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Tom Kite
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EXEMPT STATUS: Top 31
on 2001 SENIOR TOUR Money List
FULL NAME: Thomas Oliver Kite, Jr.
HEIGHT: 5-9
WEIGHT: 170
BIRTHDATE: December 9, 1949
BIRTHPLACE: McKinney, TX
RESIDENCE: Austin, TX
FAMILY: Wife, Christy; Stephanie Lee (10/7/81),
David Thomas and Paul Christopher (9/1/84)
EDUCATION: University of Texas (1972)
SPECIAL INTERESTS: Landscaping
TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 1972
JOINED TOUR: 2000
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| PGA TOUR Victories |
| (19) 1976 IVB-Bicentennial Golf Classic. 1978 B.C. Open.
1981 American Motors Inverrary Classic. 1982 Bay Hill
Classic. 1983 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am. 1984 Doral-Eastern
Open, Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic. 1985 MONY
Tournament of Champions. 1986 Western Open. 1987 Kemper
Open. 1989 Nestle Invitational, THE PLAYERS Championship,
Nabisco Championship. 1990 Federal Express St. Jude Classic.
1991 Infiniti Tournament of Champions. 1992 BellSouth
Classic, U.S. Open Championship. 1993 Bob Hope Chrysler
Classic, Nissan Los Angeles Open. |
| SENIOR TOUR Victories |
| (5) 2000 The Countrywide Tradition, SBC Senior Open.
2001 Gold Rush Classic. 2002 MasterCard Championship,
SBC Senior Classic. |
| Other Victories |
| 1974 Air New Zealand Open, 1980 European Open, 1981
JCPenney Classic (w/Beth Daniel), 1987 Kirin Cup (medalist),
1989 Dunhill Cup, 1992 Shark Shootout (w/Davis Love III),
1996 Oki Pro-Am, Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout (w/Jay
Haas) |
| Current Year PGA TOUR Money and
Positions |
| $26,438 (174) |
| Current Year Charles Schwab Cup
Points and Positions |
| 606 (4th) |
| Current Year SENIOR PGA TOUR Money
and Positions |
| $646,225 (4) |
| Current Year Best PGA TOUR Finishes |
| T36--THE PLAYERS Championship |
| Current Year SENIOR TOUR Best Finishes |
| 1--MasterCard Championship, SBC Senior Classic; T5--Royal
Caribbean Classic, Verizon Classic |
| Current Year PGA TOUR Best Round |
| 69 at Round 4, THE PLAYERS Championship |
| Current Year SENIOR TOUR Best Round |
| 63 at Round 1, MasterCard Championship |
| Current Year SENIOR TOUR Highlights |
| Claimed the first event of the 2002 season when he was
a six-stroke victor at the MasterCard Championship, becoming
just the third player to go wire-to-wire in the event.
Opening-round 63 was a Hualalai course record and included
a pair of eagles on the front nine. Victory in Hawaii
made him just the fourth player to have won the season-opening
event on both the SENIOR TOUR and the PGA TOUR (joining
Jack Nicklaus, Al Geiberger and Don January)...Defeated
Tom Watson on the second playoff hole to win the SBC Senior
Classic. Victory at Valencia was his eighth TOUR title
in the state of California and made him the first multiple
winner of the 2002 season...Also was one stroke off the
lead heading into the final round of the Verizon Classic,
but T5 after shooting 4-over 75...Forced to withdraw just
prior to the start of the Toshiba Senior Classic due to
back spasms...Finished T36 at THE PLAYERS Championship,
the 23rd time he has made the cut in the prestigious event,
a tournament record. |
| Best 2001 PGA TOUR Finishes |
| T5--U.S. Open Championship |
| 2001 Season PGA TOUR |
| Tournaments Entered--5; in money--3; Top-10 finishes--1 |
| Best 2001 SENIOR TOUR Finishes |
| 1--Gold Rush Classic; T3--Bruno's Memorial Classic,
BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland, FleetBoston Classic,
SBC Senior Open; 4--ACE Group Classic, Allianz Championship;
5--State Farm Senior Classic; 6--AT&T Canada Senior Open
Championship, Royal Caribbean Classic, SBC Senior Classic;
T7--SENIOR TOUR Championship; T9--Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Match Play Champ; T10--Toshiba Senior Classic, FORD SENIOR
PLAYERS Championship, 3M Championship |
| 2001 Season SENIOR TOUR |
| Tournaments Entered--23; in money--23; Top-10 finishes--16 |
| 2001 Season Highlights |
| Participated in only five PGA TOUR events while concentrating
on SENIOR PGA TOUR career...Totaled $211,252, 167th on
PGA TOUR money list...Closing 64, one stroke off 18-hole
record for major championship, lifted him to T5 at U.S.
Open. Best finish by age 50-plus player in major championship
since Sam Snead finished T3 in 1974 PGA Championship at
age 62. Other than his victory in 1992 at Pebble Beach,
T5 was best career U.S. Open finish...Made the cut for
the 29th consecutive year at the MasterCard Colonial...Finished
10th on the SENIOR TOUR Official Money List with $1,398,802...Captured
Gold Rush Classic for third career SENIOR TOUR victory. |
| 2001 Season Highlights |
| The last of 22 different winners on the SENIOR TOUR
last year and had his finest financial season as a professional
with over $1.3 million in official money...Was among the
top-10 in over two-thirds of his starts and finished third
in four events before winning the Gold Rush Classic by
one stroke over Allen Doyle, his seventh career title
in the state of California. Three-round total of 22-under
194 at Serrano Country Club tied an all-time SENIOR TOUR
record in relation to par and included a senior career-best
10-under 62 in the second round, his lowest since closing
with a 62 at the 1993 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in on
the PGA TOUR. His 17-under 127 score after two days was
the lowest first 36-hole total of the year and 15-under
129 on Saturday and Sunday was the lowest last 36-hole
total in 2001. Victory near Sacramento came during a run
of 19 straight rounds of par or better...Made a spirited
defense of his SBC Senior Open title near Chicago, tying
for third at Kemper Lakes after posting an 8-under 64
in the final round...Was one stroke back of Larry Nelson
on Sunday at the FleetBoston Classic before his ball hit
a bird (purple martin) and fell into the water guarding
Nashawtuc's par-3 17th green. Made double-bogey on the
hole and eventually T3, four strokes back of Nelson...Was
also T3 at the Bruno's Memorial Classic despite shooting
three straight rounds in the 60s at Greystone and T3 at
the BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland after being among
the first-round leaders in Nashville...Played in five
events on the PGA TOUR and finished 168th on the money
list with $211,252...Rallied from 44th place after three
rounds to T5 at the U.S. Open at Southern Hills, the best
finish by a senior in a major championship since Sam Snead
T3 in the 1974 PGA Championship. Along with Vijay Singh,
fired a sizzling 6-under 64 in the final round, one shot
off the 18-hole U.S. Open scoring record...Was T44 at
THE PLAYERS Championship and T34 at the MasterCard Colonial,
the 28th straight year he made the cut at the Ft. Worth
stop...Missed the cut at the PGA Championship at the Atlanta
Athletic Club, ending a run of nine consecutive cuts made
on the PGA TOUR since becoming a senior, and also missed
the cut at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic near Jackson,
MS. |
| Career Highlights |
| 2000: Posted first SENIOR TOUR victory in a three-man
playoff with Larry Nelson and Tom Watson at The Countrywide
Tradition, in his fifth start. Battled Watson for six
holes (Nelson went out on the second extra hole) before
prevailing with a birdie. Became the first player since
Tom Wargo at the PGA Seniors' in 1993 to post his first
victory in a SENIOR TOUR major...Also had a two-stroke
win over Bruce Fleisher at the SBC Senior Open near Chicago.
Played the last four holes in 3-under-par to overtake
Fleisher...Finished in the top-10 in all four SENIOR TOUR
majors. Finished T2 at the rain-shortened PGA Seniors'
Championship, third at the U.S. Senior Open at Saucon
Valley and sixth at the FORD SENIOR PLAYERS Championship
after holding the lead going into the final round...Set
a new SENIOR TOUR standard by hitting 78.0% of Greens
in Regulation, breaking the old mark of 77.0 percent by
John Mahaffey in 1999...Made the cut in all six of his
PGA TOUR appearances -- Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (T61),
THE PLAYERS Championship (T66), MasterCard Colonial (T50),
the U.S. Open (T32), British Open (T70) and PGA Championship
(T19). |
| Personal |
| After wearing glasses since age 12, had LASIK surgery
in late January 1998 to correct acute nearsightedness...Serves
as a spokesman for Chrysler Junior Golf Scholarship program...Started
playing golf at age 6 by following his father around and
won his first tournament at 11...Three of his last four
PGA TOUR victories came on holidays -- 1992 BellSouth
Classic (Mother's Day), 1992 U.S. Open (Father's Day),
1993 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (Valentines Day)...Biggest
thrill in golf was being selected as the Ryder Cup captain
in 1997...Has worked with such teachers as Harvey Penick,
Bob Toski, Peter Kostis, Chuck Cook, Jim McLean, Dave
Pelz and Dave Phillips...His daughter, Stephanie, is a
gymnast at the University of Alabama...Lists Pebble Beach
as his favorite golf course and Michael Jordan as his
favorite athlete. |
| PGA TOUR Playoff Record |
| 6-4 |
| SENIOR TOUR Playoff Record |
| 2-0 |
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