Miller Westford Barber Jr. (March 31, 1931 – June 11, 2013) was an American professional golfer who enjoyed significant success on the PGA Tour in the 1960s and 1970s, and a greater degree of success on the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) in the 1980s.
Career
Barber was born in Shreveport, Louisiana.[1] He spent much of his life in Texarkana, Texas. He graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1954, turned professional four years later, and won his first PGA Tour event in 1964. He earned 11 career tour wins, but did not win a major championship. The closest he came was in 1969 at the U.S. Open at Houston, where he held a three-shot lead over the field after three rounds, but shot 78 in the last round to finish three shots behind winner Orville Moody. Earlier in April 1969, Barber entered the final round of the Masters Tournament two shots out of the lead and was paired in Sunday's final group with Billy Casper but shot a final round 74 (which included a birdie from under a tree on the 72nd hole) and finished in 7th place. He played on the Ryder Cup team in 1969 and 1971, and in the latter year was ranked sixth on the McCormack rankings.
Barber became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour around a year after it was founded. He was one of the dominant players on the tour throughout the 1980s, competing on even terms with players who had had much more distinguished earlier careers, such as Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer. His 24 wins on the tour included five senior majors, three of them U.S. Senior Opens.
Barber holds the record for combined PGA Tour and Champions Tour starts at 1,297.[1]
Barber played with an unusual looped backswing/downswing, but squared up very consistently through impact. Several other PGA Tour players, including Jim Furyk, have had success with similar methods.
Death
Barber died June 11, 2013, at the age of 82 of lymphoma in Scottsdale, Arizona.[1][2] Barber was survived by his wife of 43 years, Karen,[3] and sons Larry and Richard and stepsons Casey, Doug, Brad.[3][4]
