Jay Sigel

Robert Jay Sigel (born November 13, 1943) is an American professional golfer. He enjoyed one of the more illustrious careers in the history of U.S. Amateur golf before turning pro in 1994 when he became a member of the Senior PGA Tour, now known as the Champions Tour.

Early years

Born and raised in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, he grew up playing golf at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. He attended high school at Lower Merion High School in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. From there he moved on to Wake Forest University where he was a member of the golf team and graduated with a degree in Sociology in 1967.

Business career and personal life

Along with his golfing career, Jay also owned his own insurance business in the Philadelphia area for over 30 years. He recently sold the business to Century Business Services where he remains a Senior Vice President. He is a Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant and a qualifying life member of the Million Dollar Round Table. He also sits on the Corporate Advisory Board for the American Cancer Society and is the president of the Greater Philadelphia Scholastic Golf Association and the First Tee of Philadelphia chapter. He also hosts the Annual Jay Sigel Invitational Golf Tournament at his home course, Aronimink Golf Club. The proceeds from this tournament benefit prostate cancer research at the University of Pennsylvania. He has three daughters and currently resides in Berwyn, Pennsylvania with wife Betty.

Amateur golf highlights

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Jay Sigel was one of America’s premier amateur golfers. He compiled victories in the U.S. Amateur, British Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur, competed on nine Walker Cup teams won numerous other Amateur titles. Most notably, in 1983, he became the only golfer ever to win the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur in the same year, which made him only the third golfer to win two USGA individual titles in the same year. He was also runner-up in the Canadian Amateur Championship that year. Although he remained an amateur he did occasionally compete in professional events. His best finish was tied 18th at the 1979 IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic.

Professional golf

In an unusual move, Sigel turned professional as a senior (i.e., 50 and older) player. He joined the Senior PGA Tour in 1994 and won Rookie of the Year honors when he earned 14 top-10 finishes and secured his first victory at the GTE West Seniors Classic. For the next five seasons, he finished in the top 31 on the Senior Tour money list. He has also won 8 tournaments during his time on the tour. In the 2004 Champions Tour season, Sigel finished in the money in all 28 tournaments that he entered and had 6 top-10 finishes. During the 2005 campaign his best finish was 5th at the Turtle Bay Classic. He has career earnings of $8,863,605. Since his joining the Champions Tour in 1994, Sigel has been sponsored by Global management consulting and technology services company Accenture.

Amateur wins

"this list may be incomplete"
*1975 Porter Cup
*1976 Sunnehanna Amateur
*1978 Sunnehanna Amateur
*1979 British Amateur
*1981 Porter Cup
*1982 U.S. Amateur
*1983 U.S. Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur
*1984 Northeast Amateur
*1984 Northeast Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur
*1984 Porter Cup, U.S. Mid-Amateur
*1988 Sunnehanna Amateur
*1991 Northeast Amateur

Other wins

"this list may be incomplete"
*1975 Philadelphia Open Championship
*1977 Philadelphia Open Championship
*1978 Philadelphia Open Championship
*1980 Philadelphia Open Championship
*1986 Philadelphia Open Championship
*1987 Philadelphia Open Championship

Champions Tour wins (8)

*1994 (1) GTE West Classic
*1996 (1) Energizer Senior Tour Championship
*1997 (2) Bruno's Memorial Classic, Kroger Senior Classic
*1998 (2) Bell Atlantic Classic, EMC Kaanapali Classic
*2002 (1) Farmers Charity Classic
*2003 (1) Bayer Advantage Celebrity Pro-Am

Other senior wins

*2006 Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions Championship (unofficial Champions Tour event)

ee also

*List of people from Pennsylvania

External links

* [http://www.pgatour.com/players/01/11/99/ Profile on PGA Tour's official site]
* [http://www.accenture.com/Global/About_Accenture/JayBiography.thm Sponsor biography]
* [http://www.ussenioropen.com/2003/players/jay-sigel.html United States Golf Association profile]
* [http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/august03/golf.htm Charity Golf Tournament press release]