Miller Barber
Miller Westford Barber Jr. was an American professional golfer. He enjoyed significant success on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s, and a greater degree of success on the Senior PGA Tour in the 1980s.
Early life
Barber was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. He spent much of his life in Texarkana, Texas. Barber graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1954.Professional career
In 1958, he turned professional. He won his first PGA Tour event in 1964. He earned 11 career tour wins, but did not win a major championship. The closest he came was in 1969 at the U.S. Open at Houston, where he held a three-shot lead over the field after three rounds, but shot 78 in the last round to finish three shots behind winner Orville Moody. Earlier in April 1969, Barber entered the final round of the Masters Tournament two shots out of the lead and was paired in Sunday's final group with Billy Casper but shot a final round 74 and finished in 7th place. He played on the Ryder Cup team in 1969 and 1971, and in the latter year was ranked sixth on the McCormack rankings.In 1973, Barber won the longest regulation tournament in PGA Tour history. The World Open Golf Championship played at Pinehurst Country Club was a 144-hole affair. Barber won by three strokes over Ben Crenshaw.
Barber became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour around a year after it was founded. He was one of the dominant players on the tour throughout the 1980s, competing on even terms with players who had had much more distinguished earlier careers, such as Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer. His 24 wins on the tour included five senior majors, three of them U.S. Senior Opens.
Barber holds the record for combined PGA Tour and Champions Tour starts at 1,297.
Barber played with an unusual looped backswing/downswing, but squared up very consistently through impact. Several other PGA Tour players, including Jim Furyk, have had success with similar methods.
Death
Barber died June 11, 2013, at the age of 82 of lymphoma in Scottsdale, Arizona. Barber was survived by his wife of 43 years, Karen, and sons Larry and Richard and stepsons Casey, Doug, Brad.Professional wins (43)
PGA Tour wins (11)
PGA Tour playoff record| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 1964 | Pensacola Open Invitational |  Other wins (1)
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