Tom Kite
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas Oliver Kite, Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American golfer.
Kite was born in Austin, Texas. He began playing golf at age 6 and won his first tournament at age 11. Kite attended the University of Texas on a golf scholarship and was coached by Harvey Penick. He turned professional in 1972 and has been a consistent money winner ever since. Known for his innovation, he was the first to add a third wedge to his bag, one of the first players to use a sports psychologist and one of the first to emphasize physical fitness for game improvement.
He has 19 PGA Tour victories, including the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He competed on seven Ryder Cup squads (1979, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1993) and served as the 1997 captain.
In 1989 he was named PGA of America Player of the Year; in 1981 the Golf Writers Association Player of the Year, the Vardon Trophy winner in 1980 & 1981, Bob Jones Award recipient in 1979 and Golf Digest Rookie of the Year in 1973.
Tom Kite was the first in Tour history to reach $6 million, $7 million, $8 million, and $9 million in career earnings. He was the Tour’s leading money-winner in 1981 and 1989.
In 2005 he led the PGA Tour's Booz Allen Classic by one shot going into the final round at the age of 55. If he had been able to stay ahead he would have beaten Sam Snead's record as the oldest winner on the PGA Tour by three years, but he fell away to finish tied thirteenth, seven shots behind Sergio García.
Kite currently plays the over 50s Champions Tour, where he has nine victories including one senior major.
In 1979, Tom Kite was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.
Contents |
[edit] PGA Tour wins (19)
- 1976 (1) IVB-Bicentennial Golf Classic
- 1978 (1) B.C. Open
- 1981 (1) American Motors Inverrary Classic
- 1982 (1) Bay Hill Classic
- 1983 (1) Bing Crosby National Pro-Am
- 1984 (2) Doral - Eastern Open Invitational, Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic
- 1985 (1) MONY Tournament of Champions
- 1986 (1) Western Open
- 1987 (1) Kemper Open
- 1989 (3) Nestle Invitational, The Players Championship, Nabisco Championship
- 1990 (1) Federal Express St. Jude Classic
- 1991 (1) Infiniti Tournament of Champions
- 1992 (2) BellSouth Classic, U.S. Open
- 1993 (2) Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Nissan Los Angeles Open
Major championship is shown in bold.
[edit] Champions Tour wins (9)
- 2000 (2) The Countrywide Tradition, SBC Senior Open
- 2001 (1) Gold Rush Classic
- 2002 (3) MasterCard Championship, SBC Senior Classic, Napa Valley Championship
- 2004 (1) 3M Championship
- 2006 (2) AT&T Classic, Boeing Greater Seattle Classic
Senior major championship is shown in bold.
[edit] Other wins (9)
- 1972 NCAA Championship (individual (tie); amateur event)
- 1974 Air New Zealand Open
- 1980 European Open
- 1981 JCPenney Classic (with Beth Daniel)
- 1987 Kirin Cup (individual)
- 1989 Alfred Dunhill Cup (team)
- 1992 Franklin Funds Shark Shootout (with Davis Love III)
- 1996 Oki Pro-Am, Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout (with Jay Haas).
[edit] Major Championships
[edit] Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 Holes | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runners Up |
| 1992 | U.S. Open | 1 shot deficit | -3 (71-72-70-72=285) | 2 strokes |  Jeff Sluman |
[edit] Results timeline
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | T42 | T27 | DNP | DNP | T10 | T5 | T3 | T18 | 5 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | DNP | T19 | DNP | T8 | CUT | CUT | T27 | T20 | CUT |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T5 | DNP | T2 | T30 |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T39 | T33 | T13 | T13 | CUT | T35 |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T6 | T5 | T5 | T2 | T6 | CUT | T2 | T24 | 44 | T18 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T20 | 29 | T20 | CUT | 13 | T35 | T46 | T36 | T9 |
| The Open Championship | T27 | DNP | CUT | T29 | T22 | T8 | CUT | T72 | T20 | T19 |
| PGA Championship | T20 | T4 | T9 | T67 | T34 | T12 | T26 | T10 | T4 | T34 |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T14 | 56 | DNP | CUT | 4 | CUT | CUT | 2 | 38 | DNP |
| U.S. Open | T56 | T37 | 1 | CUT | T33 | T67 | T82 | T68 | T43 | T60 |
| The Open Championship | CUT | T44 | T19 | T14 | T8 | T58 | T27 | T10 | T38 | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T40 | T52 | T21 | T56 | T9 | T54 | CUT | 5 | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | T32 | T5 | CUT | CUT | T57 |
| The Open Championship | T70 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T19 | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Profile on the PGA Tour's site
- Golf Stars Online - links to features and profiles
- about.com profile
- Books by and about Tom Kite
