Forget about the bucket hat, forget about eight PGA Tour titles, a senior major win, and the rest. Jim Colbert, in fact, never thought of playing golf. Call it serendipity, if you will, today the late Kansas State legend is remembered for 28 combined titles across the PGA Tour and the Senior Tour. And that iconic bucket hat.

The eight-time PGA Tour winner passed away on May 10 at age 85. The Tour did not disclose a cause of death in its official statement, but how he became a PGA Tour icon is an interesting story in itself. A young Colbert arrived at Kansas State University on a football scholarship, but a series of injuries forced him to leave the gridiron forever. Colbert, who played golf as a kid, knocked on the doors of the athletic director’s office and asked whether there was a golf scholarship available. That decision turned out to be a pivotal point in his journey as an athlete.

Jim Colbert went on to finish his collegiate golf career at Kansas State in 1964 as the runner-up at the NCAA Championship and the Big Eight Championship. The very next year, he turned pro and, in 1966, earned his PGA Tour card. He instantly became famous for his iconic bucket hat, although his rookie year was full of struggles. But that hat has a long history, and Jim Colbert tried to separate himself from it before embracing the identity fully.

We need to go back to 1957, when Jim Colbert was just 16, playing golf as a recreational sport in Elizabeth, New Jersey. One day, he collapsed on the course from sunstroke. A doctor advised him to wear a bucket hat when he was outside. That continued till 1970, when Colbert, now a one-time winner on Tour, decided to shake things up a bit. Only to realize that it’s too late.

Suddenly, Jim Colbert started sporting a baseball cap, only to realize no one could recognize him. So he switched back to a bucket hat six months later. “Lee Trevino has the sombrero. Jack Nicklaus has the bear. I have my hat,” Colbert said. With that iconic hat, he went on to win seven more titles and then bagged 20 wins on the Senior Tour. However, the start to his career was anything but easy.

Colbert earned just $1,898 across 13 events during his first season and came close to losing his playing privileges altogether. But by 1967, he had steadied his game, earning his first PGA Tour victory two years later at the Monsanto Open in Pensacola. Interestingly, future PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman was the runner-up.

By 1983, Colbert was at the peak, capturing both the Texas Open and the Colonial National Invitation in the same season. He finished 15th on the PGA Tour money list that year, the highest ranking of his career. Back problems eventually ended his PGA Tour career in 1987, but Colbert was far from finished with the game.

He spent three years as an analyst with ESPN, where his straightforward style quickly made him a fan favorite on television. Then, in 1991, after turning 50, he joined the PGA Tour Champions and won three times in his debut season, earning Rookie of the Year honors. In 1993, he won his lone senior major at the Ford Senior Players Championship. But another setback tried to halt his career in 1996: prostate cancer, about which he learned thanks to a “wake-up call” from Arnold Palmer.

While receiving the Arnold Palmer Award as the Tour’s Player of the Year in 1996, Palmer privately revealed his own prostate cancer diagnosis to him. Jim Colbert later described the conversation as a wake-up call. Months later, he received the same diagnosis himself. After undergoing surgery and recovering, he returned to competition and won two more titles before hanging up his clubs. His next focus? Real estate and his alma mater.

At its peak, Colbert Golf Inc. owned 23 golf courses, employed nearly 700 people, and generated close to $50 million in annual revenue. He also remained deeply connected to Kansas State University, helping design Colbert Hills Golf Club, which later became the home course for the Wildcats’ men’s and women’s golf programs. His contributions to the sport earned him induction into five halls of fame, including the Kansas State Athletic Hall of Fame.

“We are saddened to learn of the passing of Jim Colbert,” Kansas State Athletics Director Gene Taylor said. “Not only did he make a lasting impact on the golf community – both as a player and as the architect of our own Colbert Hills – but his passion for all things K-State was admirable.”

He is also largely credited as the Father of Las Vegas Golf. Colbert was instrumental in bringing the PGA Tour to the region, which resulted in 40 new golf courses. Colbert was later inducted into the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame. He also served as a player-director on the Tour. Deane Beman, the PGA Tour’s transformational second commissioner who served from 1974 to 1994, credited Colbert as the best player director he ever worked with.

The news of Jim Colbert’s passing quickly brought an emotional response from across the golf world. Players, broadcasters, journalists, and fans all shared heartfelt tributes on social media.