He’s the golfer who left the military to join the PGA Tour before winning the US Open just two years later

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There have been some remarkable stories on the PGA Tour over the years but you’ll be hard-pressed to find something as unique as the one involving Orville Moody.

We’ve seen some truly brilliant success stories in golf, from Ben Hogan’s recovery from a serious car crash, to Tiger Woods’ ‘ Tiger Slam’ and in the modern day, Rory McIlroy finally landing the career grand slam.

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All those achievements are massive and impressive in their own right but when it comes to the story of Orville Moody, it might stand above them all.

How Orville Moody became a PGA Tour and major winner after leaving the military

Winning on the PGA Tour is hard. Players spend most of their lives building up to the point of even gaining membership, before then looking to get that first win over the line.

Some never manage it, while some take years to get there – see Tommy Fleetwood.

However, for Orville Moody, the wait was nothing like some we’ve seen in more recent years.

In fact, in a quite remarkable turn of events, Moody only had a go at playing on the PGA Tour after leaving the military to take a punt on himself in 1967.

Having discovered a love and passion for the game, Moody made the call to opt out of his career and go for it on the PGA Tour. He succeeded, getting onto the TOUR and then even reaching a four-way play-off in 1969, which he lost out in to Gene Littler.

However, it wasn’t all done there for Moody as he went to the US Open at Cypress Creek and won out by one shot against a strong field that included Tony Jacklin, Jack Nicklaus and more.

Having taken just two years to win a major after only just joining the TOUR on a whim, it really is an astonishing effort from Moody.

Unfortunately for him though, that’s where his PGA Tour success would stop. He never won again in over 200 appearances, before making a better fist of things on the senior tour and winning 11 times.

Orville Moody’s career in numbers

Unfortunately, we don’t get to see Orville Moody anymore on the fairways due to his sad passing in 2008.

However, we can look back at his career with admiration, especially given the route he took to the PGA Tour.

On the PGA Tour, he won just the once but enjoyed 14 top five finishes, and he was also runner-up five times.

On the Champions Tour, Moody played 513 times, winning 11 times and finishing in the top five a very impressive 59 times.

Put simply, Moody had quite the career given that at one point, it looked like he might never even make an attempt at being a pro!