From two-time Masters champions to state title winning golfers and coaches, the Pensacola area has plenty of golf history.
That makes it the perfect next sport on our list of USA TODAY’s companywide 250 for 250 series.
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As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, USA TODAY Sports will celebrate the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time. Alongside that national recognition, the USA TODAY Network will spotlight the roots of the country’s sports culture: the high school athletes and sports figures who shaped communities and defined their states and regions.
Over the next coming months, we’ll honor some of the top athletes in Pensacola area history.
Milton grad Bubba Watson won Masters green jackets in 2012 and 2014, and also shared time on the PGA Tour with fellow Panthers Heath Slocum and Boo Weekley.
Booker T. Washington alum Jerry Pate won the 1976 U.S. Open, while Escambia alum Joe Durant and Pensacola alum Allen Miller have also won PGA Tour events.
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Escambia and Santa Rosa County high school teams have also combined for nine state titles, while six have won individual state titles.
Below are the ten nominees for the best golf figures from the Pensacola area. Think we missed anyone? Email [email protected] to let us know who should have been included.
Robin Dezarn (neé Cook), Pace
Dezarn won back-to-back 3A state championships in 1994 and 1995, then played at Auburn, where she was the 1999 SEC Golfer of the Year.
She also served as the UWF women’s golf coach from 2002-09, leading the Argos to four Gulf South Conference championships.
Joe Durant, Escambia
Pensacola’s Golf greats, Joe Durant, left, Jerry Pate, right center, and Bubba Watson, right, attend The First Tee of Northwest Florida’s Goofy Golf facility on Navy Blvd. Monday afternoon May 15, 2017.
Durant graduated from Escambia in 1982 after helping the Gators win a city championship. He was a three-time NAIA All-American at Huntingdon College before starting his professional career.
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Durant won three times on the PGA Tour, including a 34-under total at the 2001 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic that remains a tournament record. He’s also won five times on the PGA Tour Champions, most recently winning the Cologuard Classic on March 10, 2024.
Howard Fletcher, Escambia
Fletcher turned the Gators into a state-golf powerhouse in the 1960s. The Escambia boys won the 1963 state title, while the Escambia girls won four straight from 1962-65.
Downing Gray, Pensacola
Gray graduated from Pensacola in 1957, but his biggest claim to fame is winning seven straight tournaments while playing at Florida State. He was also the runner-up at the U.S. Amateur in 1962, the low amateur at the Masters in 1965 and 1967 and played in six straight Walker Cups from 1963-68.
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Today, the top amateur golfers in the Pensacola area compete in the A. Downing Gray Cup every summer.
Allen Miller, Pensacola
Miller won the 1966 state championship, was ranked the No. 2 amateur golfer in the world by Golf Digest in 1969 and 1970 and played on Walker Cup teams in 1969 and 1971. He also won the 1974 Tallahassee Open and played in five Masters.
Jennifer Pandolfi, Navarre
Daily News Golfers of the Year are Jennifer Pandolfi, from Navarre High School and Shane Rushing from Choctawhatchee High School. Nov. 29, 2000. Daily News/DEVON RAVINE.
Pandolfi won the 2001 3A state championship as a sophomore at Navarre before playing on the 2002 and 2003 Junior Sondheim Cup U.S. teams. She was also a part of Duke women’s golf’s dynasty from 2004-08, winning the 2005 ACC Freshman of the Year while playing on four ACC championship teams and three national championship teams.
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She also coached the UWF women’s team from 2010-12, leading the Argos to two GSC championships.
Jerry Pate, Booker T. Washington
Pensacola own, Jerry Pate, poses for photographs before the start of Wednesday night’s 2018 Florida Sports Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at the National Naval Aviation Museum.
Pate’s golf career didn’t take off until he won the U.S. Amateur event in 1974. He was on a winning Eisenhower Trophy team in 1974 and a winning Walker Cup team in 1975 before stunning the golf world by winning the 1976 U.S. Open at age 22, then beating Jack Nicklaus by four strokes to win the 1976 Canadian Open a month later.
The 1976 PGA Rookie of the Year, Pate won eight PGA Tour events, with his final coming at the 1982 Tournament Players Championship. He went on to found the Jerry Pate Company, which provides outdoor beautification products across the southeast.
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Heath Slocum, Milton
This list ends with three Milton graduates who went on to the PGA Tour.
Slocum won four PGA events, most notably the Barclays on Aug. 30, 2009, where he beat Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods by one stroke. He also finished tied for ninth at the 2008 U.S. Open.
Slocum plays on the PGA Tour Champions today.
Bubba Watson, Milton
Apr 11, 2019; Augusta, GA, USA; Bubba Watson hits his tee shot on the 2nd hole during the first round of The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
Arguably the Pensacola area’s most accomplished golfer, Watson won the Masters in 2012 and 2014. He’s won 12 PGA Tour events and reached as high as No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings on February 22, 2015. Watson is currently the captain for the RangeGoats golf club in the LIV Golf League.
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He also owns Bubba’s Sweet Spot in Pensacola, is a co-owner of the Blue Wahoos baseball team and has his name on the local FCA high school golf tournament.
Boo Weekley, Milton
Boo Weekley poses with the trophy after winning the 2026 Insperity Invitational at The Woodlands Golf Club in The Woodlands, Texas.
Another Milton grad, Weekley turned professional in 1997 before earning his PGA Tour card in 2002.
He won three times on the PGA Tour and won his first PGA Tour Champions event on May 10. Weekley currently resides in Jay.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Top ten golf figures in Pensacola area history
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