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Thomas Oliver Kite, Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American golfer.

Kite was born in Austin, Texas. He began playing golf at age 6 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 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 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain.

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 & 1980, Bob Jones Award recipient in 1979 and Golf Digest Rookie of the Year in 1973.

Tom 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 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 thirteenth, seven shots behind Sergio Garcia.

Kite currently plays the over 50s Champions Tour, where he has eight victories including one senior major.

In 1979, Tom Kite was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.

PGA Tour wins

Major championship is shown in bold.

Champions Tour wins

Senior major championship shown in bold.

Other wins

Results in major championships

Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
The Masters DNP T42 T27 DNP DNP T10 T5 T3 T18 5
U.S. Open CUT DNP T19 DNP T8 CUT CUT T27 T20 CUT
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T5 DNP T2 T30
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP T39 T33 T13 T13 CUT T35

Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
The Masters T6 T5 T5 T2 T6 CUT T2 T24 44 T18
U.S. Open CUT T20 29 T20 CUT 13 T35 T46 T36 T9
The Open Championship T27 DNP CUT T29 T22 T8 CUT T72 T20 T19
PGA Championship T20 T4 T9 T67 T34 T12 T26 T10 T3 T34

Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Masters T14 56 DNP CUT 4 CUT CUT 2 38 DNP
U.S. Open T56 T37 1 CUT T33 T67 T82 T68 T43 T60
The Open Championship CUT T44 T19 T14 T8 T58 T26 T10 T36 DNP
PGA Championship T40 T52 T21 T56 T9 T54 CUT 5 CUT CUT

Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
The Masters DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP
U.S. Open T32 T5 CUT CUT T57
The Open Championship T70 DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T19 CUT DNP DNP DNP

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

External links

American golfers | PGA Tour golfers | Champions Tour golfers | Winners of men's major golf championships | Winners of senior major golf championships | Members of the World Golf Hall of Fame | People from Texas | 1949 births | Living people

Tom Kite | Tom Kite

 

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