CHARLOTTE – (Wire Service Report) – Britain’s Peter Oosterhuis, whose voice became synonymous with the finishing holes at The Masters, died on Thursday, one day shy of his 76th birthday.
A force in Ryder Cup play and two-time runner-up at The Open Championship, Oosterhuis was more recently a broadcasting mainstay in CBS’ coverage of The Masters’ 17th hole. He was part of televised Masters coverage from 1997-2014 following roles as golf director at Riviera Country Club near Los Angeles and Forsgate Country Club in New Jersey.
Oosterhuis ranked No. 1 in Europe for four years during a prolific rise to prominence that eventually brought him to the PGA Tour.
The London-born Oosterhuis was DP World Tour Rookie of the Year in 1969 and on the top player award on tour for four consecutive seasons (1971-74). In addition to three Southern Africa Tour titles he won seven DP World Tour titles and became a full-time PGA Tour participant in 1975 as one of the first international players to assume a spot on the US-based tour.
Oosterhuis won 20 tournaments around the globe and never declined an invitation to represent Great Britain.
He remains tied for the all-time lead in singles victories in Ryder Cup play with six. He participated in the Ryder Cup six times.
Among his near-misses at majors were a one-shot defeat to Tom Watson at the Open Championship in Royal Troon in 1982 and a tied for third at the Masters in 1973 after leading for the first three rounds. The final round was played Monday due to weather issues and Tommy Arnold claimed his only major title, beating J.C. Snead by one shot.
His breakthrough PGA Tour win was the 1981 Canadian Open, a one-shot victory in Toronto over runners up Bruce Lietzke, Andy North and Jack Nicklaus. His Masters tie in ’73 included Nicklaus.
Oosterhuis announced his retirement from broadcasting in the summer of 2014 due to the diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s.
–Field Level Media