Thomas Warren Purtzer (born December 5, 1951) 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 won tournaments on both 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 ...

. Purtzer was born in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

. He attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

in Tempe, where he was a member of the school's

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 graduated in 1973 and turned pro. He followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Paul, who also played golf for Arizona State and played on the PGA Tour in the 1970s and early 1980s. Purtzer is often described in golf literature as having the "sweetest swing in golf". He won five tournaments on the PGA Tour in three different decades, and won four times on the Champions Tour. His best finishes in major championships were 4th at the 1977 U.S. Open and T4 at the 1982

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 ...

. Purtzer is a close friend of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Hall-of-Famer

Robin Yount Robin R. Yount (; born September 16, 1955), nicknamed "the Kid", and "Rockin' Robin", is an American former professional baseball player. He spent his entire 20-year career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop and center fielder for the Milwau ...

and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

star

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

. He enjoys sports, music and auto racing in his spare time. Purtzer and his brother Paul operate ''Purtzer Performance Golf School and Academy'' in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. He lives in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

Professional wins (15)

PGA Tour wins (5)

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Other wins (4)

Other playoff record (0–1)

Champions Tour wins (4)

''*Note: The 2003 SBC Classic was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.'' Champions Tour playoff record (1–1)

Other senior wins (1)

''*Note: The 2005 Titanium Enterprises Australian PGA Seniors Championship was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.''

Results in major championships

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

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1989 Masters – 1996 Open Championship) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

Results in The Players Championship

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

U.S. national team appearances

Four Tours World Championship The Four Tours World Championship was an annual professional golf tournament that was played from 1985 to 1991. It was played between teams representing the four main professional tours: the American PGA Tour, the PGA European Tour, the PGA Tour of ...

: 1991

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Purtzer, Tom American male golfers Arizona State Sun Devils men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Iowa Golfers from Scottsdale, Arizona Sportspeople from Des Moines, Iowa 1951 births Living people