Jim Thorpe (golfer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jim Thorpe |
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| Personal information | |
| Full name | Jimmy Lee Thorpe |
| Born | February 1, 1949 Roxboro, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Residence | Heathrow, Florida, U.S. |
| Career | |
| College | Morgan State University |
| Turned professional | 1972 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions Tour |
| Professional wins | 21 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 3 |
| Champions Tour | 13 |
| Other | 5 |
| Best results in Major Championships |
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| The Masters Tournament | T18: 1985 |
| U.S. Open | T4: 1984 |
| The Open Championship | CUT: 1986, 1987 |
| PGA Championship | T7: 1986 |
Jimmy Lee Thorpe (born February 1, 1949) is a retired American professional golfer. He played on the Champions Tour for many years.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Jim Thorpe grew up in Roxboro, North Carolina. He was one of twelve children! His father worked on golf courses. Jim went to Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Professional Golf Career
Jim Thorpe became a professional golfer in 1972. He won three tournaments on the PGA Tour in the 1980s. Later, he played on the Champions Tour for older golfers. He won more than ten times there! One of his biggest wins was the 2002 The Tradition, a major championship for senior golfers. By 2004, he was among the top ten earners on the Champions Tour.
PGA Tour Wins (3)
Jim Thorpe won three times on the PGA Tour. These were big achievements in his early career.
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 15, 1985 | Greater Milwaukee Open | −14 (73-69-62-70=274) | 3 strokes |  Jack Nicklaus |
| 2 | Oct 27, 1985 | Seiko-Tucson Match Play Championship | 4 and 3 | Jack Renner |
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| 3 | Nov 2, 1986 | Seiko-Tucson Match Play Championship (2) | −5 (67) | 4 strokes | Scott Simpson |
PGA Tour Playoff Record (0–1) Jim Thorpe played in one playoff on the PGA Tour. He lost this one.
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1985 | Western Open | Scott Verplank |
Lost to par on second extra hole |
Other Wins (4)
Besides the main tours, Jim Thorpe also won other golf tournaments.
- 1982 Labatt's International
- 1991 Amoco Centel Championship, Jamaica Open
- 1993 Jerry Ford Invitational (tied with Jay Delsing and Donnie Hammond)
Champions Tour Wins (13)
Jim Thorpe had great success on the Champions Tour. He won 13 tournaments, including a major championship.
| Legend |
|---|
| Champions Tour major championships (1) |
| Tour Championships (3) |
| Other Champions Tour (9) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 8, 2000 | The Transamerica | −18 (67-66-65=198) | 3 strokes | Bruce Fleisher |
| 2 | Oct 15, 2000 | Gold Rush Classic | −21 (67-62-66=195) | 2 strokes | Ed Dougherty |
| 3 | Sep 2, 2001 | Kroger Senior Classic | −14 (65-65=130)* | Playoff | Tom Jenkins |
| 4 | Sep 9, 2001 | Allianz Championship | −14 (68-65-66=199) | 2 strokes | Gil Morgan |
| 5 | Apr 28, 2002 | The Countrywide Tradition | −11 (67-70-70-70=277) | Playoff | John Jacobs |
| 6 | Aug 17, 2003 | Long Island Classic | −15 (68-60-67=195) | 1 stroke | Bob Gilder |
| 7 | Oct 26, 2003 | Charles Schwab Cup Championship | −20 (63-67-70-68=268) | 3 strokes | Tom Watson |
| 8 | Jun 6, 2004 | Farmers Charity Classic | −13 (67-70-66=203) | 1 stroke | Fred Gibson |
| 9 | Jul 4, 2004 | Commerce Bank Long Island Classic (2) | −9 (65-67-69=201) | 1 stroke | Andy Bean, Wayne Levi, Bobby Wadkins |
| 10 | May 1, 2005 | FedEx Kinko's Classic | −10 (69-69-68=206) | 4 strokes | Dana Quigley |
| 11 | May 16, 2005 | Blue Angels Classic | −16 (63-64-67=194) | Playoff | Morris Hatalsky |
| 12 | Oct 19, 2006 | Charles Schwab Cup Championship (2) | −17 (67-70-67-68=271) | 2 strokes | Tom Kite |
| 13 | Oct 28, 2007 | Charles Schwab Cup Championship (3) | −20 (64-69-69-66=268) | 3 strokes | Fred Funk,  Denis Watson |
*Note: The 2001 Kroger Senior Classic was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.
Champions Tour Playoff Record (3–1) Jim Thorpe was very good in playoffs on the Champions Tour. He won three out of four.
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1999 | Bell Atlantic Classic | Tom Jenkins |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2001 | Kroger Senior Classic | Tom Jenkins |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 2002 | The Countrywide Tradition | John Jacobs |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 2005 | Blue Angels Classic | Morris Hatalsky |
Won with birdie on third extra hole |
Other Senior Wins (1)
- 2014 Big Cedar Lodge Legends of Golf - Legends Division (with Jim Colbert)
Major Championship Results
Jim Thorpe played in many major golf championships. These are the biggest tournaments in golf.
| Tournament | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | T18 | T45 | T42 | WD | |||||
| U.S. Open | T11 | T30 | T13 | T4 | T34 | CUT | T9 | CUT | |||
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | |||||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T39 | T34 | T14 | T59 | T7 | CUT |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | T97 | ||||
| The Open Championship | |||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT |
Top 10 Did not play CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary of Major Results
This table shows Jim Thorpe's overall performance in major championships.
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 7 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 27 | 15 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (twice)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)
The Players Championship Results
Jim Thorpe also competed in The Players Championship. This is another very important golf tournament.
| Tournament | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T28 | T45 | 74 | T32 | T54 | T10 | CUT | T4 | CUT | WD | CUT | T62 | CUT |
Top 10 Did not play CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Senior Major Championships
Wins (1)
Jim Thorpe won one major championship on the Champions Tour. This was a big highlight of his senior career.
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Countrywide Tradition | −11 (67-70-70-70=277) | Playoff | John Jacobs |
Results Timeline
This shows how Jim Thorpe performed in senior major championships over the years.
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tradition | T7 | T15 | T19 | 1 |
| Senior PGA Championship | T34 | T32 | 2 | T4 |
| Senior Players Championship | T22 | T10 | T26 | T2 |
| U.S. Senior Open | T27 | T6 | T21 | T11 |
| Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tradition | T7 | T14 | T67 | T36 | T40 | T18 | T31 | T49 | T47 | T28 | T74 | T52 | ||
| Senior PGA Championship | T60 | CUT | T19 | T14 | T52 | T71 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | ||||
| Senior Players Championship | T2 | T7 | T45 | 2 | T46 | T47 | T53 | T55 | T53 | |||||
| Senior British Open Championship |
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| U.S. Senior Open | T30 | T19 | CUT | T20 | T22 | T29 | T32 | T37 | CUT |
The Senior British Open was not a Champions Tour major until 2003.
Win Top 10 Did not play CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
See Also
- Fall 1975 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- Fall 1978 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- List of golfers with most Champions Tour wins
