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Amateur great Billy Joe Patton dies at 88

January 02, 2011

Billy Joe Patton, an amateur who came within a stroke of joining Ben Hogan and Sam Snead in a playoff at the Masters in 1954, died on Saturday in his hometown of Morgantown, N.C., Ron Green Sr. is reporting in the Charlotte Observer. He was 88.

Patton was a career amateur who played on five U.S. Walker Cup teams and was captain of the U.S. team in 1969. In 1982, the USGA presented him with the Bob Jones Award, given in recognition of "a person who emulates Jones' spirit, his personal qualities and his attitude toward the game and its players."

-- John Strege