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Corey Pavin
Pavin in 2008
Personal information
Full name Corey Allen Pavin
Nickname Bulldog
Born (1959-11-16) November 16, 1959 (age 65)
Oxnard, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Spouse Shannon Healy (divorced)
Lisa Nguyen (2003-present)
Career
College University of California, Los Angeles
Turned professional 1982
Current tour(s) PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
European Tour
Professional wins 28
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 15
European Tour 2
Japan Golf Tour 2
PGA Tour of Australasia 2
Champions Tour 1
Other 6
Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 1)
The Masters Tournament 3rd: 1992
U.S. Open Won: 1995
The Open Championship T4: 1993
PGA Championship 2nd: 1994
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year
1984
PGA Tour
money list winner
1991
PGA Player of the Year 1991

Corey Allen Pavin (born November 16, 1959) is an American professional golfer. In 1982, Pavin turned professional but failed at PGA Tour Qualifying School. The following year, he turned to overseas where he had much success, winning South Africa's Lexington PGA and Europe's German Open. Later in the year he earned PGA Tour membership and had much success on tour, winning a number of events, culminating with the 1995 U.S. Open championship. Soon thereafter, he abruptly lost his game and was rarely a contender. As a senior, Pavin has played on the PGA Tour Champions, recording one win, at the Allianz Championship.

Early life

Pavin was born in Oxnard, California, the son of Barbara and Jack Pavin. He attended Oxnard High School.

Amateur career

Pavin attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He won two gold medals at the 1981 Maccabiah Games, the Jewish Olympics in Israel.

Professional career

In 1982, Pavin turned professional. He was "an unexpected failure" at 1982 PGA Tour Qualifying School. He did not move past the regional qualifying section. He turned to play overseas in 1983. Early in the year, he played on the Southern African Tour where he "won his first professional tournament" at the Lexington PGA. It was only his fourth tournament as a professional golfer. He soon moved onto the European Tour. In July, he finished solo 3rd, only behind Sam Torrance and Craig Stadler, at the Scandinavian Enterprise Open. A month later, Pavin won the German Open three strokes ahead of joint runner-up Seve Ballesteros. He finished 13th on the Order of Merit.

Pavin's first PGA Tour victory came at the 1984 Houston Coca-Cola Open. He won at least one event significant domestic or international event over the next decade and topped the PGA Tour's money list in 1991. Pavin's success culminated in his only major victory, the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Pavin went into the final round three strokes behind Greg Norman and Tom Lehman. On the 72nd and final hole of the tournament, a 450 yards long par 4, Pavin produced a four wood, considered one of the great shots in U.S. Open history, 228 yards to five feet of the hole to secure the title.

Rather than marking a move to a new level of achievement, however, this was soon followed by a long slide down the world rankings from a high ranking of 2nd. After Pavin won the Bank of America Colonial in 1996, he did not win another PGA Tour tournament for ten years. His 89th-place finish on the 2004 money list was the first time he had made the top one hundred since 1998. Pavin finally won his 15th career title in 2006 at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, ending a streak of 242 consecutive tournaments without a win.

On July 27, 2006, during the first round of what would become his 15th tour title, Pavin broke the record for the fewest strokes needed to complete nine holes at a PGA Tour event, with an 8-under par score of 26. The previous record of 27 strokes was held by Mike Souchak, Andy North, Billy Mayfair and Robert Gamez, with Mayfair and Gamez' scores being 9-under par. His 36-hole total of 125 also tied the record for fewest shots taken in the first 36 holes of a PGA Tour event held by Tom Lehman, Mark Calcavecchia, and Tiger Woods.

After acting as an assistant to U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman in 2006, Pavin was in December 2008 by the PGA of America, named captain for the U.S. team at the 2010 Ryder Cup at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. In October 2010, the U.S. Ryder Cup team lost 13½ to 14½, against the European side.

Pavin began playing on the Champions Tour in 2010. In June 2010, he lost in a sudden death playoff to Bubba Watson at the Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour. In his 35th start, Pavin won his maiden Champions Tour event in February 2012 at the Allianz Championship. He defeated Peter Senior at the first sudden death playoff hole with a birdie to take the title, after having finished regulation play at 11 under.

Corey Pavin 20180927
Corey Pavin at the Past Captains Match 27 September 2018 ahead of the 2018 Ryder Cup match at Le Golf National outside Paris, France

Personal life

In April 1983, Pavin married Shannon Healy. They have two children. He married Lisa Nguyen in 2003.

He was the only top Jewish player on the tour until 1991. In that year, he converted to Christianity. He was named the 117th-greatest Jewish athlete in the 2007 book The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes by Peter S. Horvitz.

Pavin is a Republican. During the 1993 Ryder Cup, Pavin was originally unwilling to meet with president Bill Clinton before the cup owing to their differing political views. Pavin stated that he had voted for Bush, and so was not particularly excited at the prospect of meeting Clinton.

Pavin made a cameo appearance playing himself in the 1996 movie Tin Cup starring Kevin Costner. In the movie, Pavin tells Fred Couples, "It's hard to believe that a guy named 'Tin Cup' might have his name beneath mine on the trophy."

Awards and honors

In 2002, he was named to the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame.

He has a stone named after him at Bedlingtonshire Golf Club, in Northumberland, England. It is located on the 7th hole and is called "Corey Paving Slab".

Amateur wins

  • 1981 North and South Amateur

Professional wins (28)

PGA Tour wins (15)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (14)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Apr 29, 1984 Houston Coca-Cola Open −10 (70-68-68-68=274) 1 stroke United States Buddy Gardner
2 May 19, 1985 Colonial National Invitation −14 (66-64-68-68=266) 4 strokes United States Bob Murphy
3 Feb 16, 1986 Hawaiian Open −16 (67-67-72-66=272) 2 strokes United States Paul Azinger
4 Sep 21, 1986 Greater Milwaukee Open −16 (66-72-67-67=272) Playoff Canada Dave Barr
5 Jan 18, 1987 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic −19 (72-71-65-66-67=341) 1 stroke West Germany Bernhard Langer
6 Feb 8, 1987 Hawaiian Open (2) −18 (65-75-66-64=270) Playoff United States Craig Stadler
7 Oct 16, 1988 Texas Open −21 (64-63-66-66=259) 8 strokes United States Robert Wrenn
8 Feb 10, 1991 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (2) −29 (65-69-66-66-65=331) Playoff United States Mark O'Meara
9 May 12, 1991 BellSouth Atlanta Golf Classic −16 (68-67-67-70=272) Playoff United States Steve Pate
10 Mar 15, 1992 Honda Classic −15 (68-67-70-68=273) Playoff United States Fred Couples
11 Feb 13, 1994 Nissan Los Angeles Open −13 (67-64-72-68=271) 2 strokes United States Fred Couples
12 Feb 26, 1995 Nissan Open (2) −16 (67-66-68-67=268) 3 strokes United States Jay Don Blake, United States Kenny Perry
13 Jun 18, 1995 U.S. Open E (72-69-71-68=280) 2 strokes Australia Greg Norman
14 May 19, 1996 MasterCard Colonial (2) −8 (69-67-67-69=272) 2 strokes United States Jeff Sluman
15 Jul 30, 2006 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee (2) −20 (61-64-68-67=260) 2 strokes United States Jerry Kelly

PGA Tour playoff record (5–4)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1986 Greater Milwaukee Open Canada Dave Barr Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
2 1987 Hawaiian Open United States Craig Stadler Won with birdie on second extra hole
3 1991 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic United States Mark O'Meara Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 1991 BellSouth Atlanta Golf Classic United States Steve Pate Won with par on second extra hole
5 1991 Canon Greater Hartford Open United States Billy Ray Brown, United States Rick Fehr Brown won with birdie on first extra hole
6 1992 Honda Classic United States Fred Couples Won with birdie on second extra hole
7 1992 Southwestern Bell Colonial United States Bruce Lietzke Lost to birdie on first extra hole
8 1995 Kemper Open United States Lee Janzen Lost to birdie on first extra hole
9 2010 Travelers Championship United States Scott Verplank, United States Bubba Watson Watson won with par on second extra hole
Pavin eliminated by par on first hole

European Tour wins (2)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other European Tour (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Jul 31, 1983 Lufthansa German Open −13 (67-71-68-69=275) 3 strokes Spain Seve Ballesteros, Zimbabwe Tony Johnstone
2 Jun 18, 1995 U.S. Open E (72-69-71-68=280) 2 strokes Australia Greg Norman

PGA of Japan Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Nov 3, 1985 ABC Japan-U.S. Match −12 (70-68-67-71=276) Shared title with Japan Tateo Ozaki
2 Oct 9, 1994 Tokai Classic −11 (68-69-68-72=277) 1 stroke Taiwan Hsieh Chin-sheng

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Oct 15, 1995 Volvo Asian Masters −14 (72-66-67-69=274) 9 strokes Japan Isao Aoki

Southern Africa Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Jan 22, 1983 Lexington PGA Championship −10 (70-68-66-66=270) 1 stroke Zimbabwe Nick Price

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Dec 9, 1984 New Zealand Open −19 (68-67-65-69=269) 4 strokes Australia Terry Gale
2 Dec 8, 1985
(1986 season)
New Zealand Open (2) −15 (67-67-70-73=277) 4 strokes Australia Jeff Senior

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1998 ANZ Players Championship Australia Stephen Leaney Lost to par on first extra hole

Other wins (5)

  • 1983 Calberson Classic (Europe – not a European Tour event)
  • 1993 Toyota World Match Play Championship (Europe – then an unofficial event).
  • 1995 Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa – unofficial event)
  • 1996 Ssang Yong International Challenge (South Korea)
  • 1999 Martel Skins Game (Taiwan)

Champions Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Feb 12, 2012 Allianz Championship −11 (64-70-71=205) Playoff Australia Peter Senior

Champions Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2012 Allianz Championship Australia Peter Senior Won with par on first extra hole
2 2013 Pacific Links Hawai'i Championship United States Mark Wiebe Lost to par on second extra hole

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1995 U.S. Open 3 shot deficit E (72-69-71-68=280) 2 strokes Australia Greg Norman

Results timeline

Tournament 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament CUT T25 T11 T27 T42 50
U.S. Open CUT T60 CUT T9 CUT CUT
The Open Championship T22 T39 CUT CUT T38
PGA Championship T20 T6 T21 CUT T17 CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament T22 3 T11 T8 T17 T7 T43 T41 CUT
U.S. Open T24 T8 CUT T19 CUT 1 T40 CUT CUT T34
The Open Championship T8 CUT T34 T4 CUT T8 T27 T51 CUT CUT
PGA Championship T14 T32 T12 CUT 2 CUT T26 CUT T10
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Masters Tournament CUT
U.S. Open CUT T19 T54 CUT T17 T11 CUT
The Open Championship CUT CUT T22 CUT
PGA Championship CUT T49 T62 T63 T19 CUT

     Win      Top 10      Did not play CUT = missed the half way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 1 1 3 8 16 13
U.S. Open 1 0 0 1 3 8 23 12
The Open Championship 0 0 0 1 3 5 19 10
PGA Championship 0 1 0 1 3 9 21 14
Totals 1 1 1 4 12 30 79 49
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1984 Open Championship – 1986 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1995 U.S. Open – 1995 Open Championship)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Players Championship CUT CUT T58 T50 T42 T34 CUT T41 T46 T16 T78 T3 T46 CUT CUT T71
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
The Players Championship T61 T21 CUT T32 T33 CUT CUT T72 CUT T45

     Top 10      Did not play CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 2006
Match Play
Championship
Invitational T48

     Did not play "T" = Tied

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

  • Walker Cup: 1981 (winners)

Professional

  • USA vs. Japan: 1982
  • Nissan Cup: 1985 (winners)
  • Ryder Cup: 1991 (winners), 1993 (winners), 1995, 2010 (non-playing captain)
  • Presidents Cup: 1994 (winners), 1996 (winners)

See also

  • 1983 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
  • List of Jewish golfers
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