Jim Colbert

This article is about the American golfer. For the Irish politician, see James Colbert. For the American physician, see James William Colbert Jr.

James Joseph Colbert (born March 9, 1941) is an American professional golfer.

Jim Colbert
Personal information
Full name	James Joseph Colbert
Born	(1941-03-09) March 9, 1941 (age 84) Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.[1]
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.[1]
Career
College	Kansas State University
Turned professional	1965
Current tour(s)	Champions Tour
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	35
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	8
PGA Tour Champions	20 (Tied-10th all-time)
Other	6 (regular) 1 (senior)
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	T4: 1974
PGA Championship	T12: 1973
U.S. Open	T3: 1971
The Open Championship	CUT: 1984
Achievements and awards
Senior PGA Tour Rookie of the Year 1991 Senior PGA Tour money list winner 1995, 1996 Senior PGA Tour Player of the Year 1995, 1996 Senior PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year 1998

Early life and amateur career

Colbert was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey.^[1] He attended Kansas State University,^[1] where he finished second in the NCAA golf championships in 1964. Colbert graduated in 1965.

Professional career

In 1965, Colbert turned professional. Colbert won eight times on the PGA Tour, including twice in 1983 when he finished a career best fifteenth on the money list. As a senior Colbert has won 20 tournaments on the Champions Tour, including a senior major championship, the 1993 Senior Players Championship.

Colbert has worked as a golf analyst for ESPN and has his own golf course management company based in Pahrump, Nevada.^[2] He also helped design a golf course in Manhattan, Kansas, named Colbert Hills, which was ranked by Golfweek as the best public course in Kansas,^[3] and by Golf Digest as the eighth-best course overall in the state.^[4]

Thoroughbred racing

With an interest in thoroughbred racing, in 1993 Colbert purchased a racemare named Fit to Lead in partnership with Connie Sczesny and the Chairman of Hollywood Park Racetrack, Randall D. Hubbard. Trained by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Richard Mandella for the three partners, Fit to Lead won several graded stakes including the Princess Stakes at Hollywood Park plus at Churchill Downs, the Fleur de Lis Stakes and Louisville Budweiser Breeders' Cup Handicap.^[5][6]

Awards and honors

Colbert was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.

Professional wins (35)

PGA Tour wins (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Mar 18, 1969	Monsanto Open Invitational	−17 (69-67-64-67=267)	2 strokes	Deane Beman
2	Jul 16, 1972	Greater Milwaukee Open	−13 (66-67-69-69=271)	1 stroke	Buddy Allin, Chuck Courtney, George Johnson, Grier Jones
3	Mar 18, 1973	Greater Jacksonville Open	−9 (70-65-71-73=279)	1 stroke	Lou Graham, Johnny Miller, Dan Sikes, Jim Wiechers
4	Jun 23, 1974	American Golf Classic	[phone]=281)	Playoff	Gay Brewer, Forrest Fezler, Raymond Floyd
5	Oct 26, 1975	Walt Disney World National Team Championship (with Dean Refram)	−36 (63-63-62-64=252)	3 strokes	Bobby Cole and John Schlee, Victor Regalado and Charlie Sifford
6	Feb 19, 1980	Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open	−22 (66-68-66-70=270)	4 strokes	Dan Halldorson
7	May 15, 1983	Colonial National Invitation	−2 (69-67-70-72=278)	Playoff	Fuzzy Zoeller
8	Oct 2, 1983	Texas Open	−19 (66-62-66-67=261)	5 strokes	Mark Pfeil

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1974	American Golf Classic	Gay Brewer, Forrest Fezler, Raymond Floyd	Won with par on second extra hole Brewer and Fezler eliminated by par on first hole
2	1983	Colonial National Invitation	Fuzzy Zoeller	Won with par on sixth extra hole

Other wins (1)

• 1987 Jerry Ford Invitational

Senior PGA Tour wins (20)

Legend
Senior PGA Tour major championships (1)
Tour Championships (1)
Other Senior PGA Tour (18)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 30, 1991	Southwestern Bell Classic	−9 (66-67-68=201)	3 strokes	Al Geiberger, Larry Laoretti
2	Oct 6, 1991	Vantage Championship	−11 (68-70-67=205)	1 stroke	George Archer, Jim Dent, Gibby Gilbert
3	Dec 8, 1991	First Development Kaanapali Classic	−15 (66-61-68=195)	2 strokes	Dale Douglass
4	Feb 16, 1992	GTE Suncoast Classic	−13 (66-70-64=200)	Playoff	George Archer
5	Oct 4, 1992	Vantage Championship (2)	−12 (65-67=132)*	2 strokes	Jim Dent
6	Feb 7, 1993	Royal Caribbean Classic	−14 (65-64-70=199)	1 stroke	Raymond Floyd, Al Geiberger
7	Jun 27, 1993	Ford Senior Players Championship	−10 (67-72-70-69=278)	1 stroke	Raymond Floyd
8	Jul 10, 1994	Kroger Senior Classic	−14 (66-64-69=199)	2 strokes	Raymond Floyd
9	Jul 25, 1994	Southwestern Bell Classic (2)	−14 (68-63-65=196)	2 strokes	Isao Aoki, Larry Gilbert
10	Jan 15, 1995	Senior Tournament of Champions	−7 (72-66-71=209)	Playoff	Jim Albus
11	Apr 30, 1995	Las Vegas Senior Classic	−11 (65-71-69=205)	2 strokes	Jim Dent, Raymond Floyd, Rocky Thompson
12	May 21, 1995	Bell Atlantic Classic	−3 (68-71-68=207)	1 stroke	J. C. Snead
13	Nov 6, 1995	Energizer Senior Tour Championship	−6 (68-69-71-74=282)	1 stroke	Raymond Floyd
14	Mar 17, 1996	Toshiba Senior Classic	−12 (68-65-68=201)	2 strokes	Bob Eastwood
15	Apr 28, 1996	Las Vegas Senior Classic (2)	−9 (63-74-70=207)	Playoff	Bob Charles, Dave Stockton
16	May 12, 1996	Nationwide Championship	−10 (71-66-69=206)	3 strokes	Isao Aoki
17	Sep 29, 1996	Vantage Championship (3)	−9 (65-70-69=204)	1 stroke	Hale Irwin, Gary Player
18	Oct 20, 1996	Raley's Gold Rush Classic	−14 (67-68-67=202)	5 strokes	Dave Stockton
19	Oct 11, 1998	The Transamerica	−11 (70-68-67=205)	1 stroke	David Lundstrom
20	Mar 11, 2001	SBC Senior Classic	−12 (67-67-70=204)	1 stroke	José María Cañizares

*Note: The 1992 Vantage Championship was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (3–5)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1991	Murata Reunion Pro-Am	Chi-Chi Rodríguez	Lost to par on fourth extra hole
2	1992	GTE Suncoast Classic	George Archer	Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
3	1992	Vintage ARCO Invitational	Tommy Aaron, Mike Hill	Hill won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1993	First of America Classic	George Archer, Chi-Chi Rodríguez	Archer won with par on third extra hole Rodríguez eliminated by par on first hole
5	1994	GTE West Classic	Jay Sigel	Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
6	1995	Senior Tournament of Champions	Jim Albus	Won with birdie on third extra hole
7	1996	Las Vegas Senior Classic	Bob Charles, Dave Stockton	Won with par on fourth extra hole Charles eliminated by par on first hole
8	1998	Cadillac NFL Golf Classic	Bob Dickson, Larry Nelson	Dickson won with birdie on first extra hole

Other senior wins (6)

• 1995 Diners Club Matches (with Bob Murphy)
• 1996 Diners Club Matches (with Bob Murphy)
• 2000 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Andy North)
• 2001 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Andy North)
• 2013 Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Bob Murphy)
• 2014 Big Cedar Lodge Legends of Golf - Legends Division (with Jim Thorpe)

Results in major championships

Tournament	1967	1968	1969
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT		CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship			WD

Tournament	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament			CUT	T43	T4	CUT	T12	T14	T32
U.S. Open	CUT	T3	T63	10	T5	CUT	T55		CUT	T41
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	CUT	T46	CUT	T12	T28	T28	T57		69	T46

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987
Masters Tournament	T14	T25			CUT
U.S. Open	T47	T26		WD	T38			CUT
The Open Championship					CUT
PGA Championship	T30	T56	T16	T36	T25	CUT	CUT

  Top 10

  Did not play

WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1984 Open Championship)
"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	0	1	1	5	10	7
U.S. Open	0	0	1	2	3	3	16	9
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	0	3	17	12
Totals	0	0	1	3	4	11	44	28

• Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1978 PGA – 1982 PGA)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1974 Masters – 1974 U.S. Open)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987
The Players Championship	CUT	WD	T43	CUT	8	T28	T14	T4	CUT	66	T20	T33	T21	WD

  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1993	Ford Senior Players Championship	−10 (67-72-70-69=278)	1 stroke	Raymond Floyd

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing Senior PGA Tour): 1996
• Gillette Tour Challenge Championship: 1997 (winners with Nick Price and Kelly Robbins)

See also

• 1965 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• List of golfers with most PGA Tour Champions wins