Tom Kite
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Oliver Kite, Jr.
Born	(1949-12-09) December 9, 1949 (age 62) McKinney, Texas
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Austin, Texas
Career
College	University of Texas
Turned professional	1972
Current tour(s)	Champions Tour
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	38
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	19
European Tour	2
Champions Tour	10
Other	7
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	2nd/T2: 1983, 1986, 1997
U.S. Open	Won: 1992
The Open Championship	T2: 1978
PGA Championship	T4: 1981, 1988
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	2004 (member page)
PGA Tour leading money winner	1981, 1989
PGA Player of the Year	1989
Vardon Trophy	1981, 1982
Byron Nelson Trophy	1981, 1982
Bob Jones Award	1979

Thomas Oliver Kite, Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings between 1989 and 1994.^[1]

Kite was born in McKinney, Texas. He began playing golf at age six, 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 also underwent laser eye surgery^[2] in a bid to improve his game late in his career.

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. Kite holds a unique record of making the cut for the first four U.S. Opens held at Pebble Beach: 1972, 1982, 1992, and 2000. Kite also holds the distinction of playing in the most Masters Tournaments without a win.^[3]

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 13th, seven shots behind Sergio García.

Kite currently plays the over 50s Champions Tour, where he has nine victories including one senior major, The Countrywide Tradition.

Kite has added golf course designer to his resume and has successfully completed several golf courses in collaboration with Bob Cupp, Randy Russell and Roy Bechtol. Completed golf courses include Liberty National in Jersey City, New Jersey; Comanche Trace in Kerrville, Texas; Somersett Country Club in Reno, Nevada; Gaillardia Golf & Country Club in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and the Legends on LBJ in Kingsland, Texas.

Kite was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.^[4]

Amateur wins (1)[link]

• 1972 NCAA Championship (individual; tie with Ben Crenshaw)

Professional wins (38)[link]

PGA Tour wins (19)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 6, 1976	IVB-Bicentennial Golf Classic	-6 (71-70-70-66=277)	Playoff	Terry Diehl
2	Sep 4, 1978	B.C. Open	-17 (66-65-68-68=267)	5 strokes	Mark Hayes
3	Mar 8, 1981	American Motors Inverrary Classic	-14 (69-68-68-69=274)	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
4	Mar 7, 1982	Bay Hill Classic	-6 (69-70-70-69=278)	Playoff	Jack Nicklaus, Denis Watson
5	Feb 6, 1983	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	-12 (69-72-62-73=276)	2 strokes	Rex Caldwell, Calvin Peete
6	Mar 11, 1984	Doral-Eastern Open	-16 (68-69-70-65=272)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
7	Jun 24, 1984	Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic	-19 (69-67-66-67=269)	5 strokes	Don Pooley
8	May 5, 1985	MONY Tournament of Champions	-16 (68-66-66-64=264)	6 strokes	Mark McCumber
9	Aug 3, 1986	Western Open	-18 (66-70-65-69=270)	Playoff	Fred Couples, David Frost, Nick Price
10	Jun 7, 1987	Kemper Open	-14 (64-69-68-69=270)	7 strokes	Chris Perry, Howard Twitty
11	Mar 12, 1989	Nestle Invitational	-6 (68-72-67-71=278)	Playoff	Davis Love III
12	Mar 19, 1989	The Players Championship	-9 (69-70-69-71=279)	1 stroke	Chip Beck
13	Oct 29, 1989	Nabisco Championship	-8 (69-65-74-68=276)	Playoff	Payne Stewart
14	Aug 5, 1990	Federal Express St. Jude Classic	-15 (72-68-62-67=269)	Playoff	John Cook
15	Jan 6, 1991	Infiniti Tournament of Champions	-16 (68-67-68-69=272)	1 stroke	Lanny Wadkins
16	May 10, 1992	BellSouth Classic	-16 (70-65-72-65=272)	3 strokes	Jay Don Blake
17	Jun 21, 1992	U.S. Open	-3 (71-72-70-72=285)	2 strokes	Jeff Sluman
18	Feb 14, 1993	Bob Hope Chrysler Classic	-35 (67-67-64-65-62=325)	6 strokes	Rick Fehr
19	Feb 28, 1993	Nissan Los Angeles Open	-6 (67-69-70-72=278)	3 strokes	Dave Barr, Fred Couples, Donnie Hammond, Payne Stewart

PGA Tour playoff record (6-4)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1976	IVB-Bicentennial Golf Classic	Terry Diehl	Won with par on fifth extra hole
2	1982	Bob Hope Desert Classic	Ed Fiori	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
3	1982	Bay Hill Classic	Jack Nicklaus, Denis Watson	Won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1986	Western Open	Fred Couples, David Frost, Nick Price	Won with birdie on first extra hole
5	1988	Kemper Open	Morris Hatalsky	Lost to par on second extra hole
6	1988	Nabisco Championship	Curtis Strange	Lost to birdie on second extra hole
7	1989	Nestle Invitational	Davis Love III	Won with par on second extra hole
8	1989	Nabisco Championship	Payne Stewart	Won with par on second extra hole
9	1990	Federal Express St. Jude Classic	John Cook	Won with birdie on first extra hole
10	1992	Bob Hope Chrysler Classic	John Cook, Rick Fehr, Mark O'Meara, Gene Sauers	Cook won with eagle on fourth extra hole Fehr eliminated with birdie on second hole Kite and O'Meara eliminated with birdie on first hole

European Tour wins (2)[link]

• 1980 European Open
• 1996 Oki Pro-Am

Other wins (7)[link]

• 1974 Air New Zealand Open
• 1981 JCPenney Mixed Team Classic (with Beth Daniel)
• 1987 Kirin Cup (individual)
• 1989 Alfred Dunhill Cup (team)
• 1992 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Billy Andrade), Franklin Funds Shark Shootout (with Davis Love III)
• 1996 Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout (with Jay Haas)

Champions Tour wins (10)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Apr 2, 2000	The Countrywide Tradition	-8 (68-70-71-71=280)	Playoff	Larry Nelson, Tom Watson
2	Jun 11, 2000	SBC Senior Open	-9 (71-68-68=207)	2 strokes	Bruce Fleisher
3	Sep 30, 2001	Gold Rush Classic	-22 (65-62-67=194)	1 stroke	Allen Doyle
4	Jan 20, 2002	MasterCard Championship	-17 (63-69-67=199)	6 strokes	John Jacobs
5	Mar 3, 2002	SBC Senior Classic	-4 (74-69-69=212)	Playoff	Tom Watson
6	Oct 13, 2002	Napa Valley Championship	-12 (66-66-72=204)	1 stroke	Bruce Fleisher, Fred Gibson
7	Aug 8, 2004	3M Championship	-13 (65-69-69=203)	1 stroke	Craig Stadler
8	Mar 12, 2006	AT&T Classic	-12 (70-64-70=204)	5 strokes	Gil Morgan
9	Aug 20, 2006	Boeing Greater Seattle Classic	-15 (71-64-66=201)	Playoff	Keith Fergus
10	Aug 24, 2008	Boeing Classic	-14 (69-67-66=202)	2 strokes	Scott Simpson

Major championships[link]

Wins (1)[link]

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner-up
1992	U.S. Open	1 shot deficit	-3 (71-72-70-72=285)	2 strokes	Jeff Sluman

Results timeline[link]

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

Champions Tour major championships[link]

Wins (1)[link]

Year	Championship	Winning Score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
2000	The Countrywide Tradition	−8 (66−71−71−72=80)	Playoff1	Larry Nelson, Tom Watson

¹Kite won it on the sixth hole in a sudden-death playoff by making birdie, which defeated both Nelson and Watson.^[5]

U.S. national team appearances[link]

Amateur

• Walker Cup: 1971
• Eisenhower Trophy: 1970 (winners)

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1979 (winners), 1981 (winners), 1983 (winners), 1985, 1987, 1989 (tie), 1993 (winners), 1997 (captain)

See also[link]

• Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• Golfers with most Champions Tour wins

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tom Kite at the PGA Tour official site
• Tom Kite at the European Tour official site
• about.com profile
• Tom Kite Design

Tom Kite in the Ryder Cup v t e United States Ryder Cup captains 1927 Walter Hagen 1929 Walter Hagen 1931 Walter Hagen 1933 Walter Hagen 1935 Walter Hagen 1937 Walter Hagen 1947 Ben Hogan 1949 Ben Hogan 1951 Sam Snead 1953 Lloyd Mangrum 1955 Chick Harbert 1957 Jack Burke, Jr. 1959 Sam Snead 1961 Jerry Barber 1963 Arnold Palmer 1965 Byron Nelson 1967 Ben Hogan 1969 Sam Snead 1971 Jay Hebert 1973 Jack Burke, Jr. 1975 Arnold Palmer 1977 Dow Finsterwald 1979 Billy Casper 1981 Dave Marr 1983 Jack Nicklaus 1985 Lee Trevino 1987 Jack Nicklaus 1989 Raymond Floyd 1991 Dave Stockton 1993 Tom Watson 1995 Lanny Wadkins 1997 Tom Kite 1999 Ben Crenshaw 2002 Curtis Strange 2004 Hal Sutton 2006 Tom Lehman 2008 Paul Azinger 2010 Corey Pavin v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1979 Andy Bean · Lee Elder · Hubert Green · Mark Hayes · Hale Irwin · Tom Kite · John Mahaffey · Gil Morgan · Larry Nelson · Lee Trevino · Lanny Wadkins · Fuzzy Zoeller Billy Casper (non-playing captain) Won: 17 – 11 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1981 Ben Crenshaw · Raymond Floyd · Hale Irwin · Tom Kite · Bruce Lietzke · Johnny Miller · Larry Nelson · Jack Nicklaus · Jerry Pate · Bill Rogers · Lee Trevino · Tom Watson Dave Marr (non-playing captain) Won: 18.5 – 9.5 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1983 Ben Crenshaw · Raymond Floyd · Bob Gilder · Jay Haas · Tom Kite · Gil Morgan · Calvin Peete · Craig Stadler · Curtis Strange · Lanny Wadkins · Tom Watson · Fuzzy Zoeller Jack Nicklaus (non-playing captain) Won: 14.5 – 13.5 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1985 Raymond Floyd · Hubert Green · Peter Jacobsen · Tom Kite · Andy North · Mark O'Meara · Calvin Peete · Craig Stadler · Curtis Strange · Hal Sutton · Lanny Wadkins · Fuzzy Zoeller Lee Trevino (non-playing captain) Lost: 11.5 – 16.5 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1987 Andy Bean · Mark Calcavecchia · Ben Crenshaw · Tom Kite · Larry Mize · Larry Nelson · Dan Pohl · Scott Simpson · Payne Stewart · Curtis Strange · Hal Sutton · Lanny Wadkins Jack Nicklaus (non-playing captain) Lost: 13 – 15 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1989 Paul Azinger · Chip Beck · Mark Calcavecchia · Fred Couples · Ken Green · Tom Kite · Mark McCumber · Mark O'Meara · Payne Stewart · Curtis Strange · Lanny Wadkins Tom Watson · Raymond Floyd (non-playing captain) Tied: 14 – 14 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1993 Paul Azinger · Chip Beck · John Cook · Fred Couples · Raymond Floyd · Jim Gallagher, Jr. · Lee Janzen · Tom Kite · Davis Love III · Corey Pavin · Payne Stewart · Lanny Wadkins Tom Watson (non-playing captain) Won: 15 – 13 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1997 Fred Couples · Brad Faxon · Jim Furyk · Scott Hoch · Lee Janzen · Tom Lehman · Justin Leonard · Davis Love III · Jeff Maggert · Phil Mickelson · Mark O'Meara · Tiger Woods Tom Kite (non-playing captain) Lost: 13.5 – 14.5

Ben Crenshaw
Personal information
Full name	Ben Daniel Crenshaw
Nickname	Gentle Ben
Born	(1952-01-11) January 11, 1952 (age 60) Austin, Texas
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	157 lb (71 kg; 11.2 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Austin, Texas
Spouse	Julie Crenshaw
Career
College	University of Texas
Turned professional	1973
Current tour(s)	Champions Tour
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	30
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	19
European Tour	1
Other	9 (regular) 1 (senior)
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 2)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1984, 1995
U.S. Open	T3: 1975
The Open Championship	T2: 1978, 1979
PGA Championship	2nd: 1979
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	2002 (member page)
Haskins Award	1971, 1972, 1973
Bob Jones Award	1991
Old Tom Morris Award	1997
Payne Stewart Award	2001

Ben Daniel Crenshaw (born January 11, 1952) is an American professional golfer.