Brian Thomas ("Bud" or "Buddy") Allin (October 13, 1944 – March 10, 2007) was an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who won five

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

events in the 1970s.

Early life

Allin was born in

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

. He learned to play

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

at age 13 while working as a

caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is the person who carries a player's bag and clubs, and gives the player advice and moral support. Description A good caddie is aware of the challenges and obstacles of the golf course being played, along with the ...

at the Santa Barbara Municipal Golf Course in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

Amateur career

A prodigal player, Allin attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is the fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County and is home to Brigham Young University (BYU). Provo lies between the ...

and was a member on the golf team along with

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ra ...

. He served in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

as an artillery officer during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

earning four decorations including the Bronze Star and an Air medal.

Professional career

In 1969, Allin turned pro and qualified for the

on his first attempt citing the fact that golf was no "big deal" compared to war. Allin's first win on the

came in 1971 at the

Greater Greensboro Open The Wyndham Championship is a professional golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in Greensboro and was originally the Greater Greensboro Open. History Founded in 1938 as the Greater Greensboro Open, it was usua ...

when he defeated

Dave Eichelberger Martin Davis Eichelberger, Jr. (born September 3, 1943) is an American professional golfer who has won several tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour levels. Eichelberger was born in Waco, Texas. He started in the game at the age of ...

and

Rod Funseth James Rodney Funseth (April 3, 1933 – September 9, 1985) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions). Amiable and low-key but less than confident, Funseth was one of longest h ...

on the first extra-hole in a playoff. He would win five times in five years between 1971 and 1976. His best season was in 1974 when he won the Doral Ryder Open and the Byron Nelson Classic, which propelled him to a ninth-place finish on the money list. His best finish in a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

was a T-10 at the 1974 U.S. Open and the

1975 PGA Championship The 1975 PGA Championship was the 57th PGA Championship, played August 7–10 at the South Course of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Jack Nicklaus, an Ohio native, won the fourth of his five PGA Championships and the fourteenth of his eighte ...

. He had 3 dozen top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events in his career; his last win came at the 1976 Pleasant Valley Classic. After reaching the age of 50 in October 1994, Allin began competing on the

Senior PGA Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...

. He was nominated for ''Rookie of the Year'' in 1995, after an outstanding first full season. He also shot a Senior Tour record low round of 61 at the FHP Healthcare Classic that year. His lone Senior tour win came in 1997 at the

American Express Invitational The LiquidGolf.com Invitational was a golf tournament on the Champions Tour from 1996 to 2000. It was played in Sarasota, Florida at the TPC at Prestancia. The purse for the 2000 tournament was US$1,200,000, with $180,000 going to the winner. T ...

where he 2-putted from 60 feet on the 54th hole to win by one stroke over Jim Colbert. He competed five full seasons before electing to leave the tour despite being exempt for the 2000 season. Allin devoted the last years of his life to teaching at the

San Diego Golf Academy Golf Academy of America was a private, two-year golf college offering an associate degree in Golf Operations and Management with a curriculum of golf instruction and golf business management. A bachelor's degree was also offered via a partnersh ...

and authoring his instructional manual, ''Center-Line'', as well as an instructional DVD, ''Preferences''. He lived in

Boulder City, Nevada Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon ( ...

as well as California. He died in

Hemet, California Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundin ...

at the age of 62 from multiple forms of cancer.

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour wins (5)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

Other wins (2)

*1970

Utah Open The Utah Open is the Utah state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Utah section of the PGA of America. It was first played in 1926 and has been played at a variety of courses around the state ...

British Columbia Open The British Columbia Open, commonly known as the B. C. Open, was a golf tournament that was held in British Columbia, Canada. It was held annually from 1928 until 1993 except for during the Second World War and 1958, when it was cancelled due to t ...

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

Results in major championships

WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Results in senior majors

Results may not be in chronological order DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allin, Buddy American male golfers BYU Cougars men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Washington (state) People from Bremerton, Washington Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from cancer of unknown primary origin 1944 births 2007 deaths