Mason Rudolph, one of the youngest golfers to ever qualify for the US Open, died Monday aged 76, Golf Digest reported.
A member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, Rudolph had suffered heart problems. He died at a hospital in Tuscaloosa, Ala., where he had been since last weekend, according to family friends cited by The Leaf Chronicle.
He won five PGA Tour events during his career, was a member of the 1957 United States Walker Cup team and 1971 US Ryder Cup team and was only 16 years and six days old when he qualified for the US Open in 1950.
Named the 1959 PGA Rookie of the Year, his golfing career spanned three decades and 432 Tour events, The Leaf Chronicle reported.
Born in Clarksville, Tenn. where a nine-hold golf course is named after him, Rudolph was survived by wife Carole.
