship
in
1982
,
1984
,
1987
), and finished third in the
Masters
three times (
1990
,
1991
,
1993
). In
The Open Championship
, his best finish was fourth at
St. Andrews
in
1984
. On the PGA Tour, Wadkins won
The Players Championship
at Sawgrass in
1979
and was voted PGA Player of the Year in
1985
. Over his career, he picked up a win more seasons than not until 1992, when he achieved his twenty-first and final PGA Tour victory at the
Canon Greater Hartford Open
. Like many star American golfers Wadkins was invited to play in a number of international tournaments. He won the 1978
Victorian PGA Championship
, an event in Australia, and the 1979
Bridgestone Open
, an event on the
Japan Golf Tour
. He also finished runner-up at the 1979
German Open
, 1980
Air New Zealand Shell Open
, and 1990
Austrian Open
. He also won unofficial events in South America, Canada, and Japan. Wadkins played for the United States in the
Ryder Cup
eight times between
1977
and
1993
, which ties the highest number of appearances in the competition by an American, alongside
Raymond Floyd
and
Billy Casper
(Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk have since made ten and nine appearances, respectively). Wadkins collected 21
1/
2
points during his Ryder Cup career, one of the very best records on either side in the history of the competition. He also captained the team in
1995
at
Oak Hill Country Club
.