Dow Finsterwald
Dow Finsterwald | ||
---|---|---|
PGA Player of the Year 1958 | |
Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. (September 6, 1929 – November 4, 2022)[1][2] was an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the 1958 PGA Championship. He won 11 Tour titles between 1955 and 1963, played on four Ryder Cup teams, and served as non-playing captain for the 1977 U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Early life and amateur career
Finsterwald was born and raised in Athens, Ohio. He attended Ohio University in his hometown, where he played on the golf team and graduated in the Class of 1952. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity while at OU. In 1969, he was inducted into the Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame joining his father, Russ Finsterwald, who was in the first class of inductees as a football player, and later basketball and football head coach.[3]
Professional career
Finsterwald turned professional in 1951 and won 11 times on the
The 1958 PGA Championship was held at Llanerch Country Club in Havertown, Pennsylvania. This was the first PGA Championship held after the format was switched from match play to stroke play. Finsterwald finished the tournament with a two-stroke victory over Billy Casper.[5] Four years later, Finsterwald and Gary Player lost the 1962 Masters in a playoff to Arnold Palmer.
Finsterwald was once involved in
Finsterwald was honored by fellow Ohio native Jack Nicklaus at the 2007 Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. In 2008, he was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.[4] Finsterwald lived in Orlando, Florida during the winter and Colorado Springs during the summer.[4]
Professional wins (13)
PGA Tour wins (11)
Legend |
Major championships (1) |
Other PGA Tour (10) |
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | May 29, 1955 | Fort Wayne Invitational |
−19 (65-66-71-67=269) | 3 strokes | Doug Ford |
2 | May 13, 1956 | Carling Open Invitational |
−14 (65-71-69-69=274) | 3 strokes | Jack Burke Jr., Billy Casper, Billy Maxwell |
3 | Feb 11, 1957 | Tucson Open Invitational |
−11 (68-67-66-68=269) | Playoff | Don Whitt |
4 | Jul 20, 1958 | PGA Championship | −4 (67-72-70-67=276) | 2 strokes | Billy Casper |
5 | Sep 8, 1958 | Utah Open | −17 (69-65-67-66=267) | 1 stroke | Fred Hawkins, Arnold Palmer |
6 | Apr 12, 1959 | Greater Greensboro Open |
−6 (68-68-65-77=278) | 2 strokes | Art Wall Jr. |
7 | Aug 9, 1959 | Carling Open Invitational (2) |
−8 (74-68-66-68=276) | 1 stroke | Gene Littler, Mike Souchak |
8 | Sep 7, 1959 | Kansas City Open Invitational | −13 (68-69-69-69=275) | Playoff | Don Fairfield |
9 | Jan 11, 1960 | Los Angeles Open | −4 (70-68-71-71=280) | 3 strokes | Bill Collins, Jay Hebert, Dave Ragan |
10 | Apr 24, 1960 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational |
−18 (69-66-66-69=270) | 6 strokes | Al Besselink |
11 | Jun 3, 1963 | 500 Festival Open Invitation | −16 (68-68-64-68=268) | 2 strokes | Tommy Aaron, Julius Boros, Tony Lema, Bobby Nichols |
PGA Tour playoff record (2–4)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1956 | Canadian Open | Doug Sanders | Lost to par on first extra hole |
2 | 1957 | Tucson Open Invitational
|
Don Whitt | Won 18-hole playoff; Finsterwald: −5 (65), Whitt: −1 (69) |
3 | 1958 | Rubber City Open Invitational | Art Wall Jr. | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
4 | 1959 | Buick Open Invitational
|
Art Wall Jr. | Lost 18-hole playoff; Wall: −1 (71), Finsterwald: +1 (73) |
5 | 1959 | Kansas City Open Invitational | Don Fairfield | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
6 | 1962 | Masters Tournament | Arnold Palmer, Gary Player | Palmer won 18-hole playoff; Palmer: −4 (68), Player: −1 (71), Finsterwald: +5 (77) |
Other wins (2)
This list may be incomplete
- 1954 Carolinas Open
- 1955 British Columbia Open
Major championships
Wins (1)
Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1958 | PGA Championship | 2 shot deficit | −4 (67-72-70-67=276) | 2 strokes | Billy Casper |
Results timeline
Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T50 | T46 | T24 | T7 | T17 | T18 | ||||
U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | T28 | T13 | T11 | |||||
PGA Championship | 2 | 1 | 4 |
Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 3 | CUT | 3 | T5 | T9 | T21 | T57 | CUT | ||
U.S. Open | T3 | T6 | T12 | 8 | CUT | CUT | T65 | |||
PGA Championship | T15 | T41 | T11 | T3 | CUT | T63 | T12 | T60 | T48 | T76 |
Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | ||||||||||
U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | ||||||||
PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | T58 | CUT | CUT | T70 | 70 | CUT | CUT |
Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | |||||
U.S. Open | CUT | ||||
PGA Championship | CUT | CUT |
Note: Finsterwald never played in The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"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 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 12 |
U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 8 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PGA Championship | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 15 |
Totals | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 53 | 35 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1955 U.S. Open – 1960 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)
U.S. national team appearances
Professional
- Ryder Cup: 1957, 1959 (winners), 1961 (winners), 1963 (winners), 1977 (non-playing captain, winners)
See also
References
- ^ Ferguson, Doug (November 5, 2022). "Dow Finsterwald, 1958 PGA champion, dies at age 93". Golf Channel.
- ^ "Dow Finsterwald, 11-time PGA Tour winner, dies at age 93". PGA Tour. November 5, 2022.
- ^ "Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame site". Archived from the original on February 22, 2009. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ^ a b c Baines, Gary (February 28, 2008). "Dow Getting His Due". Colorado Golf Journal. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
- ^ "Year by Year History of the PGA Championship – 1958: Bolt was an angel, Dow was a terror". PGA of America. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ^ Clifford, Robert A. (May 1, 1996). "Getting Teed off Over Golf Balls". Retrieved November 21, 2013.
External links
- Media related to Dow Finsterwald at Wikimedia Commons
- Dow Finsterwald at the PGA Tour official site