Tom Kite
Thomas Oliver Kite Jr. is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He won the U.S. Open in 1992 and spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1994.
Early life and amateur career
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.At Texas, Kite was a first-team All-American in 1972 when he also shared the individual NCAA championship with team mate Ben Crenshaw. He helped the Longhorns win two NCAA Team Championships in 1971 and 1972 and Southwest Conference Championships in 1970 and 1972. He was a second-team All-American in 1970 and 1971 and won nine collegiate tournaments during his four years.
Professional career
In 1972, Kite turned professional and was a consistent money winner until his retirement. 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 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 of playing in the most Masters Tournaments without a win.
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."
Senior career
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 played the Champions Tour until 2020, claiming ten victories including one senior major, The Countrywide Tradition. At the 2012 U.S. Senior Open, Kite shot a front nine 28 in the first round. This was the lowest nine-hole score ever recorded in any USGA championship. He finished the tournament tied for 12th.
In popular culture
- On May 18, 1991, Kite was impersonated by Kevin Nealon as part of the "Carsenio" sketch on Saturday Night Live featuring Dana Carvey impersonating Johnny Carson and Phil Hartman impersonating Ed McMahon.
- In 1996, Kite had a cameo in The Simpsons episode "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield", in which he gave Homer Simpson golf tips.
Awards and honors
- In 1970 and 1971, Kite earned second-team All-American honors. In 1972, Kite was a first-team All-American.
- In 1973, Kite was noted as the Golf Digest Rookie of the Year.
- In 1979, he was bestowed the Bob Jones Award.
- in 1981, he was awarded the Golf Writers Association Player of the Year.
- In 1981 and 1982, Kite was bestowed the Byron Nelson Award
- Kite was the Vardon Trophy winner in 1981 and 1982.
- In 1984, Kite was inducted into the University of Texas at Austin's Longhorns Hall of Honor.
- In 1989, he was named PGA of America Player of the Year.
- In 2004, Kite was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Amateur wins
- 1972 NCAA Championship
Professional wins (37)
PGA Tour wins (19)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Jun 6, 1976 | IVB-Bicentennial Golf Classic | −7 | Playoff |  European Tour wins (3)
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