By Dan Fahy Jr.

 

He’s a Philadelphia sports icon and few can recall his name.

In the City of Brotherly Love, our minds immediately go to the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and 76ers legends.
But when it comes to Philly golf icons, the conversation focuses on one name – Jay Sigel.

Sigel’s perseverance made him the Rocky Balboa of Philadelphia sports.  His illustrious career in a game he loved since childhood saw his rise to one of our nation’s greatest amateur players, second only to Bobby Jones (And the Museum of Sports Philadelphia has many of Jones’ rare clubs!)

Robert Jay Sigel was born November 13, 1943, to golf-playing parents in the Philadelphia suburb of Bryn Mawr.   He began honing his golf skills at both Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia, and at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square PA.

He was the nation’s top junior golfer when he graduated from Lower Merion High School in 1962.  And after a semester at the University of Houston, Sigel transferred to Wake Forest University as the first Arnold Palmer scholarship recipient, where he played collegiate golf and earned two-time All-American honors while winning the ACC individual title as the WF Demon Deacons won the ACC Championship in 1963.

During his sophomore year at Wake Forest, Jay was involved in a freak accident involving a glass door.  70 stitches later to his left hand, the dominant hand for a right-handed golfer. doctors told him he would never play golf again, but with Rocky Balboa determination and effort, Sigel returned to top form after a year of recovery and graduated from Wake Forest. While that accident ended any plans for turning pro and a path toward the PGA Tour, it did not end his desire to be the best golfer he could be.

Wake Forest would also be the place where Jay meets the love of his life, Betty Wingo, who was attending college at another local school. After graduating with his degree in sociology in 1967, Jay and Betty would marry in 1968 and eventually start a family.

To pay the bills, Jay took on a career in the insurance industry, serving as Senior Vice President at CBIZ Benefits and Insurance Services until his retirement in 2020. And golf course designers also sought out his expertise as a consultant.

However, throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s Jay Sigel was one of America’s premier amateur golfers, compiling victories in the U.S. Amateur, British Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur.  He competed on nine Walker Cup teams, and won numerous other titles as an amateur, including 11 PA Amateur titles, six Philadelphia Opens, and four Pennsylvania Opens. 

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 the third golfer to win two USGA individual titles in the same year.  Jay competed in 11 Masters, earning lower amateur honors on three occasions, and competed in both the U.S. Open and British Open, earning low amateur honors in each event.

The Jay Sigel story also had an international chapter to it, selected to play on nine Walker Cup teams from 1977 to 1993.  He even served as playing captain on two of those teams.  In 1984 the USGA honored him with the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given in recognition of sportsmanship.

And then in November 1993, as Jay turned 50 years old, he announced he would give professional golf a try. Jay joined the PGA Seniors Tour (now called the Champions Tour) and found immediate success. He was named “Rookie of the Year” in 1994 having earned 14 top ten finishes and secured his first victory that season in the GTE West Classic with a four-hole playoff over tour veteran Jim Colbert in Ventura CA.

For the next five seasons, Jay Sigel finished in the money in all 28 tournaments that he entered with eight victories and six top 10 finishes. During the 2005 campaign his best finish was fifth place at the Turtle Bay Championship. He has career earnings of over $9 million.

Sigel’s love second to golf was philanthropy.

Since 1980, Jay had served as President of the Greater Philadelphia Scholastic Golf Association and The First Tee of Greater Philadelphia where he was recently Chairman Emeritus.  Jay Sigel was the founder and host of The Jay Sigel Invitational which benefits the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. His charity event raised over $5 million over those years. Jay still found time to tutor young golfers at clinics. His advice - “Play hard. Don’t be in awe but have a great time.”

As our country prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday in 2026, Sigel was onboard to serve as ambassador and honorary chairman of the PGA Championship at his home course Aronimink Golf Club.  

But fate had other plans.

Few knew Sigel had been quietly battling Stage Four pancreatic cancer, a disease for which Sigel’s charity worked so hard to find a cure.  On April 19, 2025, it would claim him at age 81. Jay is survived by his wife of 57 years, Betty, as well as his three daughters, six grandchildren and his sister, Carolyn.

Throughout his iconic career, Jay Sigel never forgot his roots. 

He was a Philadelphian first, supporting the Philly teams and representing The City of Brotherly Love to the golf community around the world.

Philadelphia and the world of golf will miss Jay Sigel. But he will never be forgotten.