Calvin Peete

Calvin Peete
Personal information
Full name Calvin Peete
Born July 18, 1943 (1943-07-18) (age 68)
Detroit, Michigan
Nationality  United States
Residence Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Career
Turned professional 1975
Retired 2001
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins 14
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 12
Japan Golf Tour 2
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament T11: 1986
U.S. Open T4: 1983
The Open Championship DNP
PGA Championship T3: 1982
Achievements and awards
Vardon Trophy 1984
Byron Nelson Award 1984

Calvin Peete (born July 18, 1943) is an American professional golfer. He was the most successful African-American on the PGA Tour, with 12 wins, before the emergence of Tiger Woods.

Peete was born in Detroit, Michigan. He played on the 1983 and 1985 U.S. Ryder Cup teams. He won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average in 1984. He was in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for several weeks when they debuted in 1986.[1]

Peete did not begin playing golf until he was in his 20's, but immediately excelled at a game most pros learn as young children. He learned the game while peddling goods to migrant workers in Rochester, New York, playing on the public course at Genesee Valley Park. Growing up poor, Peete suffered a badly broken arm that was never properly set.[2] Subsequently, he never was a power player but became perhaps the most accurate player in pro golf.

Peete was inducted into the African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.[3]

Peete and his first wife, Christine, who divorced in 1987, are the parents of Charlotte, Calvin, Rickie, Dennis and Kalvanetta Peete. He is now married to Pepper Peete. They have two daughters, Aisha and Aleya, and reside in Jacksonville, Florida, where Pepper is the manager of First Tee of Jacksonville.

Contents

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (12)

No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of Victory Runner(s)-up
1 Jul 15, 1979 Greater Milwaukee Open -19 (69-67-68-65=269) 5 strokes Victor Regalado, Jim Simons
Lee Trevino
2 Jul 11, 1982 Greater Milwaukee Open -14 (70-66-69-69=274) 2 strokes Victor Regalado
3 Jul 25, 1982 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic -10 (66-68-69=203) 2 strokes Bruce Lietzke
4 Sep 5, 1982 B.C. Open -14 (69-63-64-69=265) 7 strokes Jerry Pate
5 Oct 24, 1982 Pensacola Open -16 (65-66-72-65=268) 7 strokes Dan Halldorson, Hal Sutton
6 May 22, 1983 Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic -10 (68-75-63=206) 2 strokes Jim Colbert, Don Pooley, Chip Beck
7 Jul 24, 1983 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic -8 (66-75-66-69=276) 1 stroke Tim Norris
8 Oct 7, 1984 Texas Open -14 (67-67-66-66=266) 3 strokes Bruce Lietzke
9 Jan 20, 1985 Phoenix Open -14 (65-65-72-68=270) 2 strokes Morris Hatalsky, Doug Tewell
10 Mar 31, 1985 Tournament Players Championship -14 (70-69-69-66=274) 3 strokes D. A. Weibring
11 Jan 11, 1986 MONY Tournament of Champions -21 (68-67-64-68=267) 6 strokes Mark O'Meara
12 Mar 23, 1986 USF&G Classic -19 (68-67-66-68=269) 5 strokes Pat McGowan

PGA Tour playoff record (0-1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1986 Houston Open Curtis Strange Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open T23 DNP DNP T11
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP T42
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988
The Masters T19 T21 T30 49 T15 T31 T11 T33 DNP
U.S. Open T28 T14 T10 T4 DNP DNP T24 CUT DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP T43 T3 T36 4 T18 T30 WD T38

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

See also

References

  1. ^ 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking
  2. ^ Peete Returns to the Ranks of Leaders New York Times, March 27, 1988
  3. ^ 2002 United States Inductees

External links

United States Ryder Cup team – 1983
Won: 14.5 – 13.5
United States Ryder Cup team – 1985
Lost: 11.5 – 16.5

1974 Jack Nicklaus · 1975 Al Geiberger · 1976 Jack Nicklaus · 1977 Mark Hayes · 1978 Jack Nicklaus · 1979 Lanny Wadkins · 1980 Lee Trevino · 1981 Raymond Floyd† · 1982 Jerry Pate · 1983 Hal Sutton · 1984 Fred Couples · 1985 Calvin Peete · 1986 John Mahaffey · 1987 Sandy Lyle† · 1988 Mark McCumber · 1989 Tom Kite · 1990 Jodie Mudd · 1991 Steve Elkington · 1992 Davis Love III · 1993 Nick Price · 1994 Greg Norman · 1995 Lee Janzen · 1996 Fred Couples · 1997 Steve Elkington · 1998 Justin Leonard · 1999 David Duval · 2000 Hal Sutton · 2001 Tiger Woods · 2002 Craig Perks · 2003 Davis Love III · 2004 Adam Scott · 2005 Fred Funk · 2006 Stephen Ames · 2007 Phil Mickelson · 2008 Sergio García† · 2009 Henrik Stenson · 2010 Tim Clark · 2011 K.J. Choi†
† indicates the event was won in a playoff