Tom Kite

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**Tom Kite**
Personal Information
Birth	December 9, 1949 (1949-12-09) (age 58) McKinney, Texas, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Nationality	United States
College	University of Texas
Career
Turned Pro	1972
Current tour	Champions Tour
Professional wins	36 (PGA Tour: 19, Champions Tour: 9, other: 8)
Best Results in Major Championships Wins: 1
Masters	2nd/T2: 1983, 1986, 1997
U.S. Open	Won 1992
British Open	T2: 1978
PGA Championship	T4: 1981, 1988
Awards
Bob Jones Award	1979
Golf Writers' Player of the Year	1981, 1989
Vardon Trophy	1981, 1982
Byron Nelson Trophy	1981, 1982
PGA Player of the Year	1989
World Golf Hall of Fame	2004

Thomas Oliver Kite, Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer. 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 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. Kite holds a unique record of making the cut at every U.S. Open held at Pebble Beach, 1972, 1982, 1992, and 2000.

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. On earnings in the PGA tour, Kite said, "On tour we get paid for performance. If we don't play well, our income falls dramatically. If we get hurt and have to sit out a season, there's no income at all."^[2]

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, 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. Visit Tom Kite Design link below.

In 1973 Kite was the Rookie of the Year, 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.^[3].

1 Amateur wins (1)
2 Professional wins (36)
3 Major Championships
- 3.1 Wins (1)
- 3.2 Results timeline
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Amateur wins (1)

1972 NCAA Championship (individual; tie with Ben Crenshaw)

[edit] Professional wins (36)

[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, 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] Other wins (8)

1974 Air New Zealand Open
1980 European Open (European Tour)
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 (European Tour), Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout with (Jay Haas).

[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] Major Championships

[edit] Wins (1)

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

[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