Don Pooley

 ( American Male Golfers ) 

Sheldon George " Don" Pooley Jr. (born August 27, 1951) is an American professional golfer. He has won tournaments on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.

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Early life and amateur career Pooley was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He grew up in Riverside, California. He attended the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he was a member of the golf team.

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Professional career Pooley turned pro in 1973. Despite winning the 1980 B.C. Open and the 1987 Memorial Tournament, Pooley is probably best remembered in his PGA Tour career for his dramatic million-dollar hole-in-one at the 1987 Bay Hill Classic. Pooley received $500,000 as did Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women in Orlando, Florida because of this once-in-a-lifetime shot. Profile from TheGoal.com In 1985, he won the Vardon Trophy, awarded annually by the PGA to the Tour leader in scoring average. His best finish in a major was T-5 in consecutive major championships: the 1987 PGA Championship and the 1988 Masters Tournament.

Late in his PGA Tour career, Pooley began to experience many debilitating ailments, and missed several years of playing time as a result; however, he enjoyed a resurgence in his career after turning 50 in August 2001 when he began play on the Champions Tour. The biggest win in his golf career was his first on the Champions Tour. In 2002, he won on the biggest stage in men's senior golf, the U.S. Senior Open. Pooley was inducted into the Pima County (Arizona) Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

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Professional wins (7)

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PGA Tour wins (2)

1	Aug 31, 1980	B.C. Open	−17 (68-69-66-68=271)	1 stroke	Peter Jacobsen
2	May 31, 1987	Memorial Tournament	−16 (70-67-65-70=272)	3 strokes	Curt Byrum

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Other wins (3)

• 1983 Jerry Ford Invitational (tie with Gil Morgan)
• 1989 Ebel Match Play
• 1992 Amoco Centel Championship

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Champions Tour wins (2)

Senior major championships (1)

Other Champions Tour (1)

1	Jun 30, 2002	U.S. Senior Open	−10 (71-70-63-70=274)	Playoff	Tom Watson
2	Aug 24, 2003	Allianz Championship	−13 (66-67-67=200)	3 strokes	Bruce Fleisher, Bruce Lietzke, Jim Thorpe

Champions Tour playoff record (1–2)

1	2002	U.S. Senior Open	Tom Watson	Won with birdie on fifth extra hole after three-hole aggregate playoff; Pooley: E (4-4-4=12), Watson: E (4-4-4=12)
2	2005	Boeing Classic	Mark McNulty, Tom Purtzer	McNulty won with birdie on second extra hole
3	2009	AT&T Classic	Dan Forsman	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

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Results in major championships

Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship		CUT

Masters Tournament		T19	CUT				41	T45	T5	T14
U.S. Open		CUT	CUT			T15	T24	T24	CUT	T26
The Open Championship									T16	T19
PGA Championship	T46	T19	T67	T23	T34	T62	T16	T5	T58	T34

Masters Tournament	T42	T46
U.S. Open	CUT		T44						CUT
The Open Championship	T39					T101
PGA Championship	T8	T73				CUT		T29

Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT			CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

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Summary

7

5

4

13

• Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1982 PGA – 1988 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1987 PGA – 1988 Masters)

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Champions Tour major championships

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Wins (1)

Tom Watson

¹ In the three-hole aggregate playoff, Pooley and Watson tied with three pars each.
On the second sudden-death hole, Pooley won with a birdie to Watson's par.

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Results timeline Results not in chronological order before 2012.

Senior PGA Championship

T18

CUT

T54

T57

WD

T6

T28

T23

The Tradition

T9

T14

T53

T36

T9

T40

46

T8

T29

WD

T66

Senior Players Championship

T22

T40

T13

T18

T11

T23

T27

T34

T57

U.S. Senior Open

1

T43

T15

T22

T51

T18

T47

T40

T47

Senior British Open Championship

–

T27

T5

T13

T8

The Senior British Open was not a Champions Tour major until 2003.

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew from tournament
"T" indicates a tie for a place

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See also

• Fall 1976 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates

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External links

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