William Charles Rogers (born September 10, 1951) is an American professional golfer

Professional golfer

In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...

 who is best known as the winner of the 1981 Open Championship

1981 Open Championship

The 1981 Open Championship was the 110th Open Championship held from 16-19 July at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Bill Rogers won his first major championship by four strokes over Bernhard Langer.-First round:-Second round:...

.

Rogers was born in Waco, Texas

Waco, Texas

Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....

. His father was a lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 in the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

, and he spent time in Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 and Germany during his youth. He began playing golf at age nine. Later he attended the University of Houston

University of Houston

The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...

, where he roomed with fellow future PGA Tour

PGA Tour

The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...

 pro Bruce Lietzke

Bruce Lietzke

Bruce Alan Lietzke is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level.Lietzke was born in Kansas City, Kansas...

. As an amateur golfer, he played for the U.S. in the 1973 Walker Cup

Walker Cup

The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested biennially in odd numbered years between teams comprising the leading amateur golfers of the United States and Great Britain and Ireland...

.

Rogers played the PGA Tour full-time from 1975 to 1988. He won six tournaments, including four in 1981. Almost uniquely for an American golfer, his two most notable victories were in Britain: in 1979, he won the Suntory World Match Play Championship at Wentworth, and two years later, he won The Open Championship

The Open Championship

The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...

 at Royal St George's, where he bettered runner up Bernhard Langer

Bernhard Langer

Bernhard Langer is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion, and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 90s, being the first official number one ranked player in 1986...

 by four strokes. He was the PGA Player of the Year for 1981, and that year finished second on McCormack's World Golf Rankings. He also made an appearance in the Ryder Cup

1981 Ryder Cup

The 24th Ryder Cup Matches were held at the Walton Heath Golf Club in Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, England.The United States team won the competition by a score of 18½ to 9½ points. To date it remains the heaviest defeat that a European team has suffered at the hands of the United States.-Format:The...

 that year.

In 1982, Rogers won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf

PGA Grand Slam of Golf

The PGA Grand Slam of Golf is an annual off-season golf tournament contested by the year's winners of the four major championships of regular men's golf, which are the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship , and the PGA Championship...

, and led the U.S. Open during the final day before falling short. After one further PGA Tour win in 1983, Rogers' tour career faded to the point where he experienced burnout

Burnout (psychology)

Burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest. Research indicates general practitioners have the highest proportion of burnout cases; according to a recent Dutch study in Psychological Reports, no less than 40% of these experienced high levels of...

; he left the tour in 1988 and took a position as director of golf at San Antonio Country Club, where he worked for 11 years.

Since turning 50 in 2001, Rogers has played sporadically on the Champions Tour

Champions Tour

The Champions Tour, a golf tour run by the PGA Tour, hosts a series of events annually in the United States and the United Kingdom for golfers 50 years of age and older. Many of the PGA Tour's most successful golfers have gone on to play on the Champions Tour.The Senior PGA Championship, founded in...

; his most notable accomplishment as a senior player was winning the team portion of the 2002 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf

Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf

The Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf is a golf tournament on the Champions Tour. It is played annually in April currently in Savannah, Georgia at The Westin Savannah Harbor Resort. Liberty Mutual is the main sponsor of the tournament...

 with Bruce Lietzke

Bruce Lietzke

Bruce Alan Lietzke is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level.Lietzke was born in Kansas City, Kansas...

.

Rogers lives in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

.

PGA Tour wins (6)

EWLINE Legend Major championships (1) Other PGA Tour (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Feb 11, 1978 1978 PGA Tour The 1978 PGA Tour season was played from January 5 to November 5. The season consisted of 44 official money events. Tom Watson won the most tournaments, five, and there were seven first-time winners. The tournament results and award winners are listed below....	Bob Hope Desert Classic	-21 (69–67–67–67–69=339)	2 strokes	Jerry McGee Jerry McGee Jerry McGee is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.McGee was born in New Lexington, Ohio. He attended Ohio State University and was a member of the golf team. He turned pro in 1966 and joined the PGA Tour in 1967.McGee won four PGA Tour events in...
2	Mar 29, 1981 1981 PGA Tour The 1981 PGA Tour season was played from January 8 to October 25. The season consisted of 44 official money events. Bill Rogers won the most tournaments, four, and there were five first-time winners. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.-Tournament results:The...	Sea Pines Heritage	-6 (71–69–68–70=278)	1 stroke	Bruce Devlin Bruce Devlin Bruce William Devlin is an Australian professional golfer, sportscaster and golf course designer.Devlin was born in Armidale, Australia. He turned pro in 1961 and joined the PGA Tour in 1962 after an amateur career in Australia which included a win at the Australian Amateur in 1959... ,   Hale Irwin Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin is an American professional golfer. He is one of the few players in history to have won three U.S. Opens and was one of the world's leading golfers for much of the 1970s and 1980s. He has also developed a career as a golf course architect.Irwin was born in Joplin, Missouri, but was... ,   Gil Morgan Gil Morgan Gilmer Bryan Morgan II, OD is an American professional golfer.Morgan was born in Wewoka, Oklahoma. He graduated from East Central State College in Ada, Oklahoma in 1968. In 1972, Morgan earned a Doctor of Optometry degree from the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee before turning... ,   Craig Stadler Craig Stadler Craig Robert Stadler is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level....
3	Jul 19, 1981 1981 PGA Tour The 1981 PGA Tour season was played from January 8 to October 25. The season consisted of 44 official money events. Bill Rogers won the most tournaments, four, and there were five first-time winners. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.-Tournament results:The...	The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	-4 (72–66–67–71=276)	4 strokes	Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion, and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 90s, being the first official number one ranked player in 1986...
4	Aug 30, 1981 1981 PGA Tour The 1981 PGA Tour season was played from January 8 to October 25. The season consisted of 44 official money events. Bill Rogers won the most tournaments, four, and there were five first-time winners. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.-Tournament results:The...	World Series of Golf	-5 (68–69–71–67=275)	1 stroke	Tom Kite Tom Kite Thomas Oliver Kite, Jr. is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings between 1989 and 1994....
5	Oct 4, 1981 1981 PGA Tour The 1981 PGA Tour season was played from January 8 to October 25. The season consisted of 44 official money events. Bill Rogers won the most tournaments, four, and there were five first-time winners. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.-Tournament results:The...	Texas Open	-14 (67–66–70–63=266)	Playoff	Ben Crenshaw Ben Crenshaw Ben Daniel Crenshaw is an American professional golfer.Crenshaw was born in Austin, Texas. He attended and played golf at Austin High School and the University of Texas, where he won three NCAA Championships from 1971 to 1973...
6	Mar 20, 1983 1983 PGA Tour The 1983 PGA Tour season was played from January 6 to October 30. The season consisted of 43 official money golf tournaments. Seve Ballesteros, Jim Colbert, Mark McCumber, Gil Morgan, Calvin Peete, Hal Sutton, Lanny Wadkins, and Fuzzy Zoeller won the most tournaments, two, and there were 10...	USF&G Classic	-14 (69–67–69–69=274)	3 strokes	David Edwards David Edwards (golfer) David Wayne Edwards is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour from 1979–2005 and now plays on the Champions Tour. He is the younger brother of former PGA Tour professional, Danny Edwards.... ,   Jay Haas Jay Haas Jay Dean Haas is an American professional golfer.Haas was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in Belleville, Illinois. He attended Wake Forest University and was a member of the NCAA Championship team of the middle 1970s with Curtis Strange and Bob Byman that Golf World has called "the... ,   Vance Heafner Vance Heafner Vance Heafner is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, the Nationwide Tour and the Champions Tour. He is the son of professional golfer Clayton Heafner....

PGA Tour playoff record (1-2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1978	Western Open Western Open The Western Open, a professional golf tournament, was first played in 1899. At the time of its 2006 playing, the Western Open was the 3rd oldest active PGA Tour tournament, after the British Open and U.S. Open...	Andy Bean Andy Bean Thomas Andrew Bean is an American professional golfer who previously played on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the Champions Tour...	Lost to par on first extra hole
2	1979	Byron Nelson Golf Classic	Tom Watson Tom Watson (golfer) Thomas Sturges Watson is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and now mostly on the Champions Tour....	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3	1981	Texas Open	Ben Crenshaw Ben Crenshaw Ben Daniel Crenshaw is an American professional golfer.Crenshaw was born in Austin, Texas. He attended and played golf at Austin High School and the University of Texas, where he won three NCAA Championships from 1971 to 1973...	Won with birdie on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (3)

• 1977 Pacific Masters
• 1980 Suntory Open
  Suntory Open
  The Suntory Open was a golf tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. It was first played in 1973. The event is held in Chiba, currently at the Sobu Country Club...
  
  
• 1981 Suntory Open
  Suntory Open
  The Suntory Open was a golf tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. It was first played in 1973. The event is held in Chiba, currently at the Sobu Country Club...
  
  

Other wins (4)

• 1979 Suntory World Match Play Championship
• 1981 Australian Open
  Australian Open (golf)
  The Australian Open is one of the principal annual golf tournaments on the PGA Tour of Australasia, and also the OneAsia Tour since its formation in 2009. The event was first played in 1904 and takes place toward the end of each year...
  
  , New South Wales Open
  New South Wales Open (golf)
  The New South Wales Open is an annual golf tournament held in Australia. It was founded in 1931 as the New South Wales Close Championship, before becoming the New South Wales state open championship in 1958....
  
  
• 1982 PGA Grand Slam of Golf
  PGA Grand Slam of Golf
  The PGA Grand Slam of Golf is an annual off-season golf tournament contested by the year's winners of the four major championships of regular men's golf, which are the Masters Tournament, the U.S. Open, The Open Championship , and the PGA Championship...
  
  

Other senior wins

• 2002 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
  Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
  The Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf is a golf tournament on the Champions Tour. It is played annually in April currently in Savannah, Georgia at The Westin Savannah Harbor Resort. Liberty Mutual is the main sponsor of the tournament...
  
   – Raphael Division (with Bruce Lietzke
  Bruce Lietzke
  Bruce Alan Lietzke is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level.Lietzke was born in Kansas City, Kansas...
  
  )

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner-up
1981 1981 Open Championship The 1981 Open Championship was the 110th Open Championship held from 16-19 July at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Bill Rogers won his first major championship by four strokes over Bernhard Langer.-First round:-Second round:...	The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	5 shot lead	−4 (72–66–67–71=276)	4 strokes	Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion, and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 90s, being the first official number one ranked player in 1986...

Results timeline

Tournament	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T29	DNP
U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...	CUT	DNP	CUT	DNP	61	DNP	CUT	T44	T4
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	T42	T35

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986
The Masters	T33	T37	T38	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...	T16	T2	T3	CUT	57	WD	CUT
The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico...	T19	1	T22	T8	CUT	CUT	CUT
PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...	T8	T27	T29	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play

WD = Withdrew

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

• Walker Cup
  Walker Cup
  The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested biennially in odd numbered years between teams comprising the leading amateur golfers of the United States and Great Britain and Ireland...
  
  : 1973 (winners)

Professional

• Ryder Cup
  Ryder Cup
  The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
  
  : 1981
  1981 Ryder Cup
  The 24th Ryder Cup Matches were held at the Walton Heath Golf Club in Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey, England.The United States team won the competition by a score of 18½ to 9½ points. To date it remains the heaviest defeat that a European team has suffered at the hands of the United States.-Format:The...
  
  (winners)

External links