Tom Kite

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 Ranking between 1989 and 1994.

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, due to his partial blindness, 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 shares the distinction (with Gene Littler) of playing in the most Masters Tournaments without a win.

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 1981 and 1982, Bob Jones Award recipient in 1979 and Golf Digest Rookie of the Year in 1973.

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 his prime Kite had few peers with the short irons. In 1993, Johnny Miller referred to Kite as "the greatest short-iron player the game has seen."

His 16th and 17th PGA Tour victories were on Mother's Day and Father's Day in 1992.

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 ten victories including one senior major, The Countrywide Tradition. At the 2012 U.S. Senior Open, Kite shot a front nine 28 (seven under par) in the first round. This was the lowest nine-hole score ever recorded in any USGA championship. He finished the tournament tied for 12th.

Kite has added golf course designer to his résumé 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.

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

PGA Tour wins (19)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 6, 1976	IVB-Bicentennial Golf Classic	−7 (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	−13 (64-72-70-69=275)	6 strokes	Mark McCumber
9	Aug 3, 1986	Western Open	−2 (70-75-73-68=286)	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	−7 (73-66-67=206)	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)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Sep 7, 1980	European Open	−8 (71-67-71-75=284)	1 stroke	Lon Hinkle, Leonard Thompson
2	Oct 13, 1996	Oki Pro-Am	−15 (71-68-64-70=273)	1 stroke	Ángel Cabrera

Other wins (7)

• 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)

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

Champions Tour playoff record (3–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	2000	The Countrywide Tradition	Larry Nelson, Tom Watson	Won with birdie on sixth extra hole Nelson eliminated with par on second hole
2	2002	SBC Senior Classic	Tom Watson	Won with par on second extra hole
3	2006	Boeing Greater Seattle Classic	Keith Fergus	Won with birdie on first extra hole
4	2007	Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf	Jay Haas	Lost to par on first extra hole
5	2008	ACE Group Classic	Brad Bryant, Scott Hoch, Tom Jenkins	Hoch won with birdie on first extra hole

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

Results timeline

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

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 15 (1986 PGA – 1990 U.S. Open)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (four times)

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runners-up
2000	The Countrywide Tradition	−8 (66-71-71-72=280)	Playoff1	Larry Nelson, Tom Watson

¹Kite won with birdie on sixth extra hole; Nelson eliminated with par on second hole

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2016.

Note: The Senior British Open was not a Champions Tour major until 2003.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Amateur

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

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1979 (winners), 1981 (winners), 1983 (winners), 1985, 1987, 1989 (tie), 1993 (winners), 1997 (captain)
• World Cup: 1984, 1985
• Four Tours World Championship: 1987 (winners), 1989 (winners)
• Dunhill Cup: 1989 (winners), 1990, 1992, 1994
• UBS Cup: 2002 (winners), 2004 (winners)