Rosburg, golf pro, commentator dead at 82

PALM SPRINGS, Calif., May 15 (UPI) -- Bob Rosburg, who 10 tour titles including the 1959 PGA Championship and was known for on-course television commentary, has died at the age of 82.

Rosburg died Thursday from injuries incurred in a fall outside a California restaurant, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Rosburg overcame a six-stroke deficit in the final round and won the 1959 PGA Championship in Minneapolis. He also won the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am in 1961 and the Bob Hope Desert Classic in 1972. In 1958 he was awarded the Vardon Trophy, given the PGA player with the lowest stroke average.

He was also well-known for his television golf reporting for ABC beginning in 1974.

"Bob Rosburg was not only a PGA Tour veteran and pioneer, but a great communicator and student of the game," said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem. "His distinguished tour career was matched by his decades-long tenure with ABC Sports where his analysis and commentary as one of golf's first on-course announcers paved the way for how golf is reported.

"We all owe a debt of gratitude to him for bringing the sport of golf to life, both as a competitor and a commentator."