Tommy Aaron

This article is about the golfer. For the baseball player and brother of Hank Aaron, see Tommie Aaron.

Tommy Aaron
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Dean Aaron
Born	(1937-02-22) February 22, 1937 Gainesville, Georgia
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Gainesville, Georgia
Career
College	University of Florida
Turned professional	1960
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	9
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	3
PGA Tour Champions	1
Other	5
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1973
U.S. Open	T29: 1975
The Open Championship	T50: 1970
PGA Championship	T2: 1972
U.S. Amateur	2nd: 1958
British Amateur	R256: 1959

Thomas Dean Aaron (born February 22, 1937) is an American former professional golfer who was a member of the PGA Tour during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Aaron is best known for winning the 1973 Masters Tournament.

Early years

Aaron was born in Gainesville, Georgia.^[1] He began playing golf at age 12 and won two Georgia Amateur titles, two Southeastern Amateur events and two Georgia Open crowns, despite not having a golf course in his hometown.

College career

He attended the University of Florida, where he was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order Fraternity (Beta Zeta Chapter). While he was a Florida student, Aaron played for the Florida Gators men's golf team from 1956 to 1959, was a member of the Gators' 1956 Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship team, and won the individual SEC championship in 1957 and 1958.^[2] He lost the U.S. Amateur final to Charles Coe in 1958, was a member of the 1959 U.S. Walker Cup team, and won the Western Amateur in 1960. He was recognized as an All-American in 1958 and 1959.^[3] Aaron graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1960, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."^[4]

Professional career

Aaron turned pro in 1960. His first professional victory came at the 1969 Canadian Open. The following year he gained his first PGA Tour victory at the Atlanta Classic. In 1972, he won the Trophée Lancôme in France. Aaron's best money year was 1972, when he finished in ninth place on the PGA Tour money list.

Aaron won the Masters Tournament in 1973, which was his one major championship. He also finished in the top ten at the Masters from 1967 to 1970. His only other top ten major championship finishes came at the PGA Championship in 1965 and 1972. In 2000, he made the cut at the Masters at the age of 63, breaking a record previously held by Gary Player.

Aaron played for the U.S. team in the Ryder Cup in 1969 and 1973, and had a record of one win, one tie and four losses.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Aaron played on the Senior PGA Tour, winning $3,646,302. The 1992 Kaanapali Classic was his last professional win.

Aaron was a student of golf instructor Manuel de la Torre.

Aaron is also known for being the playing partner of Argentinian Roberto De Vicenzo for the final round of the 1968 Masters Tournament. On the seventeenth hole, Aaron incorrectly recorded a par 4 on De Vicenzo's scorecard, when his partner had actually scored a birdie 3 for the hole. Because De Vicenzo signed the scorecard without correcting the error, PGA rules required him to stand by the incorrect, higher score. Instead of a De Vicenzo–Bob Goalby playoff for the green jacket, Goalby won the tournament outright due to the technicality.

Ironically, Aaron's 4th round playing partner at the 1973 Masters, Johnny Miller, recorded a higher score when keeping Aaron's card. Aaron caught the mistake.^[5]

He was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1980,^[6] and the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 1989.^[1]

Amateur wins (8)

1957 SEC Championship (individual), Georgia Amateur
1958 SEC Championship (individual), Southeastern Amateur
1959 Sunnehanna Amateur
1960 Western Amateur, Georgia Amateur, Southeastern Amateur

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Jul 28, 1969	Canadian Open	−13 (71-70-70-64=275)	Playoff	Sam Snead
2	May 24, 1970	Atlanta Classic	−13 (68-68-70-69=275)	3 strokes	Dan Sikes
3	Apr 9, 1973	Masters Tournament	−5 (68-73-74-68=283)	1 stroke	J. C. Snead

PGA Tour playoff record (1–4)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1963	Memphis Open	Tony Lema	Lost to par on first extra hole
2	1963	Cleveland Open	Tony Lema, Arnold Palmer	Palmer won 18-hole playoff (Palmer:67, Aaron:70, Lema:70)
3	1969	Canadian Open	Sam Snead	Wall 18-hole playoff (Aaron:70, Snead:72)
4	1972	Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open	George Archer, Dave Hill	Archer won 18-hole playoff (Archer:66, Aaron:68, Hill:68)
5	1972	Greater Greensboro Open	George Archer	Lost to par on second extra hole

Other wins (5)

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Nov 1, 1992	Kaanapali Classic	−15 (67-67-64=198)	1 stroke	Dave Stockton

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1992	Vintage ARCO Invitational	Jim Colbert, Mike Hill	Hill won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1992	Murata Reunion Pro-Am	George Archer	Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner-up
1973	Masters Tournament	4 shot deficit	−5 (68-73-74-68=283)	1 stroke	J. C. Snead

Results timeline

Amateur

Tournament	1958	1959	1960
Masters Tournament	DNP	CUT	T25
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Amateur	2	R16	R64
The Amateur Championship	DNP	R256	DNP

Professional

Tournament	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T11	T13	T8	T7	T8
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T30	DNP	DNP	T40
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	T21	T8	T22	T20	T26	T57

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	T5	T22	CUT	1	CUT	T38	42	T35	36	T28
U.S. Open	T46	DNP	T55	T45	CUT	T29	T47	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	T50	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T45	CUT	T2	T44	T55	CUT	T38	CUT	DNP	T46

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
The Masters	CUT	48	T36	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	T50	CUT	T38
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	CUT	T49	T54	CUT	CUT	DNP	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Masters Tournament	57	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

LA = Low amateur
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
DNQ = Did not qualify for match play portion
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Source for The Masters: www.masters.com

Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur: USGA Championship Database

Source for The British Open: www.opengolf.com

Source for PGA Championship: PGA Championship Media Guide

Source for 1959 British Amateur: The Glasgow Herald, May 26, 1959, pg. 6.

Results in senior majors

Results may not be in chronological order

Tournament	1987	1988	1989
Senior PGA Championship	DNP	T13	T27
U.S. Senior Open	T19	T32	DNP
The Tradition	NYF	NYF	T22
Senior Players Championship	T45	T54	DNP

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Senior PGA Championship	T55	T31	T39	73	T15	CUT	T25	DNP	CUT	WD
U.S. Senior Open	CUT	T29	T49	T13	T45	T29	T51	CUT	DNP	CUT
The Tradition	T55	T12	4	T17	T41	T52	T50	61	DNP	DNP
Senior Players Championship	T33	T52	T5	T33	T32	T23	T24	76	T73	T48

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Senior PGA Championship	DNP	CUT	CUT	T67	DQ	CUT	CUT
Senior British Open Championship	-	-	-	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Senior Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
The Tradition	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
Senior Players Championship	T69	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Note: The Senior British Open Championship did not become a major until 2003.
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

Walker Cup: 1959 (winners)

Professional

Ryder Cup: 1969 (winners), 1973 (winners)

References

1 2 Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, Members, Tommy Aaron. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
↑ Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 27, 35, 39, 41 (2010). Retrieved July 10, 2011.
↑ 2008–09 Florida Gators Men's Golf Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 36 (2008). Retrieved July 14, 2011.
↑ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
↑ Aaron can count strokes, money
↑ Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Inductees, Tommy Aaron. Retrieved July 19, 2011.

External links

Tommy Aaron at the PGA Tour official site

Masters Tournament champions

1934 Horton Smith 1935 Gene Sarazen† 1936 Horton Smith 1937 Byron Nelson 1938 Henry Picard 1939 Ralph Guldahl 1940 Jimmy Demaret 1941‡ Craig Wood 1942 Byron Nelson† 1943–45 cancelled due to World War II 1946 Herman Keiser 1947 Jimmy Demaret 1948 Claude Harmon 1949 Sam Snead 1950 Jimmy Demaret 1951 Ben Hogan 1952 Sam Snead 1953 Ben Hogan 1954 Sam Snead† 1955 Cary Middlecoff 1956 Jack Burke Jr. 1957 Doug Ford 1958 Arnold Palmer 1959 Art Wall Jr. 1960‡ Arnold Palmer 1961 Gary Player 1962 Arnold Palmer† 1963 Jack Nicklaus 1964 Arnold Palmer 1965 Jack Nicklaus 1966 Jack Nicklaus† 1967 Gay Brewer 1968 Bob Goalby 1969 George Archer 1970 Billy Casper† 1971 Charles Coody 1972‡ Jack Nicklaus 1973 Tommy Aaron 1974 Gary Player 1975 Jack Nicklaus 1976‡ Raymond Floyd 1977 Tom Watson 1978 Gary Player 1979 Fuzzy Zoeller† 1980 Seve Ballesteros 1981 Tom Watson 1982 Craig Stadler† 1983 Seve Ballesteros 1984 Ben Crenshaw 1985 Bernhard Langer 1986 Jack Nicklaus 1987 Larry Mize† 1988 Sandy Lyle 1989 Nick Faldo† 1990 Nick Faldo† 1991 Ian Woosnam 1992 Fred Couples 1993 Bernhard Langer 1994 José María Olazábal 1995 Ben Crenshaw 1996 Nick Faldo 1997 Tiger Woods 1998 Mark O'Meara 1999 José María Olazábal 2000 Vijay Singh 2001 Tiger Woods 2002 Tiger Woods 2003 Mike Weir† 2004 Phil Mickelson 2005 Tiger Woods† 2006 Phil Mickelson 2007 Zach Johnson 2008 Trevor Immelman 2009 Ángel Cabrera† 2010 Phil Mickelson 2011 Charl Schwartzel 2012 Bubba Watson† 2013 Adam Scott† 2014 Bubba Watson 2015‡ Jordan Spieth 2016 Danny Willett

† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire

Tommy Aaron in the Ryder Cup

United States Ryder Cup team – 1969

Tommy Aaron Miller Barber Frank Beard Billy Casper Dale Douglass Raymond Floyd Dave Hill Gene Littler Jack Nicklaus Dan Sikes Ken Still Lee Trevino Sam Snead (non-playing captain)

Tied: 16 – 16

United States Ryder Cup team – 1973

Tommy Aaron Homero Blancas Gay Brewer Billy Casper Dave Hill Lou Graham Jack Nicklaus Arnold Palmer Chi-Chi Rodríguez J. C. Snead Lee Trevino Tom Weiskopf Jack Burke Jr. (non-playing captain)

Won: 19 – 13

University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame

Gator Greats: Baseball

Bobby Barnes Cecil Beck Harry Coe Doug Corbett David Eckstein Josh Fogg Perry McGriff Tom Moore Bernie Parrish Lou Pesce Bob Pitman Q. I. Roberts Rudy Simpson Mike Stanley Haywood Sullivan Burt Touchberry Brad Wilkerson Dale Willis

Gator Greats: Basketball

Men's basketball Ben Clemons Dan Cross Curt Cunkle Bob Emrick Udonis Haslem Brooks Henderson Gary Keller Tony Miller Ark Newton Andy Owens Lamar Sarra Hans Tanzler Neal Walk Chip Williams Ronnie Williams Women's basketball Quientella Bonner Tammy Jackson DeLisha Milton-Jones Murriel Page Sophia Witherspoon

Gator Greats: Boxing

Johnny Joca Phillip O'Connell Carlos Proctor

Gator Greats: Football

Football (A–C)

Football (D–J)

Football (K–P)

Football (Q–Z)

Gator Greats: Golf

Men's golf Tommy Aaron Andy Bean Frank Beard Chris DiMarco Brian Gay Phil Hancock Dudley Hart Gary Koch Steve Melnyk Bob Murphy Andy North Dave Ragan Doug Sanders Dan Sikes Women's golf Karen Davies Page Dunlap Riko Higashio Donna White Cheryl Morley Deb Richard

Gator Greats: Gymnastics

Kristin Guise Lynn McDonnell Melissa Miller Elfi Schlegel Chrissy Van Fleet Ann Woods

Gator Greats: Soccer

Erin Baxter Danielle Fotopoulos Heather Mitts Sarah Yohe Abby Wambach

Gator Greats: Softball

Jenny Gladding Chelsey Sakizzie

Gator Greats: Swimming and diving

Men's swimming and diving

Women's swimming and diving

Gator Greats: Tennis

Men's tennis Chap Brown Mark Merklein Jeff Morrison Armstead Neely Justin O'Neal Jamie Pressly Jim Shaffer Bill Tym Women's tennis Judy Acker Nicole Arendt Jillian Alexander Dawn Buth Jill Craybas Cissie Donigan Andrea Farley Jill Hetherington Alice Luthy Tym Stephanie Nickitas Lisa Raymond Shaun Stafford

Gator Greats: Track and field

Men's track and field

Women's track and field

Gator Greats: Volleyball

Aury Cruz Aycan Gokberk Jenny Manz Gudula Staub

Gator Greats: Wrestling

Jeff Davis

Distinguished Letterwinners

Jerry Anderson Floyd Christian Doug Dickey Jimmy Dunn Bill Harlan Kim Helton Lindy Infante Jack Katz Bill Koss Julian Lane Red Mitchum Larry Morris Stephen C. O'Connell Fred Ridley William Shands George Smathers Dutch Stanley Larry Travis Keith Tribble Harry Wilder

Honorary Letterwinners

University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 107421259

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