Rodney Curl is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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;...

 best known for being the first full-blooded Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 to win a 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...

 event.

Curl was born in Redding, California

Redding, California

Redding is a city in far-Northern California. It is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA. With a population of 89,861, according to the 2010 Census...

. He is a Wintu

Wintu

The Wintu are Native Americans who live in what is now Northern California. They are part of a loose association of peoples known collectively as the Wintun . Others are the Nomlaki and the Patwin...

 Indian; his Indian name "Yoso" means Johnny comes from behind. Before taking up golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 at age 19, he was an outstanding baseball player at Central Valley High School in Shasta County, California

Shasta County, California

Shasta County is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The county occupies the northern reaches of the Sacramento Valley, with portions extending into the southern reaches of the Cascade Range. As of the 2010 census, the population was 177,223, up from 163,256...

. He was scouted by the San Francisco Giants as a left-handed pitching prospect.

Curl joined the PGA Tour in 1969 and played regularly through 1978. He had 42 top-10 finishes in official PGA Tour events including one win and a half-dozen second and third place finishes. He beat Jack Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus

Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...

 to win the 1974 Colonial National Invitation by one stroke after Nicklaus made a bogey on the 17th hole.

Curl played in a limited number of 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...

 events after reaching the age of 50 in 1993. He has two sons who are professional golfers. Rod Curl, Jr. is a club pro in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. Jeff Curl plays on the Tar Heel Tour and won the 2004 and 2006 Emerald Lake Classic. Curl lives in Jupiter, Florida

Jupiter, Florida

Jupiter is a town located in Palm Beach County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,328. The estimate population for 2009 is 50,606. As of 2006, the population had grown to 50,028, according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research....

 and is a corporate instructor with VIP Golf Academy.

PGA Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner-up
1	May 19, 1974 1974 PGA Tour The 1974 PGA Tour season was played from January 3 to November 3. The season consisted of 44 official money events. Johnny Miller won the most tournaments, eight, including the first three events. There were 10 first-time winners. The tournament results and award winners are listed...	Colonial National Invitational Colonial National Invitational The Colonial National Invitation was a men's tennis tournament played in Fort Worth, Texas from 1962-1973. The event was part of the WCT Tour from 1971-1973 and was held on outdoor hard courts.-Men's singles:-Doubles:-References:*...	-4 (70-67-71-68=276)	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus , nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. He won 18 career major championships on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years and is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional golfers of all time. In addition to his 18 Majors, he was runner-up a...

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