John Fought

John Fought III (born January 28, 1954) is an American golf course architect and professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour.

John Fought
Personal information
Full name	John Fought III
Born	(1954-01-28) January 28, 1954 (age 71) Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	230 lb (100 kg; 16 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Career
College	Brigham Young University
Turned professional	1977
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	4
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	2
Other	2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	T33: 1980
PGA Championship	5th: 1983
U.S. Open	T50: 1976
The Open Championship	DNP
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour Rookie of the Year 1979

Amateur career

Fought (rhymes with "boat") was born in Portland, Oregon. His grandmother started him playing golf at age 7.^[1] Fought attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he was a distinguished member of the golf team for four years; he helped the Cougars win four titles at the Cougar Classic, four WAC Championships, and 29 tournament titles overall during his college career. At the end of 1976 Fought was ranked the #6 amateur in the country by Golf Digest.^[2] Fought was eventually ranked number one by Golf Digest and won the 1977 U.S. Amateur.^[3] He played on the 1976 Eisenhower Trophy and 1977 Walker Cup teams.

Professional career

He turned professional in 1977 and joined the PGA Tour in 1978. Fought played on the PGA Tour full-time from 1979–1985. He has a dozen top-10 finishes including two back-to-back wins in September 1979. He received the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award in 1979. His best finish in a major was a solo 5th at the 1983 PGA Championship.^[4] Injuries to his back and neck in the mid-1980s forced him to retire from full-time tour play. Since then, he has played in a limited number of Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour events.

Fought established a second career as a golf course architect beginning in the late 1980s, founding John Fought Design in Scottsdale, Arizona. Early in this phase of his career, he worked with Bob Cupp Design before starting his own firm in the 1990s. His award-winning designs have included Pumpkin Ridge in North Plains, Oregon, Centennial Golf Course, Oregon, The Reserve Vineyards & Golf Club also in Oregon, and a restoration of an original Donald Ross design at Pine Needles Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Other John Fought designs or collaborations include The Gallery Golf Club North and South courses in Tucson (the North course hosted the 2000 Tucson Open and the South course hosted the WGC Match Play in 2007 and 2008). Fought also is responsible for the 2008 redesign of the Dogwood and Azalea courses at The Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi which has hosted the Sanderson Farms Championship on the PGA Tour since 2014. Fought and his wife Mary have three children.^[5]

Amateur wins

• 1975 Pacific Coast Amateur
• 1977 U.S. Amateur, Trans-Mississippi Amateur, Broadmoor Invitational
• Sun Devil Classic
• LDS All-Church Championships
• British Universities Amateur Federation

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Sep 16, 1979	Buick-Goodwrench Open	−8 (71-72-68-69=280)	Playoff	Jim Simons
2	Sep 23, 1979	Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic	−11 (69-68-71-69=277)	1 stroke	Buddy Gardner, Alan Tapie, Bobby Wadkins

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1979	Buick-Goodwrench Open	Jim Simons	Won with par on second extra hole

Other wins (2)

• 1976 Northwest Open (as an amateur)
• Provo Open

Results in major championships

Tournament	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984
Masters Tournament		50			T33				CUT
U.S. Open	T50 LA	T58	WD	CUT	CUT
PGA Championship					T41	T61		5	CUT

Note: Fought never played in The Open Championship.

  Top 10

  Did not play

LA = low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

• Walker Cup: 1977 (winners)
• Eisenhower Trophy: 1976

See also

• Fall 1978 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates