Billy Casper, one of the most prolific winners on the PGA Tour who was overshadowed at the height of his career by the “Big Three,” died Saturday at his home in Utah. He was 83.
Bob Casper said his father died quickly and peacefully with wife Shirley at his bedside. They had been married 62 years. Casper passed out in the clubhouse at the Masters last year, had work on his heart and recovered from a bout of pneumonia over Thanksgiving. His son said Casper was going to cardio rehab for the last four months and was doing well until he started to feel badly in the last week.
In any other era, Casper might have commanded more attention than he did.
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“Gene was so much better than me. I never beat him as a teenager,” Casper told Golf Digest in the 2012 interview. “But I had a lot of inner confidence. I had such a tie with my eyes and my hands. I could look at a telephone pole 40 yards away, take out a 7-iron and hit it 10 times in a row. I had something special. And somehow, I really understood the game, all without having a lot of guidance.”
Casper won the PGA Tour money title twice and was player of the year in 1966 and 1970. He won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average five times and still holds the American record in the Ryder Cup for most points. He played on eight teams and was the winning captain in 1969.
