Remembering those we lost in the world of golf in 2023

The world of golf indeed lost some true legends in 2023.

A caddie who expertly worked the grill on the back of his truck.

An Augusta National Golf Club caddie who became the unofficial historian for Masters loopers.

The longtime starter at the British Open who famously never took a bathroom break between the first tee time and the last.

The winner of the first-ever PGA Tour Champions event.

A four-time U.S. Women’s Open champion.

The world of golf indeed lost some true legends in 2023. From players to caddies, course designers to teachers, to many others who contributed their life’s work to the game.

Here’s a closer look at those the world of golf goodbye to this year.

Sikes, first Razorback national champion, dies at 83

Arkansas’ first individual national champion-R.H. Sikes-died at the age of 83 on Thursday.

Arkansas lost a legend on Thursday.

R.H. Sikes, who won the national NCAA individual golf championship in 1963, passed away at the age of 83.

Sikes won it at the Wichita Country Club in Kansas that year and turned professional a year later, ultimately winning twice on the PGA Tour.

He grew up in Springdale, learning to play at the Springdale Country Club with his brothers.

Sikes played in numerous major championships. He once won a tournament in 1964 in Las Vegas that Jack Nicklaus finished runner-up to him in.

At the end of his career, he ended up playing on the Senior Tour in the early 1990s, along with playing and touring in Japan as well as coaching the UCLA women’s golf program.