 |
Rosburg ' whose career also included a pair of runner-up finishes in the U.S. Open and a 2-0 Ryder Cup record before he became a staple as a roving analyst for ABCs golf telecasts ' fell in a restaurant earlier this week in California and was put on a ventilator.
Bob Rosburg was a staple on the course for ABC Sports. (Getty Images)
Im going to be OK, Rosburg told Golf Magazine in March 2008. I probably wont be playing anymore, but I played long enough.
Rosburg, known as Rossie by his colleagues, was hired by ABC Sports in 1974. Instead of sitting in a tower, the network decided it needed a golfer to call the action from the course. Today, every network has on-course reporters.
Rosburg was famous for responding to questions about a particular shot by saying, Hes got no chance.
I havent said, Hes got no chance in four years, Rosburg said in a 2002 article for Golf Digest magazine. I have nothing against the expression. Its just that players nowadays always have a chance.
Rosburg grew up in San Francisco playing golf at The Olympic Club, where at age 12 he defeated Ty Cobb in the club championship. He played baseball and golf at Stanford, then turned to golf in 1953.
He won his first PGA Tour event a year later, beating Bo Wininger by one shot in the 1954 Miami Open. His last victory came in 1972 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
His biggest victory came at the 1959 PGA Championship when he rallied from six shots behind at Minneapolis Golf Club to beat Jerry Barber and Doug Sanders for his only major.
There will be no arrangements according to the wishes of the family.
Associated Press contributed to this story.