Tom Shaw (golfer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tom Shaw
Personal information
Full nameThomas G. Shaw
Born (1938-12-13) December 13, 1938 (age 85)
Wichita, Kansas
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceFort Lauderdale, Florida
Career
CollegeUniversity of Oregon
Turned professional1962
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins8
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour4
PGA Tour Champions2
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT36: 1971
PGA ChampionshipT21: 1969
U.S. OpenT25: 1973
The Open ChampionshipT28: 1970

Thomas G. Shaw (born December 13, 1938) is an American professional golfer who has played on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.

Shaw was born in Wichita, Kansas. He attended the University of Oregon in Eugene from 1959–1962, and was an All-American member of the golf team. He helped Oregon win the Pacific Coast Conference title in 1959. Shaw graduated and turned pro in 1962. He joined the PGA Tour in 1963.

Shaw won four PGA Tour events and had over two dozen top-10 finishes. In 1966, he was seriously injured in a car accident on the way to the Bob Hope Classic. In 1971, he won twice, earned $96,220, and finished 15th on the money list.[1] His best finish in a major was a T-21 at the 1969 PGA Championship.[2]

Shaw began play on the Senior PGA Tour in 1989, and was one of five rookies to win on tour that year. His two wins on the senior tour included one senior major, at The Tradition in 1993 when he defeated Mike Hill by one stroke. He has over two dozen top-10 finishes at this level also.

Shaw was inducted into the University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. He lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Age controversy[edit]

Shaw claimed throughout his career on the PGA Tour to be four years younger than the age in some record books.[3] He was suspected by some of being older, notably by Frank Hannigan, who as Executive Director of the United States Golf Association paired him with the then-19-year-old Ben Crenshaw and 24-year-old Johnny Miller, both known as fast players, for the first two rounds of the 1971 U.S. Open for his apparent amusement. As it turned out, Hannigan was right; in 1988, Shaw produced a birth certificate proving that he had been born on the same date in 1938, which made him eligible for the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) starting with the 1989 season.[4]

Professional wins (8)[edit]

PGA Tour wins (4)[edit]

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Mar 2, 1969 Doral Open Invitational −12 (65-70-71-70=276) 1 stroke United States Tommy Aaron
2 Aug 24, 1969 AVCO Golf Classic −4 (68-68-67-77=280) 1 stroke Australia Bob Stanton
3 Jan 17, 1971 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am −13 (68-71-69-70=278) 2 strokes United States Arnold Palmer
4 Feb 7, 1971 Hawaiian Open −15 (68-67-69-69=273) 1 stroke United States Miller Barber

Other wins (1)[edit]

Senior PGA Tour wins (2)[edit]

Legend
Senior PGA Tour major championships (1)
Other Senior PGA Tour (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Aug 6, 1989 Showdown Classic −9 (69-68-70=207) 1 stroke United States Larry Mowry
2 Apr 4, 1993 The Tradition −19 (70-65-67-67=269) 1 stroke United States Mike Hill

Other senior wins (1)[edit]

  • 1989 Senior Slam of Golf at Querétaro

Champions Tour major championships[edit]

Wins (1)[edit]

Year Championship Winning score Margin Runner-up
1993 The Tradition −19 (70-65-67-67=269) 1 stroke United States Mike Hill

References[edit]

  1. ^ Bio from PGA Tour's official site
  2. ^ "Golf Major Championships".
  3. ^ "Tom Shaw: The Mod Paradox - Either Great or Horrid". The Palm Beach Post. West Palm Beach, Florida. Associated Press. June 16, 1971. p. C6. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
  4. ^ Feinstein, John (2000). The Majors: In Pursuit of Golf's Holy Grail. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 199. ISBN 0-316-27795-9.

External links[edit]