Remembering Golf Legends We Lost in 2024

Great characters as well as chroniclers of the game left us in 2024 but will never be forgotten.

Murray, Rodriguez and Oosterhuis. / USA Today (2), Dennis Oulds/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

One of golf’s greatest showmen, whose putter transformed into a sword after birdies.

A two-time major champion who lived to be 100.

A decorated amateur who also lived to be 100.

The soundtrack of a Sunday afternoon as one of the game’s great voices.

And two giants of golf journalism who artfully described what you saw on those Sunday afternoons.

Here are the men and women to whom the golf world bid farewell in 2024.

Jackie Burke Jr.: The two-time major-winner was the oldest living Masters champion when he died Jan. 19 just 10 days before his 101st birthday.

  
Malcolm Gregson: The Englishman who played in a Ryder Cup and won the season-long points race in 1967 on the European Tour was 80 (Jan. 24). 

Maurice Bembridge: His Sunday 64 at the 1974 Masters was the then-course record; the six-time European Tour winner from England was 79 (March 2).

Stephanie Sparks: The All-American at Duke who went on to become a Golf Channel host was 50 (April 13).

Ron Cerrudo: A two-time PGA Tour winner from California who spent his post-Tour days as a teaching professional in South Carolina, he was 79 (April 24).

Peter Oosterhuis: The Englishman was a two-time British Open runner-up and six-time Ryder Cupper before a long broadcasting career, mostly with CBS. He was 75 (May 2).

Jeanne Bisgood: The English amateur was a three-time winner of the English Women’s Amateur Championship and three-time Curtis Cup player. She was 100 (May 15).

Grayson Murray: The two-time PGA Tour winner won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January then was tragically gone four months later at age 30 (May 25).

Mark Carnevale: The 1992 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year at age 32 won once, then after playing became one of the more recognizable voices on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. He was 64 (July 22).

Chi Chi Rodriguez: The Puerto Rican was an excellent player (seven wins on the PGA Tour, 22 on the Senior PGA Tour) and an even greater showman, instantly recognizable for his putter-as-sword act following birdies. He was 88 (Aug. 8).

Ron Green Sr.: One of the great golf writers from the Carolinas, he spent more than a half-century on the golf beat and received the PGA of America’s Lifetime Achievement in Journalism award. He was 95 (Sept. 18).

Susie Maxwell Berning: The 11-time LPGA winner won four majors including three U.S. Women’s Opens with two coming back-to-back in 1972–73. She was 83 (Oct. 2).

Jeff Babineau: The longtime golf writer and Golfweek editor was also a former president of the Golf Writers Association of America. He was 62 (Dec. 9).

Phil Hancock: The Alabama native and PGA Tour winner who played on the 1973 Florida Gators national champion team alongside three other future Tour players was 71 (Dec. 12).