Loren Roberts Explained

Loren Roberts
Fullname:	Loren Lloyd Roberts
Nickname:	Boss of the Moss
Birth Date:	24 June 1955
Birth Place:	San Luis Obispo, California, U.S.
Weight:	215lb
Residence:	Germantown, Tennessee, U.S.
College:	California Polytechnic State University
Yearpro:	1975
Tour:	PGA Tour Champions
Extour:	PGA Tour
Prowins:	26
Pgawins:	8
Champwins:	13
Seneurowins:	2
Masters:	T3: 2000
Usopen:	T2: 1994
Open:	T7: 2000
Pga:	T5: 1990
Award1:	Champions Tour Byron Nelson Award
Year1:	2006, 2007
Award2:	Champions Tour Charles Schwab Cup winner
Year2:	2007, 2009

Loren Lloyd Roberts (born June 24, 1955) is an American professional golfer, who has played on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions.

Early life

Roberts was born in San Luis Obispo, California. He competed for San Luis Obispo Senior High School and California Polytechnic State University. In 1975, he turned professional after his sophomore season due to the university's dropping its NCAA Division II golf team.

Professional career

In the late 1970s, Roberts worked for Dennis Pogue as an assistant pro at San Luis Obispo Golf and Country Club as well as Morro Bay Golf Course. He won the Foot-Joy PGA Assistant Professional Championship of 1979 and was second in 1980. The first professional tour where he briefly competed was the PGA Tour of Australasia, after his 1979 PGA victory.

On his fifth attempt, Roberts earned his PGA Tour card at the PGA Tour Qualification Tournament in 1980 for the 1981 season. He returned to the tournament in 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1987, earning his card every year except 1981. He did not get his first win on the PGA Tour until 1994 at age 38, yet it sparked a nine-season run of eight victories. His career earnings are over $15 million. He is known as "Boss of the Moss" for his putting skills. He has featured in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings.

Roberts' best finish in a major was tie for 2nd place at the 1994 U.S. Open. He contended in an 18-hole playoff with Ernie Els and Colin Montgomerie. Montgomerie was eliminated. An additional pair of sudden-death holes gave Els the title.^[1]

Roberts played for the United States in the 1995 Ryder Cup, 1994 and 2000 Presidents Cups, and 2001 UBS Warburg Cup. He was 3–1 at the Ryder Cup, 4-2-1 at the Presidents Cups, and 1–2 at the UBS Warburg Cup. Of the four team events, only the Ryder Cup team lost. He was a co-assistant captain for the 2006 Ryder Cup which was also defeated by the European team.

After concentrating on the Champions Tour in 2006, Roberts went without a PGA Tour card for the 2007 and 2008 seasons, passing on using his exemption for being among the top 50 in career earnings. He used the exemption for the 2009 season.

Senior career

In 2005, Roberts joined the Champions Tour. His first senior win came in his third event at the JELD-WEN Tradition, one of five senior majors. He defeated Dana Quigley in a two-hole sudden-death playoff.

In 2006, Roberts became the first golfer to open a Champions Tour season with three wins.^[2] Later that season he won his second senior major by beating Eduardo Romero in a playoff at the Senior British Open. He won the Byron Nelson Award for lowest average stroke total per round.

In 2009, he won his second Senior British Open title after beating Fred Funk and Mark McNulty in a playoff. He won a month later in August at the Boeing Classic, where he denied Mark O'Meara his first Champions Tour victory, defeating him by one stroke after making birdie on the final hole. The GWAA voted him Player of the Year.

He broke 54-hole tournament record for lowest score in relationship to par (25-under) and most birdies (26) as well as sharing lowest score (191). The marks were set largely due to scoring a career-best 61 in the final round of his 2006 MasterCard Championship at Hualalai win.

Other achievements

Roberts hosts the annual Loren Roberts Celebrity Pro-Am in May at Spring Creek Ranch in Collierville, Tennessee. Its first year was 1995. The benefitting charity is Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center of Memphis, Tennessee.

Roberts was named Professional co-Athlete of the Year by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1995 and 2007.^[3] He was inducted into the Cal Poly-SLO Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998.^[4] The Tennessee Golf Foundation inducted him into the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame in 2006.^[5] He has been a resident of Germantown, Tennessee, since the 1980s.

Roberts wrote Focus: The Name of the Game with fellow PGA Tour golfers Scott Simpson and Larry Mize. The 128-page book was published by J. Countryman in 1999.

Professional wins (25)

PGA Tour wins (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Mar 20, 1994		−13 (70-70-68-67=275)	1 stroke	Nick Price, Vijay Singh, Fuzzy Zoeller
2	Mar 19, 1995	Nestle Invitational (2)	−16 (68-65-68-71=272)	2 strokes	Brad Faxon
3	Apr 21, 1996	MCI Classic	−19 (66-69-63-67=265)	3 strokes	Mark O'Meara
4	Sep 1, 1996	Greater Milwaukee Open	−19 (66-65-66-68=265)	Playoff	Jerry Kelly
5	Sep 14, 1997	CVS Charity Classic	−18 (67-67-68-64=266)	1 stroke	Bill Glasson
6	May 16, 1999	GTE Byron Nelson Classic	−18 (66-66-62-68=262)	Playoff	Steve Pate
7	Jul 16, 2000	Greater Milwaukee Open (2)	−24 (65-66-63-66=260)	8 strokes	Franklin Langham
8	Sep 29, 2002	Valero Texas Open	−19 (67-63-67-64=261)	3 strokes	Fred Couples, Fred Funk, Garrett Willis

PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1994	U.S. Open	Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie	Els won with par on second extra hole after 18-hole playoff; Els: +3 (74), Roberts: +3 (74), Montgomerie: +7 (78)
2	1996		Jerry Kelly	Won with birdie on first extra hole
3	1999	GTE Byron Nelson Classic	Steve Pate	Won with par on first extra hole

Other wins (5)

This list may be incomplete.

1979 Foot-Joy PGA Assistant Professional Championship
1992 Ben Hogan Pebble Beach Invitational
1997 Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational
1999 Tennessee Open
2010 Straight Down Fall Classic (with Michael Rowley)

Champions Tour wins (13)

Legend
Champions Tour major championships (4)
Other Champions Tour (9)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Aug 28, 2005	JELD-WEN Tradition	−15 (67-69-70-67=273)	Playoff	Dana Quigley
2	Jan 22, 2006	MasterCard Championship	−25 (63-67-61=191)	1 stroke	Don Pooley
3	Jan 29, 2006	Turtle Bay Championship	−12 (66-66-72=204)	2 strokes	Scott Simpson
4	Feb 19, 2006	ACE Group Classic	−14 (67-66-69=202)	1 stroke	R. W. Eaks, Brad Bryant
5	Jul 30, 2006	The Senior British Open Championship	−6 (65-65-69-75=274)	Playoff	Eduardo Romero
6	Jun 3, 2007	Boeing Championship at Sandestin	−16 (65-67-65=197)	3 strokes	Eduardo Romero
7	Oct 7, 2007	Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship	−13 (67-66-67-67=267)	6 strokes	Tom Watson
8	Jun 29, 2008	Commerce Bank Championship	−12 (65-68-68=201)	1 stroke	Nick Price, Lonnie Nielsen
9		ACE Group Classic (2)	−7 (70-71-68=209)	1 stroke	Gene Jones
10	Jul 26, 2009	The Senior Open Championship (2)	−12 (66-68-67-67=268)	Playoff	Fred Funk, Mark McNulty
11	Aug 31, 2009	Boeing Classic	−18 (68-65-65=198)	1 stroke	Mark O'Meara
12	Jun 27, 2010	Dick's Sporting Goods Open	−15 (68-68-65=201)	1 stroke	Fred Funk
13	Mar 18, 2012	Toshiba Classic	−8 (66-70-69=205)	2 strokes	Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Kite, Bernhard Langer

Champions Tour playoff record (3–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	2005	JELD-WEN Tradition	Dana Quigley	Won with bogey on second extra hole
2	2006	The Senior British Open Championship	Eduardo Romero	Won with par on first extra hole
3	2007	AT&T Classic	Tom Purtzer	Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
4	2008	AT&T Champions Classic	Brad Bryant, Denis Watson	Watson won with birdie on third extra hole Bryant eliminated by birdie on second hole
5	2009	The Senior Open Championship	Fred Funk, Mark McNulty	Won with par on third extra hole Funk eliminated by birdie on first hole

Results in major championships

Tournament	1985	1987	1989
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	T34	CUT	CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	CUT		T34

Tournament	1990	1991	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament		CUT		T5	T24	T23	CUT		CUT
U.S. Open		T49	T11	T2	WD	T40	T13	T18
The Open Championship				T24	CUT	T18	CUT	T29
PGA Championship	T5	T27	T28	T9	T58	CUT	T49	T65	CUT

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2007	2010
Masters Tournament	T3	T37		T33
U.S. Open	T8	T52		T42
The Open Championship	T7	T13	T28				CUT	CUT
PGA Championship	T58	CUT	T43	T7	T17	CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Tournament	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
	0	1	2	2	4	9	6
	1	0	1	2	5	13	10
	0	0	0	1	4	10	6
PGA Championship	0	0	1	3	4	17	12
Totals	1	1	4	8	17	49	34

Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (1991 U.S. Open – 1995 Masters)
Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (2000 Masters – 2000 Open Championship)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Match Play	R16	R64			R64	R32	R64
Championship	T40		NT¹		T16
Invitational		14	T29	T28

¹Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Senior major championships

Wins (4)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
2005		−15 (67-69-70-67=273)	Playoff	Dana Quigley
2006	The Senior Open Championship	−6 (65-65-69-75=274)	Playoff	Eduardo Romero
2007		−13 (67-66-67-67=267)	6 strokes	Tom Watson
2009	The Senior Open Championship (2)	−12 (66-68-67-67=268)	Playoff	Fred Funk, Mark McNulty

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2017.

Tournament	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2014	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
The Tradition	1	T14	T4	T7	T5	T15	3	T25	T22	T31	WD		T34	WD		NT
Senior PGA Championship	–	5	T12	T49	T28	T15	T8	T12	T47	WD	CUT		T46			NT
U.S. Senior Open	T2	T8	3	T12	T4	T20	T17	T36	T14	T20	CUT	T9	CUT		CUT	NT
Senior Players Championship		T3	1	T21	T3	3	T28	T38	56	T22	T29	T20	T26		T46	T62
Senior British Open Championship	5	1	T4		1	T14		T27			CUT			T50		NT

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

U.S. national team appearances