Tommy Bolt
| Tommy Bolt | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Thomas Henry Bolt |
| Nickname | Thunder, Terrible Tommy |
| Born | March 31, 1916 Haworth, Oklahoma |
| Died | August 30, 2008 (aged 92) Cherokee Village, Arkansas |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 13 st) |
| Nationality | |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1946 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Professional wins | 18 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 15 |
| Other | 3 |
| Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 1) |
|
| Masters Tournament | T3: 1952 |
| U.S. Open | Won: 1958 |
| The Open Championship | DNP |
| PGA Championship | 3rd/T3: 1954, 1955, 1971 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| World Golf Hall of Fame | 2002 (member page) |
Thomas Henry Bolt (March 31, 1916 – August 30, 2008) was an American professional golfer.
Bolt was born in Haworth, Oklahoma. He served in the United States Army during World War II and turned professional in 1946. He worked as a caddie and club professional in Shreveport, Louisiana. He did not join the PGA Tour until he was in his thirties, but he went on to win fifteen PGA Tour titles, including one major championship, the 1958 U.S. Open.
Bolt was a member of the United States Ryder Cup teams of 1955 and 1957. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.
Bolt's fiery disposition earned him the nickname "Thunder" and "Terrible Tommy". He was known to break clubs during rounds, and his penchant for throwing clubs led to the adoption of a rule prohibiting such behavior. In his later years, he admitted that a lot of his on-course eruptions were merely showmanship and that he felt they had detracted from his playing.
Bolt died in Cherokee Village, Arkansas at the age of 92.[1]
Contents |
[edit] On Ben Hogan
"He's the only player I have ever known to get an ovation from the fans on the practice tee. I've seen him playing practice rounds before a tournament and half the gallery was made up of other professionals. Somebody asked me once, Who's better? Jack Nicklaus or Ben Hogan? Well, my answer was, I saw Nicklaus watch Hogan practice. But I never saw Hogan watch Nicklaus."[2]
[edit] Professional wins
[edit] PGA Tour wins (15)
- 1951 (1) North and South Open
- 1952 (1) Los Angeles Open
- 1953 (2) San Diego Open, Tucson Open
- 1954 (3) Miami Beach International Four-Ball (with Dick Mayer), Insurance City Open, Rubber City Open
- 1955 (3) Convair-San Diego Open, Tucson Open, St. Paul Open
- 1957 (1) Eastern Open Invitational
- 1958 (2) Colonial National Invitation, U.S. Open
- 1960 (1) Memphis Open Invitational
- 1961 (1) Pensacola Open Invitational
Major championship is shown in bold.
[edit] Senior wins
- 1969 PGA Seniors' Championship
- 1980 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Art Wall)
- 1995 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Jack Fleck)
[edit] Major championships
[edit] Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 Holes | Winning Score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | U.S. Open | 3 shot lead | +3 (71-71-69-72=283) | 4 strokes |
[edit] Results timeline
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | T3 | T5 | T12 | T22 | T8 | CUT | T32 | T30 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T29 | T7 | CUT | T6 | T3 | T22 | WD | 1 | T38 |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | R32 | SF | SF | R128 | R16 | T5 | T17 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T20 | T4 | CUT | T37 | CUT | T8 | T17 | T26 | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | WD | T22 | CUT | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T57 | WD | T30 | DNP | WD | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | CUT |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | 3 | WD | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Tommy Bolt dies in Arkansas at 92
- ^ The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations, ed. Jim Apfelbaum. Published in 2007
[edit] External links
- St. Petersburg Times feature
- Tommy Bolt at the PGA Tour official site
- World Golf Hall of Fame profile
- Tommy Bolt at Find a Grave
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