Bob Hamilton

Robert T. Hamilton (January 10, 1916 – December 6, 1990) was an American professional golfer. He was born, raised, and died in Evansville, Indiana. He attended and graduated from Evansville Reitz High School in 1934.
Hamilton won ten professional titles, including one major, the PGA Championship in 1944 at Manito Golf and Country Club in Spokane, Washington. Then a match play event, he defeated heavily favored Byron Nelson in the finals, 1 up. Hamilton was a three-time winner of the Indiana Open, winning in 1938, 1942, and 1966. He won five times on the PGA Tour, including the 1948 New Orleans Open, one stroke ahead of runner-up Roberto DeVicenzo. Hamilton was also a member of the 1949 Ryder Cup team.
Hamilton also served as the golf pro at Fort Lewis, south of Seattle, during the latter stages of World War II; he was also a member of the Warriors, the inter-base (intramural) team. Individually, he placed 3rd in the Pacific Northwest Servicemen's Championship (Seattle) and 3rd in the Tacoma Open, a PGA Tour event.
Hamilton finished second to Sam Snead in the 1967 Senior PGA Championship at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Hamilton set the overall record for youngest golfer to shoot his age when he shot a 59 at Hamilton Golf Club in Evansville in 1975.
Hamilton was inducted into the Indiana Golf Hall of Fame in 1965, as a member of the 2nd class so honored.

This list may be incomplete

• 1934 IHSAA Boys State Champion
• 1936 Indiana Amateur

• "State Finals Preview: Prairie View Hosts Boys Golf Championships" (PDF). IHSAA. June 13, 2015. 

PGA Tour wins (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Mar 16, 1944	North and South Open	−2 (73-72-70-71=286)	7 strokes	Bobby Cruickshank
2	Aug 15, 1944	PGA Championship	1 up		Byron Nelson
3	Mar 31, 1946	Charlotte Open	−15 (x-x-x-65=273)	3 strokes	Pete Cooper, Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead
4	Feb 22, 1948	New Orleans Open	−4 (70-71-70-69=280)	1 stroke	Roberto de Vicenzo, Fred Haas, Lawson Little
5	Jul 24, 1949	Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Chick Harbert)	+19 points	14 points	Skip Alexander & Clayton Heafner

Other wins (5)

This list may be incomplete

• 1938 Indiana Open
• 1942 Indiana Open
• 1943 Indiana PGA Championship
• 1944 Indiana PGA Championship
• 1966 Indiana Open

• "North-South Honors Taken By Hamilton". St. Petersburg Times. Florida. AP. March 17, 1944. p. 14. 
• "Bob Hamilton In Charlotte Open Win". Lodi News-Sentinel. California. UP. April 1, 1946. p. 5. 
• "Bob Hamilton Golf Victor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pennsylvania. AP. February 23, 1948. p. 16. 
• Howell, Fritz (July 25, 1949). "Hamilton and Harmon (sic) Win Inverness Four-Ball". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Florida. p. 7. 

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Runner-up
1944	PGA Championship	1 up	Byron Nelson

Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958

Results timeline

Note: Hamilton never played in The Open Championship.
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (1941 U.S. Open – 1949 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1952 PGA – 1953 Masters)