Gay Brewer Jr., who captured the 1967 Masters among 11 career Tour victories, died Aug. 31, at his residence in Lexington, Ky., after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 75.
Brewer, who was elected to PGA membership in Decmber 1961, solidified his name in golf history with his Masters triumph. He posted a final-round 67 to finish one stroke ahead of his playing partner, Bobby Nichols, the 1964 PGA Champion. Brewer’s final score of 280 was four strokes better than Bert Yancey’s and five better than Arnold Palmer.
Gay Brewer
Brewer won more than the coveted green jacket with his victory. He also won redemption.
The previous year at the Masters, he had stood on the 18th green at Augusta National needing only to make a six-foot par putt to win the tournament. He missed, dropping into a three-way tie with Jack Nicklaus and Tommy Jacobs. In the 18-hole playoff the next day, he faded with a 78 to finish eight strokes behind Nicklaus.
To add to his disappointment, Brewer traveled the next week to Las Vegas for the Tournament of Champions and lost in another playoff, this time by four strokes to Palmer.
The losses made Brewer realize that he needed to pay more attention to the mental aspects of the game, and he said he turned to Norman Vincent Peale’s Power of Positive Thinking to bolster his confidence. He even scanned sections of the book moments before stepping out onto the course for his final round of the 1967 Masters.
Born on March 19, 1932, in Middletown, Ohio, Brewer grew up in Lexington, Ky.
A premier high school golfer, Brewer won the United States Junior Championship in 1949. He continued his amateur career at the University of Kentucky, but not on a golf scholarship because the university did not offer them.
Instead, he joined the golf team on a football scholarship arranged by then-Kentucky Coach Bear Bryant, who gave Brewer a tryout as a holder for the place-kicker.
Brewer joined the PGA Tour in 1956. A long hitter who bore a passing resemblance to Babe Ruth, he had an unusual swing — the result of a broken elbow sustained as a child — that made it difficult to consistently play well.
After five disappointing seasons, he finally emerged in 1961 with three tour victories and earnings of more than $31,000, good for seventh place on the money-winners list. He also won multiple tournaments in 1965 and 1967.
He was a solid contender in the U.S. Open from 1962 through 1973, finishing in the top 10 five times. In all, he had 12 top-10 finishes in major tournaments. He also was a member of the 1967 and 1973 U.S. Ryder Cup Team, finishing with a 5-3-1 overall record.
His final PGA Tour victory came in 1972 at the Canadian Open, and his final professional win was in 1984 at the Citizens Union Senior Golf Classic. He retired from the Champions Tour in 2000.
Among the elite of golf paying final tribute to Brewer is his longtime friend, Nichols and Billy Casper, who will serve as pallbearers at Brewer’s funeral.
Funeral services for Brewer are scheduled for 2 p.m., Sept. 5, at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home in Lexington with burial in Lexington Cemetery.
Contributions are suggested to the Gay Brewer Golf Scholarship Fund Kentucky Golf Association, Attn: Mark Hill, 1116 Elmore Just Drive, Louisville, KY 40245; Hospice of the Bluegrass, 2312 Alexandria Dive, Lexington, KY 40504 or to a charity of one’s choice.
Brewer was the son of the late Robert Gay Brewer, Sr. and Evalee Trent Brewer, He was preceded in death by his wife, Carole Lee Collins Brewer.
Survivors include his fiancee Alma Jo McGuire, Lexington; two daughters, Erin (Steve) Provence, Newport Beach, Calif., and Kelly (Mike) Allen, Crestwood, Ky.; two brothers, J. C. (Linda) Brewer and Larry (Vicki) Brewer, both of Lexington; two sisters, Judy (Bill) Cumby, Lexington, and Mabel (Bill) Peeples, Orange Park, Fla.; four grandchildren, Ryan Robert Provence, Hali Marie Provence, Matthew Trent Allen and Ava Ann Allen. He was also preceded in death by a sister, Christine Hall, and a brother, Fred Brewer.
Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. Wednesday at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home - Harrodsburg Road. Burial will follow in the Lexington Cemetery.
