Jim Colbert, a PGA Tour winner and Kansas State golf alum, dies at 85

TL;DR

Jim Colbert, an eight-time PGA Tour winner and Kansas State golf alum, passed away at 85 on May 10. He initially played football at Kansas State before switching to golf after an injury.

Key points

Jim Colbert was an eight-time PGA Tour winner
He died on May 10 at the age of 85
Colbert attended Kansas State on a football scholarship
He switched to golf after a football injury
His first victory came at the 1969 Monsanto Open

Mentioned in this story

Jim ColbertPGA TourKansas StateKansas City

Jim Colbert, a PGA Tour winner and Kansas State golf alum, dies at 85

MANHATTAN — Jim Colbert, an eight-time PGA Tour winner and one of the more recognizable names to come through Kansas State, died on May 10. He was 85.

Colbert attended Kansas State on a football scholarship but turned his attention to the links after an injury on the gridiron. He was the runner-up at the 1964 NCAA Championship, the same year he graduated.

A Kansas City native, Colbert turned pro in 1965, joined the Tour one year later and claimed his first victory at the 1969 Monsanto Open. He won two of his eight titles in 1983, finishing 15th on the money list, a career best.

Colbert was a member of the Tour policy board during a critical time in 1983 and famously sounded a warning to then-Commissioner Deane Beman that some of the game's leading players, including Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, were attempting a coup. Thanks to Colbert's efforts, Beman survived, and his contract was re-upped a year later, and he spent more than another decade in office, turning the Tour into a financial success.