David Frost (golfer)


David Laurence Frost is a South African professional golfer who was ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Frost has 29 professional tournament wins to his name, spread across four continents, including the World Series of Golf, South African Open, Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge and Canadian Open. He has also been on the winning Alfred Dunhill Cup team and played in the Presidents Cup.

Early life

Frost was born in Cape Town, South Africa and graduated from Paarl Boys' High School in 1977. He used to be a cigarette salesman.

Professional career

In 1981, he turned professional. Frost scored his first professional win in his home country in 1983 and has continued to play in South Africa in the northern winter, but like other leading South African golfers he has spent far more time playing internationally.
In line with many other Commonwealth golfers, his first move abroad was to the European Tour and he played that tour from 1982 to 1984. South Africa was temporarily a republic outside the Commonwealth from 31 May 1961 to 31 May 1994 when he was playing in the early part of his career.
From 1985, he was primarily on the U.S.-based PGA Tour. He moved to Miami, Florida. In 1989, he won the NEC World Series of Golf, defeating Ben Crenshaw at the second playoff hole. He made the top ten on the PGA Tour money list twice, placing 9th in 1988 and 5th in 1993 and was ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for 86 weeks between 1988 and 1994. By his forties, he was no longer a regular contender on the tour, but in 2005 he set the all time PGA Tour 72-hole putting record with 92 putts at the MCI Heritage.
In 2007, Frost re-established his career on the European Tour aiming on the senior tour when turning 50.
In June 2013, Frost won his maiden senior major championship at the 2013 Regions Tradition. He won by a single stroke over Fred Couples to claim his first major title in his 17th attempt. It was also his fifth career victory on the Champions Tour. In March 2015, Frost won his sixth Champions Tour title at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic by a single stroke over Tom Lehman and Kevin Sutherland.
Frost won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit in 1998/99. He was a member of the International Team in the first staging of the Presidents Cup in 1994, and took part again in 1996. In both 1997 and 1998 he captained South Africa to victory in the Alfred Dunhill Cup at the Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland. His teammates were Ernie Els and Retief Goosen on both occasions.

Private life

The son of a vintner himself, Frost owns a winery in the Western Cape, South Africa, which produces vintages named after golf legends such as Jack Nicklaus and the late Arnold Palmer.

Professional wins (29)

PGA Tour wins (10)

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11986Western Open

European Tour wins (2)

1Co-sanctioned by the Southern Africa Tour
European Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11997Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11992Dunlop Phoenix Tournament|1947

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11994Kent Hong Kong Open

Southern Africa Tour wins (5)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
115 Jan 1983Gordon's Gin Classic−8 5 strokes

Other wins (3)

Other playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
12000Fred Meyer Challenge
(with

Champions Tour wins (6)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
18 Aug 20103M Championship−25 7 strokes

European Senior Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
112 Dec 2010
Mauritius Commercial Bank Open−13 Playoff

Results in major championships

Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
Masters TournamentCUTT32CUTT35T5T1037T26
U.S. OpenT33CUTCUTCUTCUTCUT
The Open ChampionshipCUTCUTT24T51T31T41CUTT44T7
PGA ChampionshipT31T48T73CUTT25T67CUTCUTT56T21

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" = tied

Summary

  • Most consecutive cuts made – 6
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 3

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
The Players ChampionshipCUTT41CUTCUTCUTT37T17WDT42T52

CUT = missed the halfway cut

WD = withdrew

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

"T" = Tied

Senior major championships

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2022.
Tournament2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
The TraditionT2111T181T25T34T17T3467T22NTT66T57T63T67
Senior PGA ChampionshipT2T22T4T5T58T7CUTT18T12NTCUTT55CUT
U.S. Senior Open62DQWDT20T3T33T9T18T24NT
Senior Players ChampionshipT24T25T55T28T27T15T59T13T35T59T54T62T58T59
Senior British Open ChampionshipT146T15T3T21T67T1413T64T7NTT70T41

CUT = missed the halfway cut

WD = withdrew

DQ = disqualified

"T" indicates a tie for a place

NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Team appearances

Professional