Joe Conrad

{{Short description|American golfer (1930–2018)}} {{Other uses|Joseph Conrad (disambiguation)}} {{use mdy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox golfer | name = Joe Conrad | image = | image_size = | caption = | fullname = Joseph William Conrad | nickname = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|3|14}} | birth_place = San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2018|12|12|1930|3|14}} | death_place = San Antonio, Texas, U.S. | height = | weight = | nationality = {{USA}} | residence = | spouse = | partner = | children = | college = North Texas State | yearpro = 1956 | extour = PGA Tour | prowins =  | otherwins =  | majorwins =  | masters = T18: 1955 | usopen = CUT: 1952, 1953, 1954, 1959,1964 | open = T22: 1955 | pga = T44: 1964 | wghofid =  | wghofyear =  | award1 = | year1 = | awardssection =  }} '''Joseph William Conrad''' (March 14, 1930 – December 12, 2018) was an American professional golfer. He had a successful amateur career, playing in the 1955 Walker Cup and winning the 1955 Amateur Championship. He turned professional at the end of 1956 but had limited success as a tournament professional.

==Amateur career== Conrad had early successes as an amateur winning the Mexican Amateur in 1950 and the Texas Amateur in 1951.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://gsrpdf.lib.msu.edu/ticpdf.py?file=/1950s/1953/531117.pdf |title=The Development of Mexican Golf |newspaper=USGA Journal and Turf Management |date=November 1953 |page=17}}</ref> He attended North Texas State, playing in the team that won the NCAA Men's Golf Championship in 1950, 1951 and 1952.<ref name=tghof>{{cite web |url=https://texasgolfhof.org/texas-golf/joe-conrad |title=Joe Conrad |publisher=Texas Golf Hall of Fame |accessdate=May 14, 2019}}</ref> He had further successes, winning the Southern Amateur and Trans-Mississippi Amateur in 1953 and the Southern Amateur for a second time in 1954. He was selected for the Americas Cup team in 1954.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://gsrpdf.lib.msu.edu/ticpdf.py?file=/1950s/1954/540709.pdf |title=The Americas Cup Team |newspaper=USGA Journal and Turf Management |date=July 1954 |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://gsrpdf.lib.msu.edu/ticpdf.py?file=/1950s/1954/540911.pdf |title=Hands Across the Tee |newspaper=USGA Journal and Turf Management |date=September 1954 |page=11 |first=Joseph C. |last=Dey Jr.}}</ref>

In January 1955, Conrad was selected for the Walker Cup team on the Old Course at St Andrews.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_UZAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bFkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4267%2C2764800 |title=American Walker Cup selection |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |date=January 31, 1955 |page=4}}</ref> He won his foursomes match but lost in the singles to David Blair by 1 hole, although the United States still won the match by 10 matches to 2. The Amateur Championship was played at Royal Lytham soon after the Walker Cup. Conrad met Alan Slater in the final. Conrad led by 4 holes after the first round but Slater reduced the deficit to 1 hole with 9 to play before Conrad won two holes to win 3 & 2.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=snVDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZVkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4092%2C4196898 |title=Unavailing rally by Englishman |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |date=June 6, 1955 |page=9}}</ref> The following week he lost in the semi-final of the French Amateur championship to Henri de Lamaze.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=t3VDAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZVkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6687%2C4981818 |title=French Finalists |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |date=June 11, 1956 |page=4}}</ref> Conrad stayed on to play in the 1955 Open Championship on the Old Course. He qualified well, tying for 4th place, but in the Open itself he only just made the cut after a second round 76, one of three amateurs to make the cut. Rounds of 74 and 71 on the final day lifted him into a tie for 22nd place and he won the Silver Medal as the leading amateur.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SD9AAAAAIBAJ&sjid=d1kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6360%2C951254 |work=The Glasgow Herald |title=P.W. Thomson's second victory |date=July 9, 1955 |page=5}}</ref>

In 1956 Conrad travelled to Troon, Scotland to defend his Amateur Championship title. He reached the quarter-finals before losing to Reid Jack by 1 hole.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9ZxAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gJgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6462%2C4048435 |title=Defeat of Amateur Holder by Scottish Champion |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |date=June 1, 1956 |page=4}}</ref> Later in the year he also made his second appearance in the Americas Cup.<ref name=r1956a>{{cite journal |url=https://gsrpdf.lib.msu.edu/ticpdf.py?file=/1950s/1956/561105.pdf |title=Good Feelings Fill the Americas Cup |newspaper=USGA Journal and Turf Management |date=November 1956 |page=5}}</ref>

==Professional career== Conrad turned professional at the end of 1956 and played on the PGA tour for two seasons.<ref name=tghof/> He had a top-20 finish in the 1957 Colonial National Invitation and played in the 1957 Masters Tournament.<ref>{{cite news |title=Vicenzo Wins Colonial Golf |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zt4NAAAAIBAJ&sjid=AXYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4651,2987272&dq=colonial+golf&hl=en |newspaper=St. Petersburg Times |location=St. Petersburg, Florida |agency=Associated Press |date=May 6, 1957 |page=14A |accessdate=May 22, 2010 }}</ref><ref name=tghof/> Conrad received an invitation for the 1957 Masters as an Amateur Championship winner but from 1958 winners of the U.S. Amateur and Amateur Championships no longer received invitations if they turned professional, unless they qualified in a different category.

==Amateur wins== *1950 Mexican Amateur *1951 Texas Amateur *1953 Southern Amateur, Trans-Mississippi Amateur *1954 Southern Amateur *1955 Amateur Championship

==Results in major championships== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;" !Tournament ! 1952 !! 1953 !! 1954 !! 1955 !! 1956 !! 1957 !! 1958 !! 1959 !! 1960 !! 1961 !! 1962 !! 1963 !! 1964 !! 1965 !! 1966 !! 1967 !! 1968 |- |align=left|Masters Tournament |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |T18 |T61 |CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |- |align=left|U.S. Open |CUT |CUT |CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |CUT |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |- |align=left|The Open Championship |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |T22LA |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |- |align=left|PGA Championship |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |T44 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |64 |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |CUT |} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} LA = Low amateur CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

==U.S. national team appearances== '''Amateur''' *Walker Cup: 1955 (winners) *Americas Cup: 1954 (winners), 1956 (winners)

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{PGA Tour player}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad, Joe}} Category:American male golfers Category:North Texas Mean Green men's golfers Category:PGA Tour golfers Category:Golfers from San Antonio Category:1930 births Category:2018 deaths Category:20th-century American sportsmen