Amateur Golf Loses a Legend: John Harris Dies at 73
Amateur golf has lost another one of its giants.
John Harris, the last mid-amateur to win the U.S. Amateur, died Wednesday at age 73. He had been battling acute myeloid leukemia and, despite improvements in recent months following a bone-marrow transplant, his condition deteriorated last weekend. He entered hospice on Tuesday.
Harris’ death follows the loss of Jay Sigel, a five-time USGA champion and nine-time Walker Cupper, who died from pancreatic cancer in April.
At last year’s Walker Cup at St. Andrews, Harris addressed captain Mike McCoy’s players after they fell behind on day one. He borrowed words from his former hockey coach Herb Brooks: “I’ve been on winning teams and losing teams. If you lose, you’ll take it to your f—ing grave.” The U.S. team rallied to win.
Harris knew how to deliver that message authentically. Six years before Brooks led Team USA to Olympic gold in 1980, he coached the University of Minnesota to the 1974 NCAA hockey championship. Harris was a senior on that team and the squad’s second-leading scorer. That same year, he also won the Big Ten individual golf title.
After graduation, Harris briefly tried professional hockey before earning his PGA Tour card. His pro golf career was short-lived—just nine starts and less than $3,000 in earnings in 1976. He regained his amateur status in 1983 while working in insurance.
What followed was an extraordinary amateur career. Harris collected four Minnesota Amateurs, five Minnesota Mid-Amateurs, two Minnesota Opens, and prestigious titles at the Porter Cup, Sunnehanna Amateur, and Terra Cotta. He helped Minnesota win the 2001 USGA Men’s State Team Championship at Hazeltine.
His crowning achievement came in 1993 when, at age 41, he defeated Danny Ellis 5-and-3 in the U.S. Amateur final at Champions Golf Club in Houston.
“It was one of the great moments in my golf career,” Harris said. “Obviously, to win the tournament was very humbling. I had my 14-year-old son [Chris] caddying for me, and that was a special bond for the two of us. When you’re in the moment, and you’re playing and competing, you don’t realize the ramifications of what it’s going to be. I do remember being at home the following week and out for a run, and thinking, ‘I can’t believe I won.'”
The victory earned him a spot in the 1994 Masters, where he tied for 50th. He also made three U.S. Open appearances and played in one Open Championship.
“Being able to play in the Masters was a dream that I couldn’t even get to,” Harris once said.
Harris was a Walker Cup stalwart, representing the U.S. four times (1993, 1995, 1997, 2001) and compiling an impressive 10-4 record. His six singles victories rank fourth all-time among Americans, just behind Stewart Hagestad who won his sixth and seventh singles matches at this year’s Walker Cup. The 1993 team Harris played on still holds the record for margin of victory (14 points).
In 1995, he teamed with Tiger Woods in Walker Cup foursomes, going 1-1 together.
At 50, Harris turned professional again, joining the PGA Tour Champions. He won once and made nearly 250 starts before retiring in 2021. During his senior career, he also served as director of golf at his alma mater.
More recently, Harris mentored Florida junior Noah Kent, who reached the final of the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine while wearing a glove with Harris’ initials on it.
“I’m sitting on the edge of my chair,” Harris told Golf Channel last year. “Noah knows who he is, he understands what he’s doing, and if I’m a little motivation – I’ve said to him, ‘I’m so happy watching this golf. I’m so disappointed I’m not at Hazeltine cheering for you, but I am there.’ And he feels it.”
Born June 13, 1952, in Minneapolis, Harris was named Minnesota Player of the Year ten times and is widely considered the greatest amateur golfer the state has produced. His father, Robert, was runner-up at the 1992 U.S. Senior Amateur.
“He basically dominated Minnesota amateur golf from the mid-80s until 2001 before he decided to turn pro again,” said Warren Ryan, communications director for the Minnesota Golf Association. “He beat everybody young and old. Speaking to some of his close friends, they all said the same thing – he was the consummate gentleman, on and off the golf course. He always knew the right thing to say and the right thing to do. His reputation was huge.”
In a fitting final chapter, Ryan noted that Harris had played golf just last Friday at Edina Country Club in Minnesota, shooting an even-par 72 and breaking his age for the last time.
