Jim Colbert, the Las Vegas-based golfer, businessman and relentless competitor who won eight PGA Tour titles and later turned into a powerhouse on the senior circuit, died Sunday at 85, the PGA Tour announced. A regular on televised leaderboards and in clubhouse conversations for decades, he spent his later years building and operating courses from Las Vegas to the Midwest, leaving behind a stack of trophies, a golf company and a namesake course at Kansas State.
A familiar figure on the fairways
The PGA Tour confirmed Colbert’s death but did not release a cause. As Golf Channel reported, Colbert broke through for his first PGA Tour win in 1969 and never really left the scene. His trademark bucket hat and flipped-up collar made him instantly recognizable, and his steady play kept him in the mix across three decades on the PGA Tour, where he developed a reputation as a media-friendly, straight-talking presence.
Senior success and a comeback
Colbert’s profile only grew when he joined the senior ranks. He became one of the most successful players on what is now the PGA Tour Champions, piling up 20 victories and earning Player of the Year honors in the mid-1990s, according to Golf Digest. He captured the Ford Senior Players Championship in 1993 and had his best season on the regular PGA Tour a decade earlier, in 1983, when he won twice and finished 15th on the money list.
Even serious health news did not fully slow him down. Colbert disclosed a prostate cancer diagnosis in 1996, underwent surgery and then worked his way back into competitive golf a few years later, returning to the fairways that had defined so much of his life.
From fairways to business
Off the course Colbert turned his competitive streak into a golf business. He bought his first Las Vegas course in 1980 and eventually grew Jim Colbert Golf into a multi-course operation with dozens of properties and hundreds of employees, figures reported by The Associated Press via the Houston Chronicle. He was also a key organizer in bringing the PGA Tour back to Las Vegas in 1983 and in helping assemble what became the first million-dollar purse in the city’s tournament history, a milestone noted by the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame. Over time, his move into ownership and development made him as closely associated with boardroom deals as with birdie streaks.
K-State ties and Colbert Hills
Colbert’s roots in Manhattan, Kansas, ran deep. He arrived at Kansas State on a football scholarship, then shifted his focus and finished runner-up in the 1964 NCAA Championship before going on to a long professional golf career. Decades later he helped design Colbert Hills, the university’s home course that opened in 2000, according to the course’s website.
Kansas State officials publicly highlighted his impact on the program and the school. Athletics Director Gene Taylor said the university was “saddened” by Colbert’s passing, in comments reported by KMBC. The university said plans for a celebration of life are still being finalized.
Local legacy and honors
Over the years Colbert was inducted into multiple halls of fame, including the Kansas State Athletic Hall of Fame and the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame, a record of recognition that underscored both his on-course performance and his civic contributions, as noted by Golf Digest. Local coverage often framed him as a builder who helped put Las Vegas back on the pro-golf map, and the Review-Journal detailed his role in local tournaments and course development.
Colbert leaves behind the business footprint of his golf company, a collegiate course that bears his name and a long list of fans and fellow players who spent this week remembering the bucket hat, the blunt humor and the competitive fire that made him a fixture in Las Vegas golf and beyond.
