FAYETTEVILLE – R.H. Sikes – an NCAA Champion, Razorback All-American, one of the premier amateur golfers of the 1960s and a successful professional – died on Thursday (Nov. 2) at the age of 83 in his hometown of Springdale.
“We are saddened with the loss of R.H., and our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends,” Razorback head coach Brad McMakin said. “We are so proud to be associated with him through his NCAA Championship as a Razorback and for everything he did in the local golf community. It was a thrill for us when he came out to the 2019 NCAA Championship to support Julian (Perico) and for him to see his NCAA trophy in our honors display. He was a legend in the golf world and will be missed.”
Sikes won the 1963 NCAA Championship, played at Wichita (Kan.) Country Club, with a 1-up victory in 37 holes over John Lotz (San Jose State). He was the leader after stroke play, shooting 69-70, and played four rounds of match play before meeting Lotz in the final. The final was scheduled for 36 holes (two rounds) but needed an extra hole to determine the champion.
In round two of the final, Sikes had a hole-in-one on the par-3, 11th to go 3-up. However, Lotz won the next three holes to square the match and took a 1-up lead after winning the 16th hole. Sikes won the 18th hole with a par to force extra holes. Sikes clinched the championship with a birdie on the par-4, 1st hole.
Following his NCAA title, Sikes was runner-up at the 1963 U.S. Amateur Championship and would rise to as high as #2 in the U.S. amateur rankings. He played in The Masters three times as an amateur (1962, ‘63 and ’64) and was a quarterfinalist at the 1963 British Amateur.
The NCAA Championship was one of three national titles won by Sikes. He was additionally back-to-back USGA Amateur Public Links Champion in 1961 and ’62. At the time, he was just the second man to win the event in consecutive years. He additionally advanced to the fifth round of the U.S. Amateur Championship in both ’61 and ’62.
Sikes represented the United States at the 1962 Eisenhower Trophy, 1963 Walker Cup and 1963 Americas Cup and was on the winning side each time.
Sikes played in 17 major championships from 1962-71, including seven Masters Tournaments, and made 204 of 235 cuts. He won twice on the PGA TOUR including the 1964 Sahara Invitational at Las Vegas, where Jack Nicklaus was the runner-up, and the 1966 Cleveland Open.
In 1964, Sikes was named Putter of the Year and PGA Tour Rookie of the Year by Golf Digest. Other notable finishes include tying for fifth place in the 1965 PGA Championship, tying for 14th in the 1967 PGA and placing 12th in the 1966 British Open.
Sikes played the PGA Senior Tour from 1990-92.
He is a member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, Arkansas State Golf Association Hall of Fame, University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor, Southwest Conference Hall of Fame and the Springdale Bulldog Hall of Fame.
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