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Jim Colbert, an eight-time PGA TOUR winner who added 20 titles on PGA TOUR Champions, died Sunday at 85. Colbert, born in New Jersey, played golf and football in his youth and received a football scholarship to Kansas State University. An injury ended his football career and he pivoted to golf full-time, finishing runner-up at the 1964 NCAA Championship before turning pro. Colbert was not an overnight sensation on TOUR; he earned just $1,898 across 13 starts as a rookie in 1966. But he steadily progressed, capturing his first victory at the 1969 Monsanto Open in Florida (one stroke clear of eventual TOUR Commissioner Deane Beman) and adding seven more titles, including a two-win season in 1983. Between his PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions careers, Colbert worked as a golf analyst for ESPN, becoming a fan favorite with his straight-talk approach toward the game. He was a quick success on the 50-and-over circuit, winning three times in 1991 en route to Rookie of the Year honors, and he steadily added to his win total to become one of just 11 players with 20 or more PGA TOUR Champions titles. Colbert sported a bucket hat throughout his career, largely to protect his skin after nearly collapsing of sunstroke at a tournament in 1957. There was one six-month span in 1970 where he switched things up with a baseball cap, but after discovering that nobody could recognize him, he reverted to his signature look. “Lee Trevino has the sombrero. Jack Nicklaus has the bear,” Colbert once said. “I have my hat.” Colbert had another health scare in 1996 when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but he had successful surgery and was back to elite form by 1998, returning to the winner’s circle and being named Comeback Player of the Year. Colbert made 1,091 combined starts across the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions. Even though golf wasn’t in his original career plans, he made it his life’s work. Rest in peace, Jim Colbert.