Peter Thomson (golfer)

Peter William Thomson was an Australian professional golfer, often cited as the greatest and most successful golfer in Australian golf history. In the late 1940s, Thomson turned professional and immediately had success on the Australasian circuits, then posted his first international win at the 1950 New Zealand Open followed by the 1951 Australian Open.
From the time he turned professional in 1949, Thomson won at least one tournament every year for the next 20 years, including 27 'National Opens'. Thomson won professional championships in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Philippines, England, Scotland, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Canada, India, Hong Kong and the United States. In the United Kingdom, Thomson had extraordinary success, winning dozens of tournaments on the British PGA circuit, including the Open Championship five times.
As a senior, Thomson continued with success, winning 11 times on the Senior PGA Tour in the United States, including a record nine times in one season, 1985, a record he holds with Hale Irwin.

Early life

Thomson was born in Brunswick, a northern suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

Professional career

Thomson's Open Championship wins came in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1965. He was the only man to win the tournament for three consecutive years in the 20th century.
Thomson was a prolific tournament champion around the world, winning the national championships of ten countries, including the New Zealand Open nine times.
He competed on the American PGA Tour from 1953 to 1957, playing 74 events and only missing 3 cuts.
With one win, several runner-up finishes and over a dozen top-10 finishes, Thomson decided he preferred the 'tour' in the UK/Europe and chose to travel from Australia to play his summer season in the UK, rather than the USA from 1958 onward.
His best year in the US was in 1956, playing in just eight events, he won the Texas International Open, and achieved his best finish in one of the three majors staged in the United States, to finish ninth on the money list.
In the era that Thomson won his first four Open Championships, few of the leading professionals from the United States travelled to Britain to play in that event. At that time, the prize money in the Open was insufficient for an American to cover their expenses. However, Thomson demonstrated with his win in 1965 that he could beat a field of the world's best players, as that victory came against a field that included Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tony Lema, three of the top four American golfers from the 1964 money list. Peter Thomson put on a ball-striking clinic at Royal Birkdale in 1965, where, in the final 18 holes he took 71 shots that included 35 putts.
Thomson continued on his winning ways, after his historic fifth British Open victory at Royal Birkdale in 1965, hoisting championship trophies in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand and several more victories in the UK before a wrist injury in 1968, in Asia, slowed his performance.
Thomson then enjoyed a successful senior career in the US. In 1985 he won nine times on the Senior PGA Tour in the United States, and finished top of the money list. His last tournament victory came at the 1988 British PGA Seniors Championship.
He was president of the Australian PGA from 1962 to 1994, still the longest serving president.
He served as the non-playing captain of the victorious International Team in the 1998 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne and is, as of 2025, the only captain to steer the International Team to success in the competition's history.
Thomson was active as a golf writer, contributing to The Age of Melbourne for some 50 years from the early 1950s.
His home club was Victoria Golf Club. He was an honorary member of Royal Melbourne Golf Club and dozens of golf clubs around the world including several in Scotland, Japan and throughout Asia.
Following his successful playing career, Thomson began designing courses with Michael Wolveridge in the 1960s. Over 51 years, he and his business partners, including Ross Perrett, developed more than 180 courses in over 30 countries.

Personal life

On June 1, 1960, Thomson was married to Mary Kelly of Melbourne, Australia. The wedding took place in London, England.
Thomson died in Melbourne on 20 June 2018 after a four-year battle with Parkinson's disease, at the age of 88.

Awards and honors

In 1955, he was selected as ABC Sportsman of the Year.
In 1957, he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his services to Australia in the sporting and international sphere.
In 1979, appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for service to the sport of golf.
Thomson was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.
Thomson was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988.
In 1997, The Peter Thomson Trophy, an annual contested between the eight Melbourne Sandbelt golf clubs, was inaugurated.
In 2001, he was awarded the Centenary Medal.
In 2001, he was elected an Officer of the Order of Australia
In 2011, he was inducted into the Victorian Golf Industry Hall of Fame.
In 2016, he was inducted as inaugural Immortal of the PGA of Australia.