Danny Joe Pohl (born April 1, 1955) is an American professional golfer who has played on the

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 ...

and the

Champions 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 won two PGA Tour tournaments (the 1986 Colonial in a 1-hole playoff win against Payne Stewart and the 1986 World Series of Golf at Firestone Country Club) by 1 stroke over Lanny Wadkins and tied

Craig Stadler Craig Robert Stadler (born June 2, 1953) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level, including one major championship, the 1982 Masters Tournament. Early life Stadler was bo ...

for first place in the

1982 Masters Tournament The 1982 Masters Tournament was the 46th Masters Tournament, held April 8–11 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Craig Stadler won his only major championship by defeating Dan Pohl on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. Ch ...

before losing in a playoff. Pohl competed for his country as a member of the

1987 Ryder Cup The 27th Ryder Cup Matches were held September 25–27, 1987 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. The European team won their second consecutive competition by a score of 15 to 13 points in probably the mo ...

team at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

Amateur career

Born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, Pohl attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, and played for the Wildcats' golf team. He was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. He is considered the greatest athlete ever produced by Mt. Pleasant High School, where he has been inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame, earning All State honors in three sports (golf, baseball and basketball). He played high school golf for Steve Robbins, father of 9-time LPGA winner

Kelly Robbins Kelly Robbins (born September 29, 1969) is a former American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1992 and won nine LPGA Tour events, including one major championship, during her career. Amateur career Robbins was born i ...

, who also coached PGA Tour player Doug LaBelle II and LPGA player Cindy Figg, all of whom followed Pohl. As a prep baseball player, Pohl was scouted by Major League teams and considered a top prospect as a pitcher/shortstop/outfielder going 10-0 as a pitcher his senior year in high school. He was a star point guard on a prep basketball team that went undefeated (20-0) during his senior season. He twice won the Michigan Amateur Golf Championship (1975 and 1977). He was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.

Professional career

Pohl turned pro in 1977 and joined the PGA Tour in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

. He won two tournaments on the PGA Tour during his career both of which came in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, when he finished fifth on the money list: the

Colonial National Invitation The Colonial National Invitation, titled for sponsorship reasons as the Charles Schwab Challenge since 2019, is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played annually in May in Fort Worth at Colonial Country Club, which organize ...

and the

NEC World Series of Golf The World Series of Golf was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. From its inception in 1962 through 1975, it was an unofficial 36-hole event matching the winners of the four major champi ...

. Pohl had 70 top-10 finishes including more than a dozen second or third-place finishes. A highly ranked player in the world, his career was still ascending in 1987 when he posted the lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour and won the

Vardon Trophy The Vardon Trophy is awarded by the PGA of America to the PGA Tour's leader in scoring average. When the award was first given in 1937, it was awarded on the basis of a points system. No award was given from 1942–1946 due to World War II. In ...

. The following year, Pohl began to suffer a series of injuries starting with low back surgery in 1987 that dramatically altered his competitiveness. Pohl has seven top-10 finishes in major tournaments. His best finish in a major was 2nd at the

which he lost to

in a playoff. He also had a third-place finish at the 1981 PGA Championship and a T-3 at the 1982 U.S. Open. In

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

, Pohl led the tour in driving average at 274.1 yards, and again in 1981 with a 280.1 yard average. He was a member of the

Team. He won the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

and was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in May 2004. Since turning 50 in April 2005, Pohl has played on the

. His best finish at this level has been a T-3 at the 2005 Commerce Bank Long Island Classic.

Amateur wins

*1975 Michigan Amateur *1977 Michigan Amateur

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (2)

''*Note: The 1986 Colonial National Invitation was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.'' PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

Other wins (1)

*1988 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Championship (with

Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. (born September 15, 1961) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. After a successful college career at Pittsburgh and be ...

)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1987 U.S. Open – 1989 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1981 PGA – 1982 U.S. Open)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

Nissan Cup Nissan Cup (french: Coupe Nissan) was an ice hockey tournament for men's national teams, which was played in Switzerland between 1988 Nissan Cup, 1988-1994 Nissan Cup (November), 1994. Originally played in November, the tournament was later moved ...

: 1986 *

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pohl, Dan American male golfers Arizona Wildcats men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from Michigan People from Mount Pleasant, Michigan Golfers from Phoenix, Arizona 1955 births Living people