Ernesto Pérez Acosta (golfer)

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Ernesto Pérez Acosta
Personal information
Full nameErnesto Pérez Acosta
Nickname"El Pollero"
Born (1946-06-14) 14 June 1946 (age 75)
Tijuana, Mexico
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Sporting nationality Mexico
ResidenceTijuana, Mexico
SpouseNorma Virgen Díaz
ChildrenNorma, Sandra, Ernesto Jr.
Career
Turned professional1970
Professional wins70+
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenWD: 1983
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Ernesto Pérez Acosta (born 14 June 1946) is a Mexican professional golfer.

Ernesto Pérez Acosta winning The 1976 Mexican Open at Club de Golf La Hacienda
Ernesto Pérez Acosta and Nancy Lopez at the 1977 Rolex Mixed World Championship in Japan, hosted by Arnold Palmer.

Pérez Acosta was born and raised in the Agua Caliente neighborhood of Tijuana, Mexico. He was a long-time club and touring professional at the Tijuana Country Club, where he had his beginnings in the golfing arena as a caddie. He grew up in a family of a well-known and respected dynasty of pro golfers in Mexico, along brothers Fidel, David, Eduardo, Luis and Carlos. [1][2]

Pérez Acosta is considered one of Mexico's all-time top professional golfers, sharing this merit with PGA Tour winner Victor Regalado, Champions Tour winner Esteban Toledo, Mexico's all-time best amateur golfer Juan Antonio Estrada and international tour player Rafael Alarcón.

As an amateur, he represented Mexico at the 1968 Eisenhower Trophy, in Melbourne, Australia, and the Copa de la Hispanidad in Manila, Philippines, where his team won the international championship.

He turned professional in 1970 and won two Mexican Open titles, being the first Mexican winner and still remains the only Mexican with multiple titles. In his native country, he collected over 75 titles over the course of four decades, making him one of Mexico's winningest professional golfers in the country's history.

He represented Mexico five times in the World Cup, winning the individual title in 1976 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, United States, three strokes ahead of six players, including the 1976 U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate, PGA Championship winner David Stockton, Australian champ Greg Norman and European rising star Seve Ballesteros. The Mexico team of Pérez Acosta and Margarito Martinez finished tied 5th. For the 1977 World Cup in Manila, Philippines, Pérez Acosta, was selected, together with Victor Regalado, to represent Mexico, but the team could not make the trip to defend his title.

After his 1976 individual World Cup victory, Perez Acosta signed a management deal with famed sports agent Mark McCormack. This accomplishment earned him multiple invitations to international and official PGA Tour events, such as the 1977 World Match Play in Wentworth Club, England, The 1977 King Hassan World Open in Rabat, Morocco, the 1977 Memorial Tournament and the NEC World Series of Golf, at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, a 20-man event with the biggest first prize on the 1977 PGA Tour.

Pérez Acosta has represented Mexico in 54 countries in different professional circuits such as the PGA, Champions, European, of which he is one of the founding members, Canadian, South American and Asian Tours.

After retiring from international competition, Pérez Acosta served as Director of Golf at several country clubs in Mexico.

Pérez Acosta and his older brother David also served as presidents of the Mexican section of the PGA. Ernesto was later inducted into Tijuana's Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

Pérez Acosta is now fully retired from competition. He spends his time playing, teaching and coaching golf at his home club, the Tijuana Country Club, formerly known as the Agua Caliente Golf Club.

Second generation Pérez Acosta family golf professionals include his son Ernesto Jr, a professional golf resort operator and hotelier, currently staffed at the Wilshire Country Club in Beverly Hills, nephew Luis Carlos, golf coach-instructor in Tijuana and nephew Jorge Perez Leon, Head Golf Professional at the Guadalajara Country Club, home club of Hall of Famer and LPGA Tour Star golfer Lorena Ochoa and PGA Tour player Carlos Ortiz.

Professional wins[]

This list is incomplete.

  • 1970 Mexican Open
  • 1971 Utah Open
  • 1973 Tijuana Open[3]
  • 1974 Mexican PGA Championship, Guadalajara International Open[3]
  • 1975 Mexican Masters, Mexican Tournament of Champions, Guadalajara International Open[3]
  • 1976 Mexican Open, Mexican Masters,[4] Mexican Tournament of Champions, Mexican PGA Championship,[3] International Trophy (World Cup individual winner), Campestre de Coatzacoalcos Pro-Am (Mexico)[5]
  • 1978 Rolex World Mixed Championships (Tokyo, Japan) (with Nancy Lopez)
  • 1981 Campestre de Coatzacoalcos Pro-Am (Mexico)[6]
  • 1982 New Mexico Open
  • 2000 Mexican Senior Championship

Team appearances[]

Amateur

  • America's Cup: 1967
  • Copa de la Hispanidad (representing Mexico): 1968 (winners)
  • Eisenhower Trophy (representing Mexico): 1968

Professional

References[]

  1. ^ "Ernesto Pérez Acosta" (in Spanish). Paseo della Fama Tijuana (Hall of Fame Tijuana). 6 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Ernesto Pérez Acosta World Golf Champion". Tijuana Innovadora (in Spanish). 24 July 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d "The World Series field at Firestone South". Akron Beacon Journal. Ohio. 29 August 1977. p. 47. Retrieved 23 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Severino, Dick (January 1977). "Ole! Spanien och Mexiko lurade USA i World Cup". Svensk Golf (in Swedish). pp. 26–27.
  5. ^ "Foreign Champions of 1976, Men Professionals, Mexico". Golf Digest. February 1977. p. 133.
  6. ^ "Foreign Champions of 1981, Men Professionals, Mexico". Golf Digest. February 1982. p. 127.
  7. ^ Díaz, Carlos (29 July 2001). "Víctor Regalado, un super dotado del golf". El Universal (in Spanish).

External links[]

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