When it comes to history, the Porter Cup is as rich as it gets when it comes to amateur golf. Just the list of champions is stellar: Phil Mickelson, Ben Crenshaw, David Duval, Scott Verplank, Brian Harman, John Cook. That’s just several of the collegians who were on their way to success on the PGA Tour. Many others, like Tiger Woods, were here but never held the trophy or wore the green blazer.
But for consistency, longevity and a connection to the Porter Cup, no player could match Jay Sigel. This year, as the Niagara Falls Country Club celebrates its 66th tournament, it marks the 50th anniversary of Sigel’s first of three championships.
I was reminded of that when it was noted in the tournament’s media day story in the Gazette last week. What I did not know was Sigel had died at 81 a few months ago from pancreatic cancer.
The last time he played in the Porter Cup was 1993, about four months before he turned 50 and was eligible to compete on the Senior PGA Tour. An accident in college that damaged nerves in his left hand hospitalized him for 10 days in 1963. Never mind the pro tour, as a two-time All-American at Wake Forest, he worried he was done playing competitive golf.
“When I woke up after the operation, the doctors told me I would never play golf again,” he said.
Ironically, the mishap opened the door to a career that brought him exceptional success and the label as golf’s ”Mr. Amateur.” The list of what he accomplished goes on and on. He was the U.S. Amateur champion in consecutive years, he was named to the U.S. Walker Cup team a record nine times, he was a three-time winner of the Mid-Amateur, won the British Amateur in 1979 and was low amateur twice in the Masters. Those are just the biggies.
In a way, his victory 50 years ago was the first step on his golf journey. A record nine-stroke victory in 1975 had more behind it than shooting a 6-under 274. His victory was psychological as much as physical. He was haunted by the memory of losing the 1969 tournament in the final round after establishing a five-stroke lead.
“When you’re five shots ahead and lose, it does something to you,” he said after his first success at NFCC, calling it his greatest victory up to then. It was his 11th Porter Cup and 17 more would come as he played in it more than any other tournament in his career.
“This is the best (amateur) tournament in the United States,” he said. “I’m not saying that because I won but because the way I feel and most of the players feel. They permit all the best players to play here. Some others don’t permit that.”
He repeated as champion in 1981, attacking the course for three birdies in the first five holes in the last round and won by two strokes.
He won again in 1987, but had to rally from four strokes behind with eight holes to play in the final round to force a playoff which he won on the second hole. He was 43 and only one other player had won the championship at that age, Ed Tutwiler in 1962 who also won by nine strokes.
As for his three victories, Jay joked about it in 2008 at a reunion dinner at NFCC celebrating the tournament’s 50th anniversary. “Three for 28? I couldn’t make the Phillies with an average like that.”
When his Porter Cup days ended, the record was stunning. He finished in the top ten 22 times, including 16 consecutive tournaments, and finished second or tied for second five times. Not bad for an 18-year-old player who arrived for his first Porter Cup in 1962, couldn’t tell you where he finished (seventh), but vividly remembered how cold the August weather was in Lewiston — an unseasonable 55 degrees that day.
Sigel, a successful insurance professional in the Philadelphia area, wasted no time making his mark among the seniors. It took less than a year to win on the tour. He finished with eight championships and more than $9 million. He said he had no regrets playing amateur golf for so many years.
Even as a pro, he said he kept his eye on what was happening at the amateur level. “I know where my heart will always be.”
Former Gazette Sports Editor Bill McGrath covered the Porter Cup for more than 40 years.