- published: 20 Jun 2014
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Alvin Richard Mayer (August 28, 1924 – June 2, 1989) was an American professional golfer.
Mayer was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He apprenticed with renowned player and teacher Claude Harmon at the Winged Foot Golf Club in suburban New York City.
Mayer won seven times on the PGA Tour, between 1953 and 1965. Mayer almost won the 1954 U.S. Open, but a triple bogey on the final hole left him tied for third, two shots back, as Ed Furgol won.
Mayer's career year was 1957, when he finished the regulation 72 holes of the U.S. Open at Inverness Club tied with defending champion Cary Middlecoff. He won the 18-hole playoff 72 to 79, and his prize was $7,200. He later won $50,000 at the World Championship of Golf, topped the PGA Tour money list with winnings of $65,835, and won the PGA Player of the Year award. He also played on the 1957 Ryder Cup team.
Mayer battled alcoholism, which kept him from winning more often on the Tour. Mayer died at age 64 in Palm Springs, California.
John Clayton Mayer (/ˈmeɪ.ər/; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and producer. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and raised in nearby Fairfield. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, but disenrolled and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1997 with Clay Cook. Together, they formed a short-lived, two-man band called Lo-Fi Masters. After their split, Mayer continued to play local clubs—refining his skills and gaining a following. After his appearance at the 2001 South by Southwest Festival, he was signed to Aware Records, and then Columbia Records, which released his first EP, Inside Wants Out. His following two full-length albums—Room for Squares (2001) and Heavier Things (2003)—did well commercially, achieving multi-platinum status. In 2003, he won the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the single "Your Body Is a Wonderland".
Though Mayer started his career mainly performing acoustic rock, he began moving towards the blues genre that had originally influenced him as a musician. By 2005, he was collaborating with blues artists such as B. B. King, Buddy Guy, and Eric Clapton. Forming the John Mayer Trio, he released a live album in 2005 called Try!, and his third studio album Continuum in 2006. Both albums received wide critical acclaim, and Continuum earned Mayer a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album. He also won Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Waiting on the World to Change". That album was followed by Battle Studies in 2009, a return to pop, with a number-one grossing tour.