James Oliver Hallet (born March 30, 1960) is an American professional golfer who 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 ...

Amateur career

Hallet was born in Hyannis, Massachusetts and was raised in

South Yarmouth, Massachusetts South Yarmouth is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Yarmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,092 at the 2010 census, the most of the three CDPs in Yarmouth. It i ...

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

. He attended Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School. He grew up playing golf at Bass River Golf Course in Yarmouth. He played college golf at Bryant College, where he was a four-time Division II All-American. He was also the goaltender for the Bryant hockey team for some time. He stated later as an adult that he was "an overnight success" and did not play a lot of junior golf. He reached the semi-final of the 1982

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

which was played in his home state of Massachusetts at The Country Club. Hallet's good play at the U.S. Amateur qualified him for the 1983 Masters Tournament. He first achieved national media attention with an opening round 68 (−4), one shot back of the lead. He continued to play well on the front nine of the second round and held a share of the lead after 28 holes. He would fall back mightily over the next two days, shooting 78-78 to finish at 297 (+9) in a tie for 40th. He would finish low amateur, however, and be interviewed with champion Seve Ballesteros at the end of the tournament on CBS' telecast.

Professional career

Hallet turned professional in 1984 and participated at

PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament The annual PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, also known as Qualifying School or Q-School, was historically the main method by which golfers earned PGA Tour playing privileges, commonly known as a Tour card. Beginning in 2013, Q-School grants privileg ...

that fall but narrowly failed in earning a card. He would narrowly fail the next two seasons as well. His best season during this interim era was in 1987. He finished runner-up in two Asia Golf Circuit events in 1987 and won the circuit's Order of Merit. He also qualified for his first majors as a professional that summer, competing in

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 ...

and

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 ...

. His T-21 at the PGA Championship would ultimately be the best major championship performance of his career. Later in the fall Hallet finally secured his PGA Tour card. Competing against roughly "1,000 upper echelon pros" he performed extremely well, finishing runner-up behind John Huston. This circuitous journey to the PGA Tour earned him a full-length profile in ''The New York Times''. Hallet played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1988 to 1993. He performed solidly on tour his first two years, scoring half a dozen top-10s in total and easily finishing with the top 125 of the money list both years. Hallet was known for his strong work ethic and played nearly every week on tour. In 1990, he had his first chance to win a tournament. In the fall, at the Buick Southern Open, he had a 12-foot putt to defeat his playing partner

Kenny Knox Edward Kenneth Knox (born August 15, 1956) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and the Champions Tour. Knox was born in Columbus, Georgia. He and his brother were introduced to the game of golf b ...

but missed. Knox would birdie the second hole of the playoff to defeat him. The next year, at the

USF&G Classic The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is a professional golf tournament in Louisiana on the PGA Tour, currently held at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, a suburb southwest of New Orleans. Beginning in 1938 and held annually since 1958, it is commonly play ...

in New Orleans, he shot a 65 (−7) in the third round to take a three shot lead entering Sunday. However, he quickly blew his lead over the first six holes until charging back, making four consecutive birdies, and then hitting a 4-iron to 4 feet on the 18th hole for a final birdie to tie. He entered a playoff with

Ian Woosnam Ian Harold Woosnam (born 2 March 1958) is a Welsh professional golfer. Nicknamed 'Woosie', Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, all of whom have won majors, and made Europe ...

, then one of the world's best players who would win the Masters and reach #1 in the world within a month. Both players would tie on the first hole before Hallet bogeyed the 2nd, giving Woosnam the win. The remainder of his PGA Tour career would be much more of a struggle. In 1992 he did not record a top-10 and barely retained his PGA Tour card with a #118 spot on the money list. The 1993 season would be even more of a struggle as he missed the cut in the majority of tournaments he entered and did not finish within the top 150 of the money list. At this stage in his career, wrist injuries hindered his development. Hallet would never play full-time on tour again. He returned to Cape Cod. In 2008 he joined Bass River Golf Course (where he learned to play golf) and Bayberry Hills Golf Course to work as a teacher. As of May 2019, Hallet still works at Bass River. He has also informally taught the girls' golf team at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School.

Amateur wins

*1982 Massachusetts State Amateur Championship *1983 Massachusetts State Amateur Championship

Professional wins

*1984

Rhode Island Open The Rhode Island Open is the Rhode Island state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Rhode Island Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1929 at a variety of courses around the stat ...

*1985

Massachusetts Open The Massachusetts Open is the Massachusetts state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by Mass Golf (formerly the Massachusetts Golf Association). It has been played annually since 1905 (except for wa ...

*1986

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 ...

Playoff record

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

Results in major championships

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hallet, Jim American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Massachusetts People from Hyannis, Massachusetts People from Yarmouth, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Barnstable County, Massachusetts 1960 births Living people