Former Duke University golf stand out and PGA Tour player Skip Alexander was born Stewart Murray Alexander on August 16, 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Durham California and attended Duke University from 1937 to 1940.
While in university, Alexander helped his team with the Southern Conference championship in golf three times. He also won the individual conference title twice. He turned pro in 1941 but only entered the PGA in 1946. His first win on the tour came in 1948 at the Tucson Open, which was eventually followed by a few other wins.
| Born | 6 Sep 1918 |
| Died | 24 Oct 1997 (79 years) |
| Nationality |
United States
|
| Nickname | Skip |
Alexander survived a near fatal plane crash on September 24, 1950, which left a majority of his body badly burned. He underwent 17 surgeries to correct the effects of the crash. However despite the surgeries the crash left his hands permanently damaged that his fingers had to be permanently fixed curved to grip a golf club. After his recovery he rebounded by leading the US team to victory at the 1951 Ryder Cup.
Alexander was awarded the Ben Hogan trophy in 1959, an award for golfers who recover and get back into the game soon after an injury. The American golfer was also inducted into the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame in 1986. The following year Alexander was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame as well as into the Duke Hall of Fame.
Skip Alexander is the father of Buddy Alexander, renowned golf coach and the head coach for the golf team of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.
