Jerry Pate

Jerome Kendrick "Jerry" Pate (born September 16, 1953) is an American professional golfer.

Jerry Pate was born in Macon, Georgia, and attended the University of Alabama, where he played on the Crimson Tide golf team. Pate had a distinguished amateur career. He won the U.S. Amateur in 1974, and the following year he was a member of victorious U.S. teams at the Walker Cup and the Eisenhower Trophy. He was also the low amateur at the U.S. Open in 1975.

Pate turned professional in 1975 and was the medalist at the 1975 PGA Tour Qualifying School. During his rookie season in 1976, he won the U.S. Open, his only major championship victory, and the Canadian Open. Pate was selected as the Rookie of the Year and Co-Player of the Year. Six more PGA Tour victories followed between 1977 and 1982, as well as several other titles around the world. He was a member of the victorious Ryder Cup team in 1981, but shoulder injuries curtailed his career; his final win on the PGA Tour came at age 28. That final victory was the Tournament Players Championship, the first held at TPC at Sawgrass. Pate celebrated by throwing course designer Pete Dye and PGA Tour chief Deane Beman into the lake adjacent to the 18th green, then jumped in himself.

Pate later served as a broadcast analyst for ABC, CBS and the BBC and set up a golf course design practice and a turf and irrigation company. During the years between his regular and senior careers, Pate returned to the University of Alabama to complete his Bachelor of Administrative Science degree; his daughter, Jenni, received her degree at the same graduation ceremony in 2001. He designed the Kiva Dunes in 1995 and the Ol' Colony Golf Complex in 2000, which is the home course for the Alabama Crimson Tide golf team. In 2006, he earned his first Champions Tour win at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. Pate has been forced by health problems, including arthroscopic left-knee surgery in 2010, to begin limiting his Champions Tour appearances. Pate now owns a golf cart and golf course design company named the Jerry Pate Company. The company is based in Pensacola, Florida with branches in Birmingham, Alabama , Atlanta, Georgia & Pensacola, Florida.

• 1974 U.S. Amateur

PGA Tour wins (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 20, 1976	U.S. Open	−3 (71-69-69-68=277)	2 strokes	Al Geiberger, Tom Weiskopf
2	Jul 25, 1976	Canadian Open	−13 (69-67-68-63=267)	4 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
3	Jan 9, 1977	Phoenix Open	−7 (67-67-70-73=277)	Playoff	Dave Stockton
4	Oct 23, 1977	Southern Open	−14 (64-67-69-66=266)	7 strokes	Phil Hancock, Mac McLendon, Johnny Miller, Steve Taylor
5	Sep 10, 1978	Southern Open	−11 (67-67-66-69=269)	1 stroke	Phil Hancock
6	Jun 28, 1981	Danny Thomas Memphis Classic	−14 (69-70-66-69=274)	2 strokes	Tom Kite, Bruce Lietzke
7	Oct 18, 1981	Pensacola Open	−17 (66-69-65-71=271)	3 strokes	Steve Melnyk
8	Mar 21, 1982	Tournament Players Championship	−8 (70-73-70-67=280)	2 strokes	Brad Bryant, Scott Simpson

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1977	Phoenix Open	Dave Stockton	Won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1978	PGA Championship	John Mahaffey, Tom Watson	Mahaffey won with birdie on second extra hole
3	1980	Sea Pines Heritage	Doug Tewell	Lost to par on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

• 1976 Pacific Masters
• 1980 ABC Japan vs USA Golf Matches

Other wins (3)

• 1977 Pepsi-Cola Mixed Team Championship (with Hollis Stacy)
• 1980 Brazil Open
• 1981 Colombian Open

Champions Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	Feb 26, 2006	Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am	−11 (68-68-66=202)	1 stroke	Morris Hatalsky, Hale Irwin, Mark James
2	Jan 27, 2008	Turtle Bay Championship	−5 (71-70-70=211)	2 strokes	Fulton Allem, Jim Thorpe

Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	2005	Senior PGA Championship	Dana Quigley, Mike Reid	Reid won with birdie on first extra hole

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
1976	U.S. Open	2 shot deficit	−3 (71-69-69-68=277)	2 strokes	Al Geiberger, Tom Weiskopf

Results timeline

LA = Low amateur
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1980 Open Championship – 1982 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Amateur

• Eisenhower Trophy: 1974 (team winners and individual winner)
• Walker Cup: 1975 (winners)

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1981 (winners)
• World Cup: 1976