James L. Benepe III (born October 24, 1963) is 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 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 Nationwide Tour.

Biography

Benepe was born, raised and lived most of his life in

Sheridan, Wyoming Sheridan is a town in the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Sheridan County. The town is located halfway between Yellowstone Park and Mount Rushmore by U.S. Route 14 and 16. It is the principal town of the Sheridan, Wyoming, Micropol ...

. He attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and was a first-team All-American in 1986 as well as the 1986 Big Ten Champion while a member of the

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 ...

team. He turned pro in 1986. Benepe played his first full-year as a professional golfer, 1987, in Asia, on the Australian Tour and on the

Canadian Tour PGA Tour Canada, commonly referred to as the Canadian Tour, is a men's professional golf tour headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The United States based PGA Tour took over operation of the tour on November 1, 2012, at which time it was renamed PG ...

. That year, he won the

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 ...

in Canada; and was the winner of the Canadian Tour's ''Order of Merit'' and ''Rookie of the Year'' awards. In February 1988, he won Victorian Open in Melbourne, Australia. He joined the PGA Tour in 1988. Benepe won the 1988

Beatrice 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 ...

, the first PGA Tour event he ever played in. The tournament was held at Butler National GC in

Oak Brook, Illinois Oak Brook is a village mostly in DuPage County with a small portion in Cook County in Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 8,163. This suburb of Chicago has the headquarters of several companies and organizations including Ace H ...

that year, and he only got in through a last-minute sponsor exemption. Benepe used a local caddie, James Tunney, to help him to his victory.

Peter Jacobsen Peter Erling Jacobsen (born March 4, 1954) is an American professional golfer and commentator on Golf Channel and NBC. He has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He has won seven events on the PGA Tour and two events on the Champions ...

double bogeyed the 72nd hole, which gave Benepe the victory. It turned out to be his only career win in an official PGA Tour event. He won the PGA Tour's 1988 ''Rookie of the Year'' honors. He is still the only person to win a PGA Tour event on his first attempt and the only Wyoming-born PGA Tour winner. Benepe left the PGA Tour at the end of the 1991 season after struggling the previous several years with back problems and technical problems with his game. After leaving the Tour, he came home to Sheridan and began working in real estate sales and promotions. After a long hiatus, he began playing competitive tour golf again in the late 1990s in Australia, on the PGA Tour and in about 15 events per year on the Nationwide Tour. Benepe finished 26th on the Nationwide Tour in 2001 with 6 top-10 finishes and 16th on the Australian Order of Merit. Benepe was inducted into the Wyoming Sports & Wyoming State Golf Association Hall of Fames in 2006 and the Northwestern Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. Today he works in the corporate world consulting in various aviation arenas and lives in Sheridan, Wyoming with his wife.

Amateur wins (3)

*1982 Wyoming Stroke Play Championship,

Western Junior The Western Junior is the oldest national junior golf tournament in the United States. It was founded in 1914 and is organized by the Western Golf Association. It is played at a different course each year, primarily in the midwest. From 1914 to 1 ...

*1983 Wyoming State Match Play Championship

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

Canadian Tour wins (1)

*1987

Results in major championships

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Benepe, Jim American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Northwestern Wildcats men's golfers Golfers from Wyoming People from Sheridan, Wyoming 1963 births Living people