JOINED TOUR
PGA TOUR Victories (3)
1981 Season
1982 Season
- Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic
1983 Season
PGA TOUR Champions Victories (3)
2007 Season
- Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach
2009 Season
- The Cap Cana Championship
- Regions Charity Classic
Korn Ferry Tour Victories (2)
1994 Season
- NIKE Panama City Beach Classic
- NIKE Boise Open
Additional Victories (2)
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1971 Texas State Junior
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1976 Texas State Open.
PLAYOFF RECORD
PGA TOUR (2-0)
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1982 Defeated Raymond Floyd, Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic
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1983 Defeated Rex Caldwell, Bob Hope Desert Classic
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS (0-1)
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2006 Lost to Tom Kite, Boeing Greater Seattle Classic
Personal
- Started playing golf at age 8.
- Played football and basketball in high school, but enjoyed practicing golf more than other sports.
- Began using the long putter in 1988 while coaching at the University of Houston.
- Has done some golf course design work on the side.
- Did soap commercials on television in the 1980s.
- One of his superstitions is getting rid of anything negative. If he makes a double bogey, he changes to a new ball. If he plays poorly, he won't wear the same outfit, but if he plays well he can't wait to wear the same shirt again.
- Enjoys attending Broadway shows.
- Enjoys working in his yard, trying different wines and spending time with his grandson, Keegan.
- His first car was a maroon 1966 Mustang.
Special Interests
Career Highlights
2012 Season
Played in just 10 events, the fewest in his Champions Tour career.
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Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf: Best finish was a T25 at the Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf, with teammate Wayne Levi.
2011 Season
Slipped 14 spots on the final money list, from 32nd in 2010 to 46th. Remains one of the long hitters on the Champions Tour and was T2 in Eagles with 12.
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Principal Charity Classic: Tied the 18-hole tournament record at The Principal Charity Classic when he shot an 8-under 63 at Glen Oaks in the final round. Became the fourth player in tournament history to record that score, and it was a career-best Champions Tour round.
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Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf: Best showing during the campaign came in April when, along with Wayne Levi, held a share of the 36-hole lead at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf. The pair eventually finished T3, one stroke out of a playoff in the team, better-ball Legends Division.
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Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai: Started the season with an eighth-place effort at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.
2010 Season
Narrowly missed finishing in the top 30 on the money list for the fifth consecutive year when he placed 32nd in the final standings.
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SAS Championship: Rallied from an opening-round 75 to finish T8 at the SAS Championship. Saturday score of 8-under 64 included the 35th double eagle in Champions Tour history (3-iron, 210 yards) on the par-5 17th hole. During the round, was 8-under for a seven-hole stretch, which included the double eagle, a first on the Champions Tour since Jay Haas made an albatross at the 2009 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf.
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Boeing Classic: T6 at the Boeing Classic in late August near Seattle.
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Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am: Best showing among four top-10 finishes came in April near Tampa. Posted a pair of 68s at the rain-shortened Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am and finished T5 when rain washed out the final round. Performance was his best Champions Tour effort since winning the 2009 Regions Charity Classic.
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Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai: Opened the season with a T6 at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.
2009 Season
Won two titles in a season for the first time since 1994 on the Korn Ferry Tour and was the second of just five players to claim multiple titles. Both victories came within a span of four starts during the spring.
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Regions Charity Classic: Added a second title in May when he won the rain-shortened Regions Charity Classic near Birmingham, Ala. Fired consecutive rounds of 66 to win by three strokes over Gene Jones.
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The Cap Cana Championship: Claimed his second career title on the Champions Tour when he prevailed by one stroke at The Cap Cana Championship in March. Made a dramatic eagle on the 17th hole to grab the lead after trailing Mark O'Meara by as many as four strokes during the final round. Holed a sand-wedge approach from 95 yards for the decisive eagle. Was 1-over-par in his Sunday round after 11 holes but played his next six holes in 5-under par, which gave him the lead and his first win since 2007.
2008 Season
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AT&T Championship: Best effort came in the last full-field event of the season. Fired a final-round 65 at Oak Hills to jump up into second place at the AT&T Championship, three strokes back of winner John Cook.
2007 Season
Registered his first victory on the Champions Tour and surpassed the $1-million mark in season earnings for the first time.
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SAS Championship: Shot consecutive 67s on the weekend at the SAS Championship to finish T3 near Raleigh. His $132,000 check moved him over the seven-figure mark in single-season earnings for the first time in his career.
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Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach: First win came in his 72nd start when he outlasted Hale Irwin and Mark O'Meara at the inaugural Ginn Championship at Ocean Hammock. Victory made him just the third of four players to post titles on the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour and Champions Tour. One-stroke victory over O'Meara and Irwin came despite bogeys on two of the final three holes on the Ocean Club at Hammock Beach. Win ended a TOUR victory drought of just over 12 1/2 years (1994 Boise Open on the Korn Ferry Tour).
2006 Season
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Charles Schwab Cup Championship: Nearly doubled his previous year's earnings and earned a berth in the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Took full advantage of his appearance, finishing solo third. Made a late Sunday charge but fell three strokes shy of winner Jim Thorpe.
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Boeing Greater Seattle Classic: Nearly won his first Champions Tour title at the Boeing Greater Seattle Classic in August but lost in a one-hole playoff to Tom Kite. Closed with an 8-under-par 64 Sunday, his best Champions Tour effort at the time. Playing well ahead of the leaders, he narrowly missed a potential eagle putt on the final hole in regulation, leaving his putt inches short. Had he converted, he would have eventually earned the title outright. In the playoff, watched his second shot carom off the cartpath and into a skybox behind 18, effectively ending his chances as Kite made a birdie-4 on the hole.
2005 Season
Led the Champions Tour in Total Driving.
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Champions Tour Q-School: Earned fully-exempt status for 2006 by finishing T4 at the National Qualifying Tournament in Beaumont, CA. Was T40 after an opening-round 77 and moved into a T9 after five rounds. Moved into the top seven after posting a final-round 70 in windy conditions.
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Toshiba Senior Classic: Top effort came in March during the early California swing. Finished T2 at the Toshiba Senior Classic. Trailed eventual-winner Mark Johnson by three strokes entering the final round and lost by four after a final-round 71.
2004 Season
Joined Tour after turning 50 in early March. Made 18 starts, primarily through the PGA TOUR Career Victory category.
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Administaff Small Business Classic presented by KBR: Shot a 7-under-par 65 in the second round of the Administaff Small Business Classic to move up 40 spots. Round was his lowest since a second-round 64 at the 1997 Quad City Classic.
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Toshiba Senior Classic: In contention for the first time when he was one off the lead after 36 holes of the Toshiba Senior Classic. Eventually placed fourth after a final-round 69.
2003 Season
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Champions Tour Qualifying Tourn Finals: Finished ninth at the 2003 National Qualifying Tournament at the TPC Eagle Trace. Shot 72-hole total of 3-under 285, but missed earning fully-exempt status by two strokes. Tied Rafael Navarro for the ninth spot and then claimed sole possession of ninth place with a par on the first extra playoff hole.
1996 Season
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Nortel Open: Was attacked by killer bees on the driving range prior to his third round at the 1996 Nortel Open and was stung between 10 and 15 times. His caddie, Artie Granfield, was stung between 50 and 100 times.