Peter Thomson (golfer)
| Peter Thomson AO CBE | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thomson in Tasmania | |||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Full name | Peter William Thomson | ||||||||
| Nickname | The Melbourne Tiger | ||||||||
| Born | 23 August 1929 Brunswick, Victoria, Australia | ||||||||
| Died | 20 June 2018 (aged 88) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | ||||||||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||
| Sporting nationality | Australia | ||||||||
| Spouse |
Lois Brauer (m. 1952)Mary Kelly (m. 1960) | ||||||||
| Children | 4, including Andrew | ||||||||
| Career | |||||||||
| Turned professional | 1949 | ||||||||
| Former tours | PGA Tour European Tour Asia Golf Circuit PGA Tour of Australia New Zealand Golf Circuit Senior PGA Tour | ||||||||
| Professional wins | 105 | ||||||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||||||
| PGA Tour | 6 | ||||||||
| European Tour | 1 | ||||||||
| Japan Golf Tour | 1 | ||||||||
| PGA Tour of Australasia | 1 | ||||||||
| PGA Tour Champions | 11 | ||||||||
| Other | 47 (Australia/New Zealand) 28 (Europe) 10 (Asia/Japan) 2 (other regular) 1 (other senior) | ||||||||
| Best results in major championships (wins: 5) | |||||||||
| Masters Tournament | 5th: 1957 | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | DNP | ||||||||
| U.S. Open | T4: 1956 | ||||||||
| The Open Championship | Won: 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965 | ||||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||||
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| Signature | |||||||||
Peter William Thomson AO, CBE (23 August 1929 – 20 June 2018) was an Australian professional golfer, often cited as the greatest and most successful golfer in Australian golf history. In the late 1940s, Thomson turned professional and immediately had success on the Australasian circuits, then posted his first international win at the 1950 New Zealand Open followed by the 1951 Australian Open.
From the time he turned professional in 1949, Thomson won at least one tournament every year for the next 20 years, including 27 'National Opens'. Thomson won professional championships in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Philippines, England, Scotland, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Canada, India, Hong Kong and the United States. In the United Kingdom, Thomson had extraordinary success, winning dozens of tournaments on the British PGA circuit, including the Open Championship five times.
As a senior, Thomson continued with success, winning 11 times on the Senior PGA Tour in the United States, including a record nine times in one season, 1985, a record he holds with Hale Irwin.