"PGA Champion" Gary Koch Hand Signed PRO SET Trading Card PSA/DNA COA

Description

Up for auction
"PGA Champion" Gary Koch Hand Signed PRO SET Trading Card.
This item is authenticated By Todd Mueller Autographs and comes with their certificate of authenticity.
ES-3299
Gary D. Koch
(born November 21, 1952) is an American
professional golfer
,
sportscaster
and
golf course designer
, who formerly played on the
PGA Tour
,
Nationwide Tour
and
Champions Tour
. Koch was born in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
in 1952, and raised in
Florida
. He won the
Florida Open
in 1969 as an amateur at the age of 16. He won the
U.S. Junior Amateur
in 1970. He attended
C. Leon King High School
in
Tampa, Florida
. The 1969 King High golf team consisting of Koch,
Eddie Pearce
, Brian Hawke and Phil Reid won the Florida high school title setting a scoring record that stood for thirty years.
Koch accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the
University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida, where he became a member of
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Fraternity
(
Florida Upsilon
Chapter). While he was an undergraduate, Koch played for coach
Buster Bishop
's
Florida Gators men's golf
team in
National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) competition from 1971 to 1974.
[2]
As a Gator golfer, he was a four-time first-team All-
Southeastern Conference
(SEC) selection, and a three-time
All-American
. He was also a member of the Gators teams that won SEC championships in 1973 and 1974 and an
NCAA Championship
in 1973. Individually, he was a two-time medalist in the SEC tournament (1973, 1974), and the runner-up behind
Ben Crenshaw
at the 1973 NCAA championship tournament. His Gators teammates included fellow future PGA Tour professionals
Woody Blackburn
,
Andy Bean
,
Phil Hancock
and
Andy North
Koch graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1976, and was inducted into the
University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame
as a "Gator Great" in 1978.
Koch turned professional in 1975, and won six events as a professional on the
PGA Tour
during the 1970s and 1980s. His career year in professional golf came in 1984 when he finished seventeenth on the money list and captured two titles: the
Isuzu-Andy Williams San Diego Open
and the
Bay Hill Classic
. In preparation for play on the Champions Tour, Koch played some on the Nationwide Tour in his late 40s. After turning 50 in November 2002, he began play on the Champions Tour. His best finish in this venue was a tie for second at both the
ACE Group Classic
and
Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
in 2004. Koch's career as a sportscaster began in 1990 with
ESPN
working Champions Tour telecasts. Before the end of the decade, he joined
NBC Sports
. A long-time member of the NBC Sports announcing team (1996–present), he is mostly known for his "Better than Most" call in the third round of the
2001 Players Championship
at the
TPC at Sawgrass
. Three down from leader
Jerry Kelly
,
Tiger Woods
was facing a long, triple-breaking, fringe putt for birdie on the 17th hole's famous
Island Green
. Koch's call of that putt has gone down as one of the most famous in golf history as it was during the height of Tiger's dominance, on an iconic hole of a well-known course, on the way to an inevitable, yet routine Woods comeback to win the tournament. Koch also maintains an interest in golf course design and helped design the front nine of "The Forest" course at The Eagles Golf Course in Odessa, Florida. Koch was inducted into the
Florida Sports Hall of Fame
in 2012 Koch currently resides in
Tampa, Florida
.