Career
He had three victories on the Professional Golf Association Tour in the 1970s, including the Tournament Players Championship in 1977. Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Hayes played collegiately at Oklahoma State University, where he was a two-time All-American. Hayes played on the winning Ryder Cup team in 1979 only after Tom Watson gave up his spot.
Hayes had his best finish in a major championship at the United States. Open in 1980, where he began the final round of play two shots out of the lead but shot a final round 74 to finish T6.
He was also the first round leader at the 1975 Professional Golf Association Championship, but finished T22. In the second round of The Open Championship in 1977, Hayes shot 63 at the Ailsa Course at Turnberry to establish a new single round record at The Open Championship by two strokes.
The previous record of 65 was set by Henry Cotton in the second round in 1934 at Royal Saint George"son His best finish was T10 at the 2001 Siebel Classic in Silicon Valley.
Hayes is well known for his trademark bucket caps.
In the late 1980s, Hayes began preparing for a career in golf course design and construction. In 1990, he established a golf course design firm. His projects have been built in Oklahoma and neighboring states.
1972 Sunnehanna Amateur Professional Golf Association Tour wins (3) Other wins (4) DNP = Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place Yellow background for top-10 Summary Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1974 United States Open – 1978 Open Championship) Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times) Amateur Eisenhower Trophy: 1972 (winners) Professional Ryder Cup: 1979 (winners).
