Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. (September 6, 1929 – November 4, 2022) 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 is best known for winning the 1958

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

. He won 11 Tour titles between 1955 and 1963, played on four

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 ...

teams, and served as non-playing captain for the 1977 U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Early life and amateur career

Finsterwald was born and raised in

Athens, Ohio Athens is a city and the county seat of Athens County, Ohio. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Athens is best known as the home of Ohio Universit ...

. He attended

Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...

in his hometown, where he played on the golf team and graduated in the Class of 1952. In 1969, he was inducted into the Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame joining his father,

Russ Finsterwald Russell Weihr Finsterwald (August 12, 1896 – June 13, 1962) was an American football and basketball player and coach. He played both sports at Syracuse University between 1916 and 1917 before serving in the U.S. Army during World War I. He pl ...

, who was in the first class of inductees as a football player, and later basketball and football head coach.

Professional career

Finsterwald turned professional in 1951 and won 11 times 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 ...

during his career. He finished fifth or better more than 50 times in his career. He played on four

Teams (1957, 1959, 1961, 1963) and was the non-playing captain of the 1977 team. He 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 ...

in 1957, which is awarded to the tour professional with the lowest scoring average. In 1958, he was honored as

PGA Player of the Year 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 ...

. Finsterwald finished in the money in 72 consecutive tournaments – second only to

Byron Nelson John Byron Nelson Jr. (February 4, 1912 – September 26, 2006) was an American professional golfer between 1935 and 1946, widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. Nelson and two other legendary champions of the time, Ben Hoga ...

's 113 consecutive cuts. This record stood for many years until eclipsed by

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed The Golden Bear, is a retired American professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest go ...

Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American professional golfer. He was one of the world's leading golfers from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He is one of the few players in history to win three U.S. Opens, becoming the oldest ever U.S. Op ...

and

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

; however, he is still fifth on the list as of 2019. The 1958 PGA Championship was held at

Llanerch Country Club The Llanerch Country Club is a private club in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, USA (postal address Havertown, Pennsylvania). The Llanerch Country Club has been operating under its present name since 1919 and unde ...

Havertown, Pennsylvania Havertown is a residential suburban unincorporated community in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located approximately 9 miles west of the center of Philadelphia. Havertown's ZIP Code is 19083 and "Havertown" is a posta ...

. This was the first PGA Championship held after the format was switched from match play to stroke play. Finsterwald finished the tournament with a two-stroke victory over

Billy Casper William Earl Casper Jr. (June 24, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was one of the most prolific tournament winners on the PGA Tour from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. In his youth, Casper started as a caddie a ...

. Four years later, Finsterwald and

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

lost the 1962 Masters in a playoff to

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Dating back to 1955, he won numerous ev ...

. Finsterwald was once involved in

litigation - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

in which a

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the p ...

claimed she lost the sight in her right eye as a result of an errant tee shot he hit at the 18th hole at the 1973

Western Open The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...

. A jury found Finsterwald not liable; however, Midlothian (Illinois) Country Club's insurers had to pay the woman about $450,000. Finsterwald served as director of golf at

The Broadmoor The Broadmoor (stylized as THE BRODMOOR) is a hotel and resort in the Broadmoor neighborhood of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Broadmoor is a member of Historic Hotels of America of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Its visitors h ...

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

for 28 years. He simultaneously served as

PGA of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 men and women members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to establish ...

vice-president from 1976–1978; and on the

USGA The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rules ...

Rules of Golf committee from 1979-1981. He was also the Pro Emeritus of the Pikewood National Golf Club, based in

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...

. Finsterwald was honored by fellow Ohio native

at the 2007

Memorial Tournament The Memorial Tournament is a PGA Tour golf tournament founded in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus. It is played on a Nicklaus-designed course at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. The golf course passes through a large n ...

Dublin, Ohio Dublin is a city in Franklin, Delaware and Union counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 49,328 in the 2020 census with a census estimate of 49,037 in 2019. Dublin is a suburb of Columbus. The city of Dublin hosts the yearly Mem ...

. In 2008, he was inducted into the

Colorado Sports Hall of Fame The Colorado Sports Hall of Fame (CSHoF) is a hall of fame and museum that honors — by public acknowledgment or commemoration — individuals who merit recognition and distinction for their exploits, accomplishments, and leadership in spo ...

. Finsterwald lived in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

during the winter and Colorado Springs during the summer.

Professional wins (13)

PGA Tour wins (11)

PGA Tour playoff record (2–4)

Other wins (2)

''This list may be incomplete'' *1954

Carolinas Open The Carolinas Open is a golf tournament played in the Carolinas, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is run by the Carolinas section of the PGA of America. It has been played annually since 1923 at a variety of courses around both sta ...

*1955

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 ...

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Note: Finsterwald never played in

The Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

.''
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1955 U.S. Open – 1960 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Finsterwald, Dow American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from Ohio Golfers from Colorado Golfers from Florida Ohio Bobcats athletes People from Athens, Ohio 1929 births 2022 deaths