Don Pooley
Encyclopedia
Sheldon George "Don" Pooley, Jr. (born August 27, 1951) is an American
professional golfer
who has won tournaments on both the PGA Tour
and the Champions Tour
.
Pooley was born in Phoenix, Arizona
. He grew up in Riverside, California
. He attended the University of Arizona
in Tucson
, where he was a member of the golf team. He turned pro in 1973.
Despite winning the 1980 B.C. Open
and the 1987 Memorial Tournament
, Pooley is probably best remembered in his PGA Tour career for his dramatic million-dollar hole-in-one at the 1987 Bay Hill Classic. Pooley received $500,000 as did Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women
in Orlando, Florida
because of this once-in-a-lifetime shot. In 1985, he won the Vardon Trophy
, awarded annually by the PGA to the Tour leader in scoring average. His best finish in a major
was T-5 in consecutive major championships — the 1987 PGA Championship
and the 1988 Masters Tournament.
Late in his PGA Tour career, Pooley began to experience many debilitating ailments, and missed several years of playing time as a result; however, he has enjoyed a resurgence in his career after turning 50 in August 2001 when he began play on the Champions Tour. The biggest win in his golf
career was his first on the Champions Tour. In 2002, he won on the biggest stage in men's senior golf, the U.S. Senior Open.
Pooley is a spiritual man of deep religious faith. He has been involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
and the PGA Tour Bible
study group throughout his career. He lives in Tucson, Arizona
.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10
1In a three-hole playoff, Pooley and Watson tied (three pars each), on the first sudden-death hole Pooley won with a birdie to Watson's par.
The Senior British Open was not a Champions Tour major until 2003.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew from tournament
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional golfer
Professional golfer
In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...
who has won tournaments on both the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
and the Champions Tour
Champions Tour
The Champions Tour, a golf tour run by the PGA Tour, hosts a series of events annually in the United States and the United Kingdom for golfers 50 years of age and older. Many of the PGA Tour's most successful golfers have gone on to play on the Champions Tour.The Senior PGA Championship, founded in...
.
Pooley was born in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. He grew up in Riverside, California
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and the county seat of the eponymous county. Named for its location beside the Santa Ana River, it is the largest city in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area of Southern California, 4th largest inland California...
. He attended the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in Tucson
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, where he was a member of the golf team. He turned pro in 1973.
Despite winning the 1980 B.C. Open
B.C. Open
The Dick's Sporting Goods Open is a Champions Tour event. It debuted in July 2007, supplanting the B.C. Open, a now-defunct PGA Tour event, which was held annually from 1971 to 2006. It is sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods....
and the 1987 Memorial Tournament
Memorial Tournament
The Memorial Tournament is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on a Nicklaus-designed course at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Nicklaus' home town of Columbus. The golf course passes through a large neighborhood called Muirfield Village...
, Pooley is probably best remembered in his PGA Tour career for his dramatic million-dollar hole-in-one at the 1987 Bay Hill Classic. Pooley received $500,000 as did Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women
Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children
The Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children is a 158-bed pediatrics hospital facility located in Orlando, Florida, United States. The hospital is part of Orlando Health and is supported by the Arnold Palmer Medical Center Foundation. It was ranked as one of the nation's Top 30 pediatric hospitals for...
in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
because of this once-in-a-lifetime shot. In 1985, he won the Vardon Trophy
Vardon Trophy
The Vardon Trophy is awarded annually by the PGA of America to the PGA Tour's leader in scoring average. When the award was first given in 1937, it was awarded on the basis of a points system. No award was given from 1942–1946 due to World War II. In 1947, the PGA began awarding it for low...
, awarded annually by the PGA to the Tour leader in scoring average. His best finish in a major
Men's major golf championships
The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the Major Championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in professional golf...
was T-5 in consecutive major championships — the 1987 PGA Championship
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship...
and the 1988 Masters Tournament.
Late in his PGA Tour career, Pooley began to experience many debilitating ailments, and missed several years of playing time as a result; however, he has enjoyed a resurgence in his career after turning 50 in August 2001 when he began play on the Champions Tour. The biggest win in his golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
career was his first on the Champions Tour. In 2002, he won on the biggest stage in men's senior golf, the U.S. Senior Open.
Pooley is a spiritual man of deep religious faith. He has been involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a non-profit interdenominational Christian organization founded in 1954 and that has been based in Kansas City, Missouri since 1956. It falls within the tradition of Muscular Christianity. Although established by evangelical Protestants, the concept has...
and the PGA Tour Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
study group throughout his career. He lives in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
.
PGA Tour wins
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 31, 1980 1980 PGA Tour The 1980 PGA Tour season was played from January 10 to October 19. The season consisted of 44 official money events. Tom Watson won the most tournaments, seven, and there were 11 first-time winners. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.-Tournament results:The... |
B.C. Open B.C. Open The Dick's Sporting Goods Open is a Champions Tour event. It debuted in July 2007, supplanting the B.C. Open, a now-defunct PGA Tour event, which was held annually from 1971 to 2006. It is sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods.... |
1 stroke |  Peter JacobsenPeter Jacobsen Peter Erling Jacobsen is an American professional golfer, who has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He has won seven events on the PGA Tour and two events on the Champions Tour, both majors.-Early years:... |
|
| 2 | May 31, 1987 1987 PGA Tour The 1987 PGA Tour season was played from January 7 to November 1. The season consisted of 46 official money events. Paul Azinger and Curtis Strange won the most tournaments, three, and there were 10 first-time winners. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.-Tournament... |
Memorial Tournament Memorial Tournament The Memorial Tournament is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on a Nicklaus-designed course at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Nicklaus' home town of Columbus. The golf course passes through a large neighborhood called Muirfield Village... |
3 strokes | Curt Byrum Curt Byrum Curt Allen Byrum is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. He is the older brother of PGA Tour golfer Tom Byrum.... |
Champions Tour wins
EWLINE
|
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 30, 2002 2002 Senior PGA Tour The 2002 Senior PGA Tour was the 23rd season since the Senior PGA Tour officially began in 1980 . The season consisted of 35 official money events with purses totalling $58,205,000, including four majors. Bob Gilder and Hale Irwin won the most tournaments, four... |
U.S. Senior Open | Playoff | Tom Watson Tom Watson (golfer) Thomas Sturges Watson is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and now mostly on the Champions Tour.... |
|
| 2 | Aug 24, 2003 2003 Champions Tour The 2003 Champions Tour was the 24th season since the Champions Tour officially began in 1980 as the Senior PGA Tour. The season consisted of 31 official money events with purses totalling $53,600,000. For the first time, the Senior British Open was recognized as a Champions Tour major, bringing... |
Allianz Championship | 3 strokes | Bruce Fleisher Bruce Fleisher -Early years and amateur career:Fleisher was born in Union City, Tennessee. He became involved in golf at age 7 by working as a caddie with his two brothers. Fleisher attended Miami-Dade Junior College and Furman University. In 1968 at age 19, he became the third youngest player to win the U.S.... , Bruce LietzkeBruce Lietzke Bruce Alan Lietzke is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level.Lietzke was born in Kansas City, Kansas... , Jim ThorpeJim Thorpe (golfer) Jimmy Lee Thorpe is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the Champions Tour.Thorpe was born in Roxboro, North Carolina, the ninth of the twelve children of a fairway superintendent. He attended Morgan State University before turning pro in 1972. He won three times on the PGA Tour... |
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
CUT | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico... |
DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
DNP | CUT | DNP |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | T19 | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | 41 | T45 | T5 | T14 |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
DNP | CUT | CUT | DNP | DNP | T15 | T24 | T24 | CUT | T26 |
| The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T16 | T19 |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
T46 | T19 | T67 | T23 | T34 | T62 | T16 | T5 | T58 | T34 |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T42 | T46 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
CUT | DNP | T44 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP |
| The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico... |
T39 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T101 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
T8 | T73 | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | T29 | DNP | DNP |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
CUT | DNP | DNP | CUT |
| The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | Winning Score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | U.S. Senior Open United States Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the major championships in men's senior golf. It was first played in 1980 and is administered by the United States Golf Association and is recognized as a major championship by both the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour... |
−10 (71−70−63−70=274) | Playoff1 | Tom Watson Tom Watson (golfer) Thomas Sturges Watson is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and now mostly on the Champions Tour.... |
1In a three-hole playoff, Pooley and Watson tied (three pars each), on the first sudden-death hole Pooley won with a birdie to Watson's par.
Results timeline
Results not in chronological order before 2011.| Tournament | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tradition The Tradition The Tradition is one of the five major championships recognized by the U.S.-based Champions Tour, the world's leading tour for professional golfers aged fifty and older. The inaugural event was staged in 1989.Unlike the U.S... |
T9 | T14 | T53 | T36 | T9 | T40 | 46 | T8 |
| Senior PGA Championship Senior PGA Championship The Senior PGA Championship is one of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour. It was formerly an unofficial money... |
T18 | CUT | DNP | T54 | T57 | WD | T6 | T28 |
| Senior British Open Championship Senior British Open Championship The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open is a professional golf tournament for men aged 50 and over. It is run by The R&A, the same body that organises The Open Championship. Prize money won in the event is official money on both the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour... |
- | T27 | T5 | DNP | T13 | DNP | DNP | T8 |
| U.S. Senior Open | 1 | T43 | T15 | T22 | T51 | DNP | T18 | T47 |
| Senior Players Championship Senior Players Championship The Senior Players Championship is one of the five major championships on golf's Champions Tour. Unlike the U.S. Senior Open, the Senior PGA Championship and the Senior British Open, it is not recognized as a major by the European Seniors Tour, and is not part of that tour's schedule. The inaugural... |
T22 | T40 | T13 | T18 | T11 | T23 | T27 | T34 |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|
| The Tradition The Tradition The Tradition is one of the five major championships recognized by the U.S.-based Champions Tour, the world's leading tour for professional golfers aged fifty and older. The inaugural event was staged in 1989.Unlike the U.S... |
T29 | WD |
| Senior PGA Championship Senior PGA Championship The Senior PGA Championship is one of the five major championships in men's senior golf. It is administered by the Professional Golfers' Association of America and is recognized as a major championship by both the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour. It was formerly an unofficial money... |
T23 | DNP |
| Senior British Open Championship Senior British Open Championship The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open is a professional golf tournament for men aged 50 and over. It is run by The R&A, the same body that organises The Open Championship. Prize money won in the event is official money on both the Champions Tour and the European Seniors Tour... |
DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Senior Open | T40 | DNP |
| Senior Players Championship Senior Players Championship The Senior Players Championship is one of the five major championships on golf's Champions Tour. Unlike the U.S. Senior Open, the Senior PGA Championship and the Senior British Open, it is not recognized as a major by the European Seniors Tour, and is not part of that tour's schedule. The inaugural... |
T57 | DNP |
The Senior British Open was not a Champions Tour major until 2003.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew from tournament
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.