2009 Champions Tour rookies: Russ Cochran

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Russ Cochran captured his lone PGA TOUR title at the 1991 Centel Western Open.

Some of golf's favorite names and most familiar faces will be joining the Champions Tour in 2009. Over the next three weeks, PGATOUR.COM will take a look at the former PGA TOUR winners who turned 50 in late 2008 or who will hit the half-century mark in 2009 and likely make their Champions Tour debut.

Lefties who've won on the PGA TOUR are few and far between. In fact, out of the 126 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame, only one -- Bob Charles -- played golf left-handed. And Charles was actually a righty in everything but "sports that used two hands".

Like Charles and just six other Southpaws, Russ Cochran captured a title on the PGA TOUR. Cochran's victory came at the Centel Western Open during the 1991 season, his best year on TOUR. He finished 10th on the money list that year thanks to his win, which came in an exciting fashion as he overcame a five-stroke deficit over eight holes to beat Greg Norman.

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Cochran is one of just eight lefties to win on TOUR.

The Basics

NAME: Russell Earl Cochran HT: 6-0 WT: 190 BIRTHDATE: October 31, 1958 BIRTHPLACE: Paducah, Ky. RESIDENCE: Paducah, Ky. TURNED PRO: 1979 TOUR WINS: 1

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Click here for a look back at Cochran's TOUR career.

As Norman can attest, for every win there are a handful of close calls and heartbreaking losses. Cochran's heartbreaker came in, of all places, his home state of Kentucky. And, to top it off, it was the PGA Championship.

The year was 1996 and Cochran, who had turned professional in 1979, held the 54-hole lead at the season's final major at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. Mark Brooks and Vijay Singh trailed him by two strokes going into Sunday.

Instead of thrilling the home crowd, however, Cochran shot a 77 to tie for 17th. It was another Kentucky native, Kenny Perry, who went to a playoff in the event before losing to champion Brooks.

Cochran also had another tough loss at the 1991 TOUR Championship at Pinehurst No. 2. He began the final round tied for the lead with Craig Stadler, then both shot 71s on Sunday. When Stadler made birdie on the second extra hole, he took home the top prize. However, Cochran left with a $216,000 runner-up check, the largest of his career.

Despite those two losses, Cochran was consistently successful over the span of his career. He finished inside the top 125 on the money list in 1984 and, except for a 131st place finish in 1995, remained in the top 125 at season's end until 1998.

While appearing in 597 events on the PGA TOUR, Cochran had top-10 finishes nearly 10 percent of the time. He also joined the Nationwide Tour in later years and tied for third at the 2003 Chitimacha Louisiana Open for his best finish.

Now, he's able bound for a third Tour as a 50-year-old. Cochran turned 50 on Oct. 31, 2008 and attended Champions Tour q-school in late November. Though Cochran didn't earn fully-exempt status by placing inside the top 5, he did tie for 11th and will have partially-exempt status in 2009.

If Cochran were to win on the Champions Tour, he'd be the first lefty since Charles in 1996. But one thing's for certain -- Cochran likely won't be wearing a glove on either hand as he swings the club.

As a young golfer, Cochran couldn't justify paying $6 or $7 dollars for a new glove. So, like Fred Couples, Bob Estes, and a handful of others, he decided not to wear one and learned to play without it.

"I think it is better feel. That is basically why I don't wear a glove," Cochran once said. "I think it is a better feel, you know, 90 percent of the time, or 95 percent of the time and I think probably if you talk to Couples and Estes, those guys, they will tell you the exact same thing. ...Years ago, you'd get a glove for your right-hand. Being left-handed, ...you'd get six gloves and one or two of them might fit."

Back in 2000, a reporter asked him if he'd ever consider wearing one. Cochran said he'd tried and tried to use one, but never could adjust to a glove during the peak of his playing career. No matter how sweaty or blistered his hands get, he said he still plays better without one.