Peter Thomson (golfer)

Template:Short description Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox golfer Peter William Thomson Template:Post-nominals (23 August 1929 – 20 June 2018) was an Australian professional golfer, often cited as the greatest and most successful golfer in Australian golf history.

While also successful in academia, in the late 1940s Thomson turned professional and immediately had success on the Australasian circuits; beginning with victories in his home state of Victoria and then his first International victory the 1950 New Zealand Open followed by winning the 1951 Australian Open by 4 shots over one of his heroes Norman Von Nida. He then ventured over to Great Britain, trying his luck in the oldest championship of them all, the British Open where he finished T6th in his first Open championship in 1951.

After playing several events in the USA, Thomson decided to focus on Europe thereafter with extraordinary success, winning dozens of tournaments on the British PGA, including the Open Championship five times and victories all over Europe to be known as one of the most prolific winners on European soil. From 1949-1988 Peter Thomson notched professional victories in Australia, New Zealand, America, Italy, Spain, Germany, India, England, Scotland, Japan, Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong and The Philippines...including 27 National Opens.

As a senior, Thomson continued with success, winning 11 times on the Senior PGA Tour, including 9 times in one season (1985) a record he still holds with Hale Irwin. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all-time and more specifically one of the greatest links golfers that has ever lived.

Early life

Thomson was born in Brunswick, a northern suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

Professional career

Thomson's 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 nine times. He competed on the PGA Tour 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, 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, Jack Nicklaus and Tony Lema, three of the top four American golfers from the 1964 money list. Peter Thomson put on a ball-striking clinic at Royal Birkdale in 1965, where, in the final 18 holes he took 71 shots that included 35 putts.

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. 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. He was president of the Australian PGA at the same time he won The British Open in 1965.

Thomson was active as a golf writer, contributing to The Age 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 and dozens of golf clubs around the world including several in Scotland, Japan and throughout Asia. Thomson designed over a hundred golf courses in Australia and around the world with his business partners Michael Wolveridge and Ross Perrett.

Personal life

On June 1, 1960, Thomson was married to Mary Kelly of Melbourne, Australia. The wedding took place in London, England.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Thomson died in Melbourne on 20 June 2018 after a four-year battle with Parkinson's disease, at the age of 88.<ref name="deathref">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Upon his passing, fellow 5 times British Open champion Tom Watson from America said "The golf world has lost arguably the greatest links golfer in history, Australian Peter Thomson. 5 Open Championship titles + top 10 finishes in 18 out of 21 Open Championships (1951-1971) will go down in the annals of golfs greatest achievements. We will miss him."

Awards and honors

• In 1955, he was selected as ABC Sportsman of the Year.
• In 1957, he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his services to Australia in the sporting and international sphere.<ref name="Australia">Australia list: Template:London Gazette</ref><ref name="mbe">Thomson, Peter William MBE, It's an Honour, 1 January 1957.</ref>
• In 1979, appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for service to the sport of golf.<ref name="cbe">Thomson, Peter William CBE, It's an Honour, 31 December 1979.</ref>
• Thomson was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.<ref name="sahof">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Thomson was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988.
• In 1997, The Peter Thomson Trophy, an annual contested between the eight Melbourne Sandbelt golf clubs, was inaugurated.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• In 2001, he was awarded the Centenary Medal.<ref name="centmedal">Thomson, Peter William, It's an Honour, 1 January 2001.</ref>
• In 2001, he was elected an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ao">Thomson, Peter William AO, It's an Honour, 11 June 2001.</ref>
• In 2011, he was inducted into the Victorian Golf Industry Hall of Fame.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• In 2016, he was inducted as inaugural Immortal of the PGA of Australia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Amateur wins

• 1947 Australasian Foursomes Shield (with Dick Payne)
• 1948 Victorian Amateur Championship

Professional wins (99)

PGA Tour wins (6)

Legend
Major championships (5)
Other PGA Tour (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	9 Jul 1954	The Open Championship	−9 (72-71-69-71=283)	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Bobby Locke, Template:Flagicon Dai Rees, Template:Flagicon Syd Scott
2	8 Jul 1955	The Open Championship (2)	−7 (71-68-70-72=281)	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon John Fallon
3	4 Jun 1956	Texas International Open	−13 (67-68-69-63=267)	Playoff	Template:Flagicon Gene Littler, Template:Flagicon Cary Middlecoff
4	6 Jul 1956	The Open Championship (3)	+2 (70-70-72-74=286)	3 strokes	Template:Flagicon Flory Van Donck
5	5 Jul 1958	The Open Championship (4)	−6 (66-72-67-73=278)	Playoff	Template:Flagicon Dave Thomas
6	9 Jul 1965	The Open Championship (5)	−3 (74-68-72-71=285)	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Brian Huggett, Template:Flagicon Christy O'Connor Snr

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1956	Texas International Open	Template:Flagicon Gene Littler, Template:Flagicon Cary Middlecoff	Won with birdie on second extra hole
2	1958	The Open Championship	Template:Flagicon Dave Thomas	Won 36-hole playoff; Thomson: −3 (68-71=139), Thomas: +1 (69-74=143)

European Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	23 Sep 1972	W.D. & H.O. Wills Tournament	−14 (71-69-66-64=270)	3 strokes	Template:Flagicon Peter Butler

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	23 May 1976	Pepsi-Wilson Tournament	−5 (71-72-68=211)*	Playoff	Template:Flagicon Brian Jones, Template:Flagicon Graham Marsh, Template:Flagicon Shozo Miyamoto

*Note: The 1976 Pepsi-Wilson Tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	1976	Pepsi-Wilson Tournament	Template:Flagicon Brian Jones, Template:Flagicon Graham Marsh, Template:Flagicon Shozo Miyamoto	Won with par on fourteenth extra hole Jones eliminated by par on fourth hole Miyamoto eliminated by par on first hole

Other Japan wins (5)

• 1969 Chunichi Crowns
• 1971 Dunlop Tournament, Wizard Tournament
• 1972 Chunichi Crowns, Pepsi Tournament

Asia Golf Circuit wins (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	11 Mar 1962	Yomiuri International	−10 (72-68-64-74=278)	8 strokes	Template:Flagicon Al Balding
2	23 Feb 1964	Philippine Open	−3 (74-74-69-68=285)	Playoff	Template:Flagicon Doug Sanders
3	28 Mar 1965	Hong Kong Open	−2 (75-66-67-70=278)	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Ross Newdick
4	26 Mar 1967	Hong Kong Open (2)	−7 (68-69-67-69=273)	Playoff	Template:Flagicon Brian Huggett
5	4 Apr 1976	Indian Open	−4 (74-75-69-70=288)	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Brian Jones

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (2–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1964	Philippine Open	Template:Flagicon Doug Sanders	Won with bogey on first extra hole
2	1967	Hong Kong Open	Template:Flagicon Brian Huggett	Won with par on second extra hole

Other Asian wins (3)

• 1960 Hong Kong Open
• 1964 Indian Open
• 1966 Indian Open

PGA Tour of Australia wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runners-up
1	11 Feb 1973	Victorian Open	−4 (71-73-73-67=284)	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Stewart Ginn, Template:Flagicon Bob Tuohy

Other Australian wins (24)

• 1949 Victorian Close Championship
• 1951 Australian Open, Victorian Close Championship
• 1952 Victorian PGA Championship, Mobilco Tournament
• 1953 Victorian PGA Championship
• 1954 Ampol Tournament (Nov)
• 1955 Wiseman's Tournament, Pelaco Tournament, Speedo Tournament
• 1956 Pelaco Tournament
• 1958 Victorian Open, Pelaco Tournament
• 1959 Pelaco Tournament, Coles Tournament
• 1960 Wills Classic
• 1961 Adelaide Advertiser Tournament, New South Wales Open
• 1963 Lakes Open
• 1967 Australian PGA Championship, Australian Open
• 1968 South Australian Open, Victorian Open
• 1972 Australian Open

New Zealand Golf Circuit wins (11)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	3 Sep 1963	Metalcraft Tournament	−5 (72-69-74-72=287)	Shared title with Template:Flagicon Ted Ball
2	1 Dec 1964	Forest Products Tournament	−11 (69-68-65=202)	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Cobie Legrange, Template:Flagicon Kel Nagle
3	21 Nov 1965	New Zealand Open	−2 (70-71-68-69=278)	8 strokes	Template:Flagicon Bob Charles, Template:Flagicon Kel Nagle
4	23 Nov 1965	Metalcraft Tournament (2)	−8 (71-68-69=208)	3 strokes	Template:Flagicon Barry Coxon, Template:Flagicon Walter Godfrey, Template:Flagicon Alan Murray, Template:Flagicon Ross Newdick
5	27 Nov 1965	Caltex Tournament	−10 (68-70-69-75=282)	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Cedric Amm, Template:Flagicon John Sullivan
6	11 Dec 1965	BP Tournament	−10 (68-66-73-71=278)	Shared title with Template:Flagicon Kel Nagle
7	26 Nov 1966	New Zealand Wills Masters	−17 (69-69-70-67=275)	Shared title with Template:Flagicon Tim Woolbank
8	17 Dec 1966	Caltex Tournament (2)	−4 (72-67-70-67=276)	Shared title with Template:Flagicon Kel Nagle
9	26 Nov 1967	Caltex Tournament (3)	−14 (72-70-67-69=278)	Shared title with Template:Flagicon Bob Charles
10	23 Nov 1968	Sax Altman Tournament	−3 (72-71-70-72=285)	Shared title with Template:Flagicon Guy Wolstenholme
11	28 Nov 1971	New Zealand Open (2)	−8 (71-66-69-70=276)	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Maurice Bembridge

Other New Zealand wins (10)

• 1950 New Zealand Open
• 1951 New Zealand Open
• 1953 New Zealand Open, New Zealand PGA Championship
• 1955 New Zealand Open, Caltex Tournament
• 1959 New Zealand Open, Caltex Tournament
• 1960 New Zealand Open
• 1961 New Zealand Open

British PGA Circuit wins (25)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	9 Jul 1954	The Open Championship	72-71-69-71=283	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Bobby Locke, Template:Flagicon Dai Rees, Template:Flagicon Syd Scott
2	2 Oct 1954	News of the World Match Play	38 holes		Template:Flagicon John Fallon
3	8 Jul 1955	The Open Championship	71-68-70-72=281	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon John Fallon
4	6 Jul 1956	The Open Championship	70-70-72-74=286	3 strokes	Template:Flagicon Flory Van Donck
5	21 Jun 1957	Yorkshire Evening News Tournament	65-67-64-68=264	15 strokes	Template:Flagicon Harry Bradshaw
6	9 May 1958	Dunlop Tournament	70-69-71-71-67=348	3 strokes	Template:Flagicon Harold Henning
7	14 Jun 1958	Daks Tournament	70-67-69-69=275	Tie	Template:Flagicon Harold Henning
8	5 Jul 1958	The Open Championship	33-72-67-73=278	Playoff	Template:Flagicon Dave Thomas
9	11 Jun 1960	Daks Tournament	74-66-67-72=279	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Tom Haliburton, Template:Flagicon Jimmy Hitchcock
10	17 Jun 1960	Yorkshire Evening News Tournament	70-66-65-67=268	5 strokes	Template:Flagicon Bernard Hunt
11	20 Jun 1960	Bowmaker Tournament	67-65=132	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Bernard Hunt
12	23 Jun 1961	Yorkshire Evening News Tournament	70-69-70-73=262	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Dai Rees
13	26 Aug 1961	Esso Golden Tournament	21 points	Tie	Template:Flagicon Dave Thomas
14	9 Sep 1961	News of the World Match Play	3 & 1		Template:Flagicon Ralph Moffitt
15	16 Sep 1961	Dunlop Masters	70-71-72-71=284	8 strokes	Template:Flagicon Christy O'Connor Snr
16	5 May 1962	Martini International	66-69-72-68=275	4 strokes	Template:Flagicon Eric Brown
17	20 May 1962	Piccadilly No. 1 Tournament	72-69-73-69=283	3 strokes	Template:Flagicon Christy O'Connor Snr
18	5 Jun 1965	Daks Tournament	70-71-68-66=275	4 strokes	Template:Flagicon Guy Wolstenholme
19	9 Jul 1965	The Open Championship	74-68-72-71=285	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Brian Huggett, Template:Flagicon Christy O'Connor Snr
20	10 Sep 1966	News of the World Match Play	2 & 1		Template:Flagicon Neil Coles
21	22 Jul 1967	Esso Golden Tournament	20 points	Tie	Template:Flagicon Kel Nagle
22	10 Sep 1967	News of the World Match Play	4 & 3		Template:Flagicon Dai Rees
23	8 Oct 1967	Alcan International	69-71-73-68=281	5 strokes	Template:Flagicon Tony Grubb
24	14 Sep 1968	Dunlop Masters	66-69-73-66=274	5 strokes	Template:Flagicon Dave Thomas
25	13 Jun 1970	Martini International	65-68-68-67=268	Tie	Template:Flagicon Doug Sewell

Other European wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	11 Oct 1959	Italian Open	69-67-68-65=269	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Alfonso Angelini
2	17 Oct 1959	Spanish Open	71-73-72-70=286	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Jean Garaïalde, Template:Flagicon Syd Scott
3	24 Jul 1960	German Open	71-67-72-71=281	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Roberto De Vicenzo, Template:Flagicon Jean Garaïalde

Other wins (2)

• 1952 Mills Round Robin (South Africa)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1954 Canada Cup (with Kel Nagle)

Senior PGA Tour wins (11)

Legend
Senior major championships (1)
Other Senior PGA Tour (10)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	16 Sep 1984	World Seniors Invitational	−7 (69-69-69-74=281)	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Arnold Palmer
2	9 Dec 1984	General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship	−2 (67-73-74-72=286)	3 strokes	Template:Flagicon Don January
3	17 Mar 1985	Vintage Invitational	−7 (69-73-69-69=280)	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Billy Casper, Template:Flagicon Arnold Palmer
4	31 Mar 1985	American Golf Carta Blanca Johnny Mathis Classic	−11 (70-64-71=205)	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Don January
5	5 May 1985	MONY Senior Tournament of Champions	−4 (70-70-71-73=284)	3 strokes	Template:Flagicon Don January, Template:Flagicon Dan Sikes
6	9 Jun 1985	The Champions Classic	−6 (68-72-70=210)	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Billy Casper, Template:Flagicon Jim Ferree
7	16 Jun 1985	Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am	−14 (68-66-68=202)	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Lee Elder
8	21 Jul 1985	MONY Syracuse Senior's Classic	−9 (70-64-70=203)	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Miller Barber, Template:Flagicon Gene Littler
9	18 Aug 1985	du Maurier Champions	−13 (64-70-69=203)	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Ben Smith
10	15 Sep 1985	United Virginia Bank Seniors	−9 (69-69-69=207)	4 strokes	Template:Flagicon George Lanning
11	20 Oct 1985	Barnett Suntree Senior Classic	−9 (70-68-69=207)	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Charlie Sifford

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1985	Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am	Template:Flagicon Lee Elder	Lost to eagle on first extra hole

Other senior wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	26 Jun 1988	Trusthouse Forte PGA Seniors Championship	+7 (78-67-72-70=287)	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Denis Hutchinson

Major championships

Wins (5)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1954	The Open Championship	Tied for lead	−9 (72-71-69-71=283)	1 stroke	Template:Flagicon Bobby Locke, Template:Flagicon Dai Rees, Template:Flagicon Syd Scott
1955	The Open Championship (2)	1 shot lead	−7 (71-68-70-72=281)	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon John Fallon
1956	The Open Championship (3)	3 shot lead	−2 (70-70-72-74=286)	3 strokes	Template:Flagicon Flory Van Donck
1958	The Open Championship (4)	2 shot lead	−6 (66-72-67-73=278)	Playoff1	Template:Flagicon Dave Thomas
1965	The Open Championship (5)	1 shot lead	−7 (74-68-72-71=285)	2 strokes	Template:Flagicon Christy O'Connor Snr, Template:Flagicon Brian Huggett

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

Results timeline

Tournament	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
Masters Tournament			T36	T16	T18		5	T23	DQ
U.S. Open			T26	CUT		T4	T22
The Open Championship	T6	2	T2	1	1	1	2	1	T23

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament		T19								CUT
U.S. Open		CUT
The Open Championship	T9	7	T6	5	T24	1	T8	T8	T24	T3

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship	T9	T9	T31	T31	CUT	CUT	CUT	T13	T24	T26

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship					CUT

Note: Thomson never played in the PGA Championship. Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1975 and 1984 Open Championships)
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	1	1	5	8	6
U.S. Open	0	0	0	1	1	2	5	3
The Open Championship	5	3	1	10	18	23	30	26
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	5	3	1	12	20	30	43	35

• 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)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1984a	General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship	−2 (67-73-74-72=286)	3 strokes	Template:Flagicon Don January

^a This was the December edition of the tournament.

Team appearances

Amateur

• Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing Victoria): 1948 (winners)

Professional

• World Cup (representing Australia): 1953, 1954 (winners), 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959 (winners), 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1969
• Lakes International Cup (representing Australia): 1952
• Slazenger Trophy (representing British Commonwealth and Empire): 1956
• Presidents Cup (representing International): 1996 (non-playing captain), 1998 (non-playing captain, winners), 2000 (non-playing captain)
• Hopkins Trophy (representing Canada): 1952
• Vicars Shield (representing Victoria): 1951 (winners), 1952 (winners), 1953 (winners)

See also

• List of golfers with most PGA Tour Champions wins
• List of golfers with most wins in one PGA Tour event
• List of men's major championships winning golfers

External links

• Template:PGATour player
• Template:EuroTour player
• Template:JapanTour player
• Template:World Golf Hall of Fame
• Golflegends.org profile