Phil Rodgers, one of the many outstanding golfers to come out of the San Diego area, died on Tuesday at his home in La Jolla after a 15-year battle with leukemia. He was 80.
Rodgers won six titles on the PGA Tour, beginning with the unofficial 1961 Sahara Pro-Am in Las Vegas.
His first official victory came by nine strokes in the 1962 Los Angeles Open at Rancho Park Golf Course, where he closed with a 62, and the last came in the 1966 Buick Open Invitational at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc, Mich.
Rodgers’ best finish in the major championships came when he lost a 36-hole playoff to Bob Charles of New Zealand in the 1963 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in Lancashire, England.
After playing several years on what was then the Senior PGA Tour, he became a golf instructor specializing in the short game.
No less than Jack Nicklaus credited Rodgers for making him a better player around the green later in his career, especially after a lesson before the Golden Bear captured the 1980 U.S. Open.
Golf Digest listed Rodgers among its Top 100 teachers for several years.
Rodgers was an All-American at the University of Houston and won the 1958 NCAA Championship, but didn’t turn pro until three years later because of a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps. He won several military events, including the All-Services Championship.
Rogers’ wife of 33 years, Karen, was at his side when he died.
