1994 was a year that PGA Tour golfer Loren Roberts will never forget. Having played on the tour for twelve seasons, Roberts had built up a respectable record and earnings, but 1994 was his breakout year. That magical season started in March with his first PGA Tour victory in the Nestle Invitational at Bay Hill. He then went on to finish third in the Masters and second in the Greater Milwaukee Open and sent the U.S. Open to a twenty hole playoff before losing. Roberts had the best records among the pros in all four majors (U.S. Open, Masters, British Open, and PGA Championship) that year. A member of the U.S. team which won the inaugural President’s Cup, the Germantown, Tennessee, resident has gone on to win four more PGA Tour tournaments. Roberts’ second victory was again at the Nestle Invitational, making him the only player to successfully defend the title at Bay Hill. In 1996 he won both the MCI Classic and the Greater Milwaukee Open. And in 1997 Roberts won the CVS Charity Classic. Always interested in developing young golfers, he has been actively involved in the PGA junior golf programs since moving to the volunteer state several years ago. A great person as well as a great golfer, Roberts donated his winnings from the President’s Cup to the Mid-South Junior Golf Association, an inner-city program for minorities, and to the Golf House Tennessee project. [2007] A native of San Luis Obispo, California, Loren Roberts has played the PGA Tour and Champions tour for over twenty-five years. He and his family have been residents of Memphis since 1983. Although Loren did not start playing golf until age seventeen, he walked on to the Cal Poly golf team. After two seasons, the Cal Poly golf team was wiped out and Loren went to work at the local country club. After five years of working and taking evening classes, Loren went to qualifying school and received his tour card in the fall of 1980. During his career, Loren has amassed eight victories on the PGA Tour and five victories on the Champions Tour. Last year was Loren’s first year on the Champions Tour. He opened the season with three consecutive victories. Two of his five Champions Tour wins, the 2005 Jeld-Wen Tradition and the 2006 Senior British Open, were majors. He ranked first on the money list earning over $1,945,000. In September of 2006, he was the assistant captain to Tom Lehman at the Ryder Cup in Ireland. Also in 2006, Loren was inducted to the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame.
