Peter William Thomson (23 August 1929 – 20 June 2018) was an Australian professional golfer. He won 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 ...

five times between 1954 and 1965. Thomson is the only golfer in the modern era to win a major three times in succession – The Open in 1954, 1955 and 1956.

Life

Thomson was born in Brunswick, a northern suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. His Open Championship wins came in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1965. He was the only man to win the tournament for three consecutive years in the 20th century. Thomson was a prolific tournament champion around the world, winning the national championships of ten countries, including the

New Zealand Open The New Zealand Open is the premier men's golf tournament in New Zealand. It has been a regular fixture on the PGA Tour of Australasia tournament schedule since the 1970s. The 2019 event was the 100th edition of the tournament. Since 2014 it has ...

nine times. He competed 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 ...

in 1953 and 1954 with relatively little success (finishing 44th and 25th on the money list), and after that was an infrequent competitor. However, in 1956, playing in just eight events, he won the rich

Texas International Open The AT&T Byron Nelson is a golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, currently hosted by TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, northeast of Dallas. Held in May, it is one of two PGA Tour stops in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex – which until the 2020- ...

, and achieved his best finish in one of the three majors staged in the United States (fourth at the U.S. Open), to finish ninth on the money list. In the era that Thomson won his first four Open Championships, few of the leading professionals from the United States travelled to Britain to play in that event. At that time, the prize money in the Open was insufficient for an American to cover their expenses. However, Thomson demonstrated with his win in 1965 that he could beat a field of the world's best players, as that victory came against a field that included

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 ...

, Jack Nicklaus and

Tony Lema Anthony David Lema (February 25, 1934 – July 24, 1966) was an American professional golfer who rose to fame in the mid-1960s and won a major title, the 1964 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland. He died two years later ...

, three of the top four American golfers from the 1964 money list. Thomson enjoyed a successful senior career. In 1985 he won nine times on the Senior PGA Tour in the United States, and finished top of the money list. His last tournament victory came at the 1988 British

PGA Seniors Championship The PGA Seniors Championship is a European Senior Tour golf tournament for men aged fifty and above. It was founded in 1957 and became part of the European Senior Tour on its founding in 1992. It was not held in 2016 or 2017 but returned in 2018 ...

. He was president of the Australian PGA from 1962 to 1994 and a victorious non-playing captain of the international team in the 1998

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

. He was inducted into the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

in 1988 and the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser th ...

in 1985. Thomson was active as a golf writer, contributing to ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' of Melbourne for some 50 years from the early 1950s. His local club was Victoria Golf Club. He was an honorary member of

Royal Melbourne Golf Club Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a 36-hole golf club in Australia, located in Black Rock, Victoria, a suburb southeast of Melbourne. Its West and East courses are respectively ranked number 1 and 6 in Australia. The West course is ranked in the t ...

. Thomson designed over a hundred golf courses in Australia and around the world.

Death

Thomson died in Melbourne on 20 June 2018 after a four-year battle with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

, at the age of 88.

Amateur wins

*1947 Australasian Foursomes Shield (with Dick Payne) *1948

Victorian Amateur Championship The Victorian Amateur Championship is the state amateur golf championship of Victoria, Australia. It has been played annually since 1899, except for the war years. Two players have won the championship six times, Michael Scott between 1904 and ...

Professional wins (98)

PGA Tour wins (6)

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

European Tour wins (1)

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

''*Note: The 1976 Pepsi-Wilson Tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.'' Japan Golf Tour playoff record (1–0)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

Other European wins (28)

Other Australia and New Zealand wins (45)

*1949 Victorian Close Championship *1950

*1951 Australian Open,

, Victorian Close Championship *1952

Victorian PGA Championship The Victorian PGA Championship is a golf tournament played in Victoria, Australia. It has been part of the PGA Tour of Australasia each season since 2009. It is the oldest of the state professional championships, having been first held in 1922. ...

, Mobilco Tournament *1953

New Zealand PGA Championship The New Zealand PGA Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It is currently known for sponsorship reasons as the SEC NZ PGA Championship. History The tournament been played since 1909, with some gap periods. It was orig ...

*1954

Ampol Tournament The Ampol Tournament was the richest golf event of its time in Australia. From 1952 the sponsor, Ampol, offered great prize money to attract the leading American and European players to compete. Total prize money was initially A£1,000, rising ...

(Nov) *1955 Wiseman's Tournament,

Caltex Tournament The Caltex Tournament was a golf tournament held at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club in Paraparaumu, New Zealand from 1955 to 1972. History Bob Charles (golfer), Bob Charles and Peter Thomson (golfer), Peter Thomson each won the event five times, wh ...

, Pelaco Tournament, Speedo Tournament *1956 Pelaco Tournament *1958

Victorian Open The Vic Open is an annual golf tournament held in Australia. It was founded in 1957 and is the Victoria state open championship for men. It is run by Golf Victoria and is a Golf Australia national ranking event. The event is held concurrently ...

, Pelaco Tournament *1959

, Pelaco Tournament, Coles Tournament,

*1960

Wills Classic The Wills Classic was a series of golf tournaments held in Australia and New Zealand from 1960 to 1964. The first event in 1960 was contested by four players over nine different courses between 17 September and 2 October; the winner determined by t ...

*1961

Adelaide Advertiser Tournament The Adelaide Advertiser Tournament was a golf event played in Adelaide, Australia between 1948 and 1967. Up to 1960 the event was played in March or April but was later played in September or October. The venue generally alternated between Royal ...

New South Wales Open The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, is a professional tennis tournament i ...

*1963

Lakes Open The Lakes Open was a golf tournament played at The Lakes Golf Club in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia between 1934 and 1974. The inaugural event was organised in connection with the visit of a group of American professionals who had earlier pla ...

, Metalcraft Tournament (tie with

Ted Ball Edward A. Ball (4 November 1939 – 17 April 1995) was an Australian professional golfer. He won several dozen significant tournaments in his career. Golf career Ball was born in Hornsby, New South Wales. He had a decorated amateur career, i ...

) *1964 Forest Products Tournament *1965

, Metalcraft Tournament,

, BP Tournament (tie with Kel Nagle) *1966 New Zealand Wills Masters (tie with Tim Woolbank),

(tie with Kel Nagle) *1967

(tie with Bob Charles),

Australian PGA Championship The Australian PGA Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It is the home tournament of the Australian PGA. Since 2000 it has been held in the South East Queensland region. The tournament was part of the OneAsia Tour fro ...

, Australian Open *1968

South Australian Open South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

, Sax Altman Tournament (tie with

Guy Wolstenholme Guy Bertram Wolstenholme (8 March 1931 – 9 October 1984) was an English professional golfer. He had a successful career both as an amateur and then as a professional. Early life Wolstenholme was born in Leicester, and is the father of Gary ...

) *1971

*1972 Australian Open

Asia Golf Circuit wins (5)

* 1962

Yomiuri International The Yomiuri International was a golf tournament held in Japan from 1962 to 1971. It was played at the Yomiuri Country Club in Tokyo. It was an event on the Asia Golf Circuit (formerly the Far East Circuit) every year except for 1964, and served as ...

* 1964 Philippine Open * 1965 Hong Kong Open * 1967 Hong Kong Open *

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

Indian Open

Other Japan wins (5)

*1969

Chunichi Crowns is a professional golf tournament that is played over Nagoya Golf Club's Wagō Course in Tōgō, Aichi, Japan. Founded in 1960, it has been an event on the Japan Golf Tour schedule since the tour's first season in 1973. History The Crowns was ...

*1971 Dunlop Tournament,

Wizard Tournament The Yomiuri Open was a professional golf tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. Founded in 1970 as the Wizard Tournament, a 36-hole invitational tournament, it was played at Hashimoto Country Club in Wakayama until 1979 when it moved to Yomiuri Count ...

*1972

, Pepsi Tournament

Other wins (4)

*1952 Mills Round Robin (South Africa) *1960 Hong Kong Open *1964 Indian Open *1966 Indian Open

Senior PGA Tour wins (11)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other senior wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (5)

¹Defeated Dave Thomas in 36-hole playoff; Thomson (139), Thomas (143)

Results timeline

''Note: Thomson never played in the

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 ...

.'' CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1975 and 1984 Open Championships)
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1954 Open Championship – 1958 Open Championship) *Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1955 Open Championship – 1957 Masters)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (1)

^a This was the December edition of the tournament.

Team appearances

Amateur *

Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches The Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches were an amateur team golf competition for men between the states and territories of Australia. The event started in 1904 when New South Wales played Victoria. Until World War II the event was played a ...

(representing Victoria): 1948 (winners) Professional *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

(representing Australia): 1953, 1954 (winners), 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959 (winners), 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1969 *

Lakes International Cup The Lakes International Cup was a men's team golf competition between teams of professional golfers from Australia and the United States. It was played four times between 1934 and 1954. The United States won the first three matches with Australia w ...

(representing Australia): 1952 * Slazenger Trophy (representing British Commonwealth and Empire): 1956 *

(representing International): 1996 (non-playing captain), 1998 (non-playing captain, winners), 2000 (non-playing captain) *

Hopkins Trophy The Hopkins Trophy was an annual men's professional team golf competition between teams representing the United States and Canada. It was played from 1952 to 1956. The Americans won all five contests that were played. The matches were sponsored by ...

(representing Canada): 1952 * Vicars Shield (representing Victoria): 1951 (winners), 1952 (winners), 1953 (winners)

Honours

* 1955 – ABC Sportsman of the Year * 1 January 1957 – Appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in recognition of his services to Australia in the sporting and international sphere.Australia list: Thomson, Peter William MBE
''It's an Honour'', 1 January 1957. * 31 December 1979 – Appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) for service to the sport of golfThomson, Peter William CBE
''It's an Honour'', 31 December 1979. *10 December 1985 – inaugural member of

*1988 – elected to

*1997 – the inaugural Peter Thomson Trophy, an annual contested between the eight Melbourne Sandbelt golf clubs *1 January 2001 – Awarded the Centenary MedalThomson, Peter William
''It's an Honour'', 1 January 2001. *2001 – elevated to Legend in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame * 11 June 2001 – Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO)Thomson, Peter William AO
''It's an Honour'', 11 June 2001. *2011 – Victorian Golf Industry Hall of Fame 2 *2016 – inducted as inaugural Immortal of the PGA of Australia

References

External links

* * * *
Golflegends.org profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Peter Australian male golfers PGA Tour of Australasia golfers Golf course architects European Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Winners of senior major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Golf writers and broadcasters Officers of the Order of Australia Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Centenary Medal Golfers from Melbourne People from Brunswick, Victoria Neurological disease deaths in Victoria (Australia) Deaths from Parkinson's disease 1929 births 2018 deaths