Tommy Bolt

Tommy Bolt
Personal information
Full name Thomas Henry Bolt
Nickname Thunder, Terrible Tommy
Born March 31, 1916(1916-03-31)
Haworth, Oklahoma
Died August 30, 2008(2008-08-30) (aged 92)
Cherokee Village, Arkansas
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Nationality  United States
Career
Turned professional 1946
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins 18
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 15
Other 3
Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 1)
Masters Tournament T3: 1952
U.S. Open Won: 1958
The Open Championship DNP
PGA Championship 3rd/T3: 1954, 1955, 1971
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame 2002 (member page)

Thomas Henry Bolt (March 31, 1916 – August 30, 2008) was an American professional golfer.

Bolt was born in Haworth, Oklahoma. He served in the United States Army during World War II and turned professional in 1946. He worked as a caddie and club professional in Shreveport, Louisiana. He did not join the PGA Tour until he was in his thirties, but he went on to win fifteen PGA Tour titles, including one major championship, the 1958 U.S. Open.

Bolt was a member of the United States Ryder Cup teams of 1955 and 1957. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.

Bolt's fiery disposition earned him the nickname "Thunder" and "Terrible Tommy". He was known to break clubs during rounds, and his penchant for throwing clubs led to the adoption of a rule prohibiting such behavior. In his later years, he admitted that a lot of his on-course eruptions were merely showmanship and that he felt they had detracted from his playing.

Bolt died in Cherokee Village, Arkansas at the age of 92.[1]

Contents

On Ben Hogan

"He's the only player I have ever known to get an ovation from the fans on the practice tee. I've seen him playing practice rounds before a tournament and half the gallery was made up of other professionals. Somebody asked me once, Who's better? Jack Nicklaus or Ben Hogan? Well, my answer was, I saw Nicklaus watch Hogan practice. But I never saw Hogan watch Nicklaus."[2]

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (15)

Major championship is shown in bold.

Senior wins

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin Runner-up
1958 U.S. Open 3 shot lead +3 (71-71-69-72=283) 4 strokes Gary Player

Results timeline

Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
The Masters DNP DNP T3 T5 T12 T22 T8 CUT T32 T30
U.S. Open CUT T29 T7 CUT T6 T3 T22 WD 1 T38
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP R32 SF SF R128 R16 T5 T17
Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
The Masters T20 T4 CUT T37 CUT T8 T17 T26 DNP DNP
U.S. Open WD T22 CUT CUT DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T57 WD T30 DNP WD DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
The Masters DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP 3 WD DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

See also

References

  1. ^ Tommy Bolt dies in Arkansas at 92
  2. ^ The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations, ed. Jim Apfelbaum. Published in 2007

External links