JAY SIGEL BOOK

About Jay.

Jay Sigel, founder of the Jay Sigel Invitational, passed away on April 19th, 2025 at the age of 81.  A golf legend and compassionate leader, Jay created the framework to continue to raise funds for prostate and breast cancer research at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at Penn Medicine. His vision and dedication touched countless lives. We continue to focus on raising money to fund the world class research designed to provide better outcomes for cancer patients.  We are dedicated to elevating awareness of and facilitating access to Penn Medical Professionals for patients facing serious medical issues.

The Legacy of the Last Amateur


Born in  1943, Jay Sigel enjoyed one of the more illustrious careers in the history of U.S. amateur golf, before turning pro in 1993. At age 50 he became a member of the Senior PGA Tour, now known as the PGA Tour Champions.

Raised in Narberth, Pennsylvania, Jay grew up playing golf at Bala Golf Club.  He attended Lower Merion High School in Lower Merion, PA.  After one semester at Houston, Jay transferred to Wake Forest University.  He graduated from Wake Forest in 1967.  While at Wake, he won an ACC Championship and became a two-time All American.  He would later be inducted into the WF Hall of Fame.  Years later, Betty & Jay would endow a golf scholarship at Wake Forest that is in his name. Jay was proud to join Aronimink Golf Club in his early twenties where he enjoyed playing golf with “the usuals” on a regular basis.    

Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s Jay Sigel was one of America’s premier amateur golfers. He compiled victories in the U.S. Amateur, British Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur, competed on nine Walker Cup teams, and won numerous other amateur titles. In 1983, he became the only golfer ever to win the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur in the same year, which made him only the third golfer to win two USGA individual titles in the same year. 
Jay Sigel turned professional at the age of 50 and won Rookie of the Year honors on the Senior PGA Tour, when he earned 14 top-10 finishes and secured his first victory at the GTE West Classic. He had career earnings of over $9 million on the Senior Tour.  From 1994 until 2015, Jay Sigel was sponsored by global management consulting and technology services company Accenture as well as Cadillac.

For many years, Jay served as President of the Greater Philadelphia Scholastic Golf Association which became The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia.  He was eventually the Chairman Emeritus. Additionally, Jay worked part-time as a fee-paid consultant on golf course design projects. While managing his successful golf career, Jay also served as Senior Vice President at CBIZ Benefits and Insurance Services from which he retired in 2020.
In 1992, Jay Sigel started The Jay Sigel Invitational which today benefits the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.  In 2025, Jay lost his battle with Pancreatic Cancer.  His goal was to have the Committee move forward with his mission of raising funds for research.  The Committee, along with Jay’s wife Betty, continue to honor him by hosting the event again in September.  Together, Jay and Betty have three beautiful daughters:  Jennifer, Amy and Megan.  

Awards

2017 LEADERS & ACHIEVERS

Lifetime Achievement Award

On February 9, 2017 Jay Sigel was honored by The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

2013 UPENN

Penn Medicine Plaque Dedication

It was on December 16, 2013 that this plaque was dedicated in Jay Sigel’s honor as Founder of The Jay Sigel Invitational.  Dr. John H. Glick, along with AFCRI researchers, University of Pennsylvania administrators, and Jay’s family attended this wonderful ceremony. We invite you, should you find yourself at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, to see this plaque firsthand.  It is located on the 4th Floor in the Oncology Suite, where both melanoma and prostate cancer patients receive treatment and consult with their physicians.  The plaque is prominently displayed and is visible to all who travel through this area.

2007 UPENN

Spirit of Innovation Award

The University of Pennsylvania is one of founder Benjamin Franklin's best inventions and embodies his ideals of innovation and commitment to the public good.  Jay Sigel was awarded a smaller scale bronze statue of “Ben on the Bench” from the University of Pennsylvania in 2007 for his service to Penn.  After hosting his 15th year of raising money for prostate cancer research, administrators at Penn presented Jay with this endearing award for his commitment to the public good of furthering advancements in cancer research at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute of the University of Pennsylvania.

Career Highlights

PROFESSIONAL

PGA TOUR CHAMPION WINS


  • 10-time Tour Winner (1994 - 2003)                                          
  • Aruba Aces Championship                                                      
  • Diners Club Match Play Championship with Gil Morgan            
  • 5- Georgia Pacific Grand Champions victories  

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS HIGHLIGHTS


  •  1994 Rookie of the Year
  •  10-time Tour Winner (1994 - 2003)
  • 2002 Comeback Player of the Year (multiple surgeries)
  • Lowest 9 hole score - 27 - 1998 Bell Atlantic Classic (-9 under)
  • Eagle/Birdie Streak (holes 1-7) (8 total) 1998 Bell Atlantic Classic
  • Lowest start by winner (61) (-10) 1998 EMC Kaanapali
  • Double Eagle - 1994 Golf Magazine Sr. Tour Championship
  • Eagle and Double Eagle in a round (on his Birthday! 11/13/94)
  • Largest come from behind victory in a Final Round - 10 Strokes over Jim Colbert - 1994 GTE West Classic
  • Greens in Regulation (51 of 54) 1994 Northville Long Island Classic
  • Longest Drive (422 yards) 1996 Tradition
  • 1995 Tour Leader in Driving Distance (277.4 yards)
  • 1997 Most Top 10 Finishes (19) tied with Gil Morgan
  • 1997 Lowest 54-hole score (-18 under) Kroger Senior Classic
  • 2003 Bayer Advantage - course tying record 65 (-7) -- also became oldest winner on tour at 59

AMATEUR

WINNER


  • 1975, 1981 and 1987 Porter Cup (Runner-up 3 times)

  • 1979 British Amateur

  • 1982 & 1983 United States Amateur Championship    

  • 1983, 1985 and 1987 United States Mid-Amateur Championship

  • 1988 Sunnehanna Amateur (3rd record time)  

  • 1991 Northeast Amateur (3rd record time)

  • 1993 Crump Cup (9th record time)   

  • 1962, ’66, ’68, ’72, ‘73, ‘74, ‘75, ’76, ’78, ’79 and ’81 Pennsylvania Amateur   

  • Pennsylvania Open (4 times) (Pro Tournament)

  • Philadelphia Open (7 times) (Pro Tournament)

  •  1973, 1987 Philadelphia Amateur    

Low Amateur:


  • 1984 US Open

  • 11 Masters Participant

  • 1981, 1982, 1988 Masters Tournament

  • 1980 British Open

Jay served as the Playing Captain of the 1983 and 1985 Walker Cup Teams and was a member of the 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 1993 teams. Jay is the all-time point winner in Walker Cup Match history. His record surpasses Bobby Jones, Bill Campbell, and Francis Ouimet. His nine-time selection the team is also a record.


Jay was a member of the 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1992 World Amateur Team. Individually, he placed second in the World in Switzerland (1982), and Venezuela (1986). He holds the record for low round. His seven-time selection is also a record. 


In 1984, Jay received the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation’s Athlete of the Year Award. 


Golf Digest Magazine continuously ranked Jay as one of the Top 10 Amateur Golfers from 1975 to 1991 (exception 1990)


  • 1991- 4th  

  • 1990 - unranked

  • 1989 - 

  • 1988 - 2nd

  • 1987 - 2nd

  • 1986 - 10th

  • 1985 - 3rd

  • 1984 - 3rd   

  • 1983 - 1st

  • 1982 - 1st

  • 1981 - 5th

  • 1980 - 2nd

  • 1979 - 5th

  • 1978 - 5th

  • 1977 - 9th

  • 1976 - 4th

  • 1975  - 8th           

The Sunnehanna Amateur, the oldest amateur medal stroke play tournament in the United States, dedicated the 11th hole to Jay in June 1979. The inscription on the brass plate on the tee reads: “Twelve times in the first twenty-six years of the Sunnehanna Amateur this quiet, thirty-two year old gentlemen, who is every respect truly personifies the meaning the word class, has earned his way into this tournament. Twice he was crowned our champion of champions and, in the Spring of 1979, he won the British Amateur Championship. Sunnehanna Country Club admiringly, and with pride, dedicated its eleventh hole to a great friend and to one of the world’s finest amateurs.”


1988 was the Centennial of Golf in the United States. To celebrate this event, GOLF Magazine named Jay to its list of 100 Heroes of American Golf. This event was celebrated at a formal dinner in New York on June 20, 1988. 


The Collegiate Golf Coaches of America nominated Jay to their Hall of Fame. He is the first Amateur Golfer so nominated and he was inducted in July 1988.

Sigel's chat with Palmer paid off for Wake Forest

June 14, 2006                                                                                                                                    

By Lauren Deason                                                                                                                                

PGATOUR.com Staff


It was 1961 at the Bing Crosby National. As Champions Tour player Jay Sigel recalls it, snow fell that week on the entertainer's annual pro-am at Pebble Beach. If Crosby's tournament that year fittingly resembled a white Christmas, then it was Wake Forest University who got quite a gift.            

Enrolled at Houston at the time, Sigel was considering transferring to Wake. One of Crosby's famous soirees gave him a unique opportunity to hear about the college from a legendary Wake alumnus.                        

"During the week, I got up the courage to ask Arnold [Palmer] for some time to tell me about Wake Forest," Sigel said. "I remember he excused himself from a conversation with Crosby and Bob Hope, and we sat down in front of the fireplace at The Lodge at Pebble Beach. "In 30 minutes, I made the decision to make a visit and subsequently transferred there." 

As it turned out, Palmer was smart to forsake the legendary entertainers for a conversation with the young golfer. While at Wake Forest, Sigel accumulated a number of accolades, including All-America honors in 1963 and '64. He won the Atlantic Coast Conference individual crown in 1963 and led his team to the ACC team title that same year. 

In 1984, Sigel was inducted into the Wake Forest University Hall of Fame and was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary Men's Golf Team in 2002, celebrating the most talented golfers from the league's member schools. He may have had talent on the course, but it took Sigel two shots to land on Wake's renowned golf squad. 

"I was the top junior player in the country but was not a good student in high school," Sigel said of his original recruitment period. "I applied to Stanford, Wake Forest, Miami and Houston. Dave Williams, the Houston golf coach, recruited me, and I ended up going there after I wasn't admitted to Stanford and Wake Forest." 

A little prodding from a family friend helped him eventually end up in Winston Salem, N.C. Sigel's father and Arnold Palmer's father-in-law, Schub Walzer, were fraternity brothers at Penn State. "Mr. Walzer stayed on my dad about me eventually still going to Wake Forest," Sigel remembered. 

Sigel, considered to be one of the best amateur golfers of all time, won several amateur titles and still holds the record for most points won in Walker Cup history. He turned professional when he turned 50 and joined the Champions Tour, winning Rookie of the Year honors in his inaugural season in 1994. Since then, he has captured eight Tour titles, with his biggest victory coming at the 1996 Energizer Senior Tour Championship.

In 2000, the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association named him the Most Courageous Athlete for his contributions to golf and charitable organizations. It took a bit of that courage to speak to Palmer, but the transfer to Wake that followed helped start his successful career.

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