Thomas Ervin Valentine (October 21, 1949 – July 12, 2014) was an American professional golfer.

College

Born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, Valentine was a four-year letterman in golf for the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

team from 1968 to 1971, winning the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) individual title in 1970, and helping Georgia win the SEC championship in 1969, 1970, and 1971. He was first team NCAA All-American in 1970.

Professional career

Valentine 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 ...

from 1977 until 1988, earning over $300,000 during his career, which included 14 top-10 finishes. Valentine's best finish was a second to Tom Watson in the 1981

Atlanta Classic The Atlanta Classic was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, a regular stop in suburban Atlanta for over four decades. It was founded in 1967 PGA Tour, 1967, although previous events dating to 1934 are included in the PGA Tour's past winners list. AT ...

. Valentine and Watson were tied at the end of 72 holes, and Watson won the sudden-death playoff.

Later years

After leaving the PGA Tour in 1988, Valentine accepted the position of head pro at the Lochmoor Club in

Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan Grosse Pointe Woods is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 16,135 at the 2010 census. The city is a northeastern suburb of Metro Detroit and shares a small southern border with the city of Detroit. It is ...

, which he held until his retirement in 2009. Valentine died on July 12, 2014, following a long battle with cancer. He was 64.

Playoff record

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

References

External links