Doug Ford, former Masters and PGA champion, dies at 95

In this April 10, 1997 file photo, Doug Ford watches his shot during his opening round of the Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. Ford, the oldest surviving Masters champion and a Hall of Famer, died on Monday, May 14, 2018. He was 95. (AP Photo/Curtis Compton, File)

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida — Doug Ford, the oldest surviving Masters champion and former PGA player of the year, has died. He was 95.

The PGA Tour announced Ford’s death, saying Ford’s family informed the tour that he died Monday night. Details of his death were not immediately available.

Ford was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011. He won the 1955 PGA Championship, and then two years later won the Masters when he shot 66 in the final round to rally from a three-shot deficit to Sam Snead.

Ford was the PGA player of the year that season. He collected the first of his 19 tour victories in 1952, and his last win was in 1963.

He played on the Senior Tour when it began in 1980, and he twice won a division for older players at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.    /kga