Peter Arthur Oosterhuis (3 May 1948 – 2 May 2024) was an English professional golfer and golf broadcaster. Oosterhuis played on the European circuit from 1969 to 1974, winning 10 tournaments and taking the Harry Vardon Trophy for heading the Order of Merit for four consecutive seasons from 1971 to 1974. From 1975 he played on the PGA Tour, winning the Canadian Open in 1981. He was twice runner-up in the Open Championship, in 1974 and 1982. Later he became a golf analyst on TV, initially in Europe and then in the United States. In 2015, Oosterhuis announced that he had Alzheimer’s disease
Peter Oosterhuis
Personal information
Full name
Peter Arthur Oosterhuis
Nickname
Oosty
Born
3 May 1948
Lambeth, London, England
Died
2 May 2024 (aged 75)
Height
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight
230 lb (100 kg; 16 st)
Sporting nationality
England
Residence
Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Spouse
Valerie, Ruth Ann
Children
2
Career
Turned professional
1968
Former tour(s)
PGA Tour
European Tour
Southern Africa Tour
Professional wins
28
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour
1
European Tour
7
Sunshine Tour
3
Other
17
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament
T3: 1973
PGA Championship
T22: 1982
U.S. Open
T7: 1975
The Open Championship
2nd/T2: 1974, 1982
Achievements and awards
Harry Vardon Trophy/
European Tour
Order of Merit winner 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
Sir Henry Cotton
Rookie of the Year 196
Amateur career
Oosterhuis won the 1966 Berkshire Trophy by a stroke from Michael Bonallack, after a final round 67 which included nine 3s in 11 holes, with seven 3s in succession.[1] Later in 1966 he won the British Youths Open Amateur Championship by four strokes.[2] In 1968 Oosterhuis was a runner-up in the Golf Illustrated Gold Vase behind Michael Bonallack and tied with Ted Dexter.[3]
Oosterhuis was a regular competitor for English and British teams at the boys (under-18) and youth (under-21) levels. He made his senior debut for England in the 1966 Home Internationals.[4] Oosterhuis represented Great Britain in the 1967 Walker Cup. Playing with Ronnie Shade in the foursomes they halved one match and won the other. However, Oosterhuis lost both his singles matches.[5] He also played in the 1968 Eisenhower Trophy where Great Britain and Ireland won the silver medal. Great Britain and Ireland led the United States by 7 strokes after three rounds, but the Americans scored 73, 73 and 75 in the final round to Great Britain and Ireland’s 76, 76, and 77 to win by a stroke.[6] Oosterhuis turned professional in November 1968.[7]
Jacklin.[34] In September he played in the Ryder Cup, having led the points list.[35] As in 1971, he again played well in his singles matches, halving with Lee Trevino and beating Arnold Palmer.[21] Oosterhuis was selected to the two-man English team for the 1973 World Cup, to be played in November in Spain. Shortly before the tournament Oosterhuis withdrew because his wife was ill.[36]
In March and April 1974, Oosterhuis played three events on the PGA Tour, including the Masters.[30] The week after the Masters he was runner-up in the Monsanto Open, where he lost at the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff to Lee Elder. It was Elder’s first win on the PGA Tour.[37] Oosterhuis won three more European Tour events in 1974: the French Open and the last two tournaments of the season, the Italian Open and El Paraiso Open.[25] In addition he was runner-up in five other events, including the Open Championship, and was third in three more, finishing outside the top three only twice during the European Tour season.[25] He won the Order of Merit for the fourth time, nearly 600 points ahead of second-place Dale Hayes.[38] In November, Oosterhuis played in the 1974 PGA Tour Qualifying School in Palm Springs, California. Oosterhuis easily qualified, finishing in fourth place, three strokes behind the winner Fuzzy Zoeller
Broadcasting career
edit
In 1994, Oosterhuis was hired to cover the PGA Tour by Britain’s Sky Sports and covered the Open Championship for the BBC in 1996 and 1997. From 1995 to 1997, he was the lead analyst for the Golf Channel’s coverage of the European Tour.
In 1997, Oosterhuis joined the CBS Sports announcer team part-time, working five events including the Masters and the PGA Championship. In 1998, he joined the CBS golf team full-time. Oosterhuis has also worked on early-round coverage when CBS was covering the weekend, fulfilling this role for ESPN (2003–2006), Golf Channel (1998–2002, 2007–2014), and USA Network (1997–2007). In 2010, Oosterhuis began to work part-time for CBS, again calling about five events per year including the Masters and PGA Championship. Oosterhuis retired from broadcasting following the 2014 PGA Championship due to health concerns stemming from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Oosterhuis called the action at Augusta National’s par 4 17th hole for 18 straight years from 1997 through 2014.
