Al Besselink

Albert Cornelius Besselink (June 10, 1923 – April 10, 2017) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and 1960s.

Al Besselink
Personal information
Full nameAlbert Cornelius Besselink
NicknameBessie
Born(1923-06-10)June 10, 1923[1]
Merchantville, New Jersey, U.S.
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight220 lb (100 kg; 16 st)
Nationality United States
SpouseJo Ann Stillwagon
Career
CollegeUniversity of Miami
Turned professional1949
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins18
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour5[2]
Other13
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT3: 1952
PGA ChampionshipT33: 1956, 1957, 1964
U.S. OpenT6: 1951
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Besselink grew up in Merchantville, New Jersey.[3] He attended the University of Miami and was the first UM golfer to win a national tournament. He won the Southern Intercollegiate Championship twice before graduating in 1949.[4] He turned pro later that year.

Besselink won five PGA Tour events including the inaugural Tournament of Champions in 1953. The field was made up of 20 professionals, all tournament winners in the prior twelve months. With a six-foot par putt on the 18th hole, he finished with a 280, beating Chandler Harper by one stroke. Besselink was paid off with a wheelbarrow filled with silver dollars. He also had bet $500 on himself at 25 to 1, earning another $12,500.[5] Because he had just heard that Babe Zaharias had been diagnosed with cancer he donated half of his $10,000 first prize to the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund. Besselink and Zaharias had won the International Two-Ball Championship at Orlando in February 1952.[6]

He was called "Bessie" by the other tour players and was known for living life with a gambler's recklessness and a showman's flair.[7] One famous example of his showmanship occurred during the third round of the 1965 Colonial National Invitation in Fort Worth when Besselink played the final four holes of his third round with a red rose—plucked from a bush at the 15th hole—between his teeth. Afterward, Besselink said the gesture was a nod to the "loveliness of Texas women in general and Fort Worth women in particular." The next day, locker room attendants presented Besselink with 50 roses sent by female fans.

In 2016, it was reported that Besselink, then aged 93, was living in a one-storey care home in South Florida. He was by then using a wheelchair and suffering from severe memory loss.[8]

Amateur wins
  • 1948 Southern Intercollegiate Championship
  • 1949 Southern Intercollegiate Championship

Professional wins (18)

PGA Tour wins (5)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 Jul 27, 1952 Sioux City Open −22 (65-70-67-64=266) 4 strokes Jerry Barber
2 Apr 26, 1953 Tournament of Champions −8 (72-68-68-72=280) 1 stroke Chandler Harper
3 May 26, 1957 Kansas City Open −9 (70-67-67-75=279) 3 strokes George Bayer, Dow Finsterwald
4 Dec 1, 1957 Venezuela Open −1 (70-67-69-73=279) Playoff Bob Rosburg
5 Mar 30, 1964 Azalea Open −6 (70-65-72-75=282) 1 stroke Lionel Hebert

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1957 Agua Caliente Open Ed Furgol Lost to par on second extra hole
2 1957 Venezuela Open Bob Rosburg Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (13)

Results in major championships
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Masters Tournament T20 T3 9 T9 T63
U.S. Open T12 T6 CUT CUT WD CUT CUT
PGA Championship R64 R64 CUT
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT
PGA Championship T39 63 CUT T33 CUT CUT

Note: Besselink never played in The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = withdrew
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00113455
U.S. Open000012102
The Open Championship00000000
PGA Championship00000095
Totals0011462412
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (1950 U.S. Open – 1952 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (four times)

References
  1. "Conlin". The Sacramento Bee. April 26, 1981. p. 42.
  2. PGA Tour 2000 Official Media Guide of the PGA Tour. PGA Tour. November 2000. pp. 6–17.
  3. "Besselink Posts 65 for 135 Total to Gain One-Stroke Margin in Azalea Golf; Gajda is Second in $20,000 Event Besselink Gets 8 Birdies in Gaining Lead -- Four Tied for Third Place", The New York Times, March 29, 1964. Accessed November 26, 2007.
  4. "Al Besselink 1946 to 1949". University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame official site. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  5. Myers, Bob (April 27, 1953). "Besselink Grabs $10,000 Prize In Champs' Tourney". The Charlotte Observer. North Carolina. AP. p. 16 – via newspapers.com.
  6. "Besselink, Zaharias Win At Orlando". The Atlanta Constitution. Georgia. AP. February 25, 1952. p. 11 – via newspapers.com.
  7. "Whoa, Bessie". Golfonline.com. Archived from the original on March 13, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2006.
  8. From the Mag: Catching up with Al ‘Bessie’ Besselink
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