Jim Thorpe (golfer)

Jimmy Lee Thorpe (born February 1, 1949) is an American retired professional golfer, who last played on the Champions Tour.^[1]

Jim Thorpe
Personal information
Full name	Jimmy Lee Thorpe
Born	(1949-02-01) February 1, 1949 (age 76) Roxboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Heathrow, Florida, U.S.
Career
College	Morgan State University
Turned professional	1972
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	21
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	3
PGA Tour Champions	13
Other	5
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	T18: 1985
PGA Championship	T7: 1986
U.S. Open	T4: 1984
The Open Championship	CUT: 1986, 1987

Early life

Thorpe was born in Roxboro, North Carolina, the ninth of the twelve children of a fairway superintendent. He attended Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Professional career

In 1972, Thorpe turned professional. He won three times on the PGA Tour in the mid-1980s. He has surpassed this at senior level by winning over ten times on the Senior PGA Tour, including one senior major championship, the 2002 Tradition. He made the top ten of the senior tour's career money list in 2004.^[2]

Personal life

Thorpe's late success has been clouded by charges filed in federal court in Orlando, Florida, charging him with failure to pay $1.6 million in taxes between the years 2002 and 2004. After his lawyer stated that Thorpe intended to plead innocent to the charges.^[3] However, Thorpe pleaded guilty in September 2009.^[4] On January 22, 2010, Thorpe was sentenced to one year in prison for the crime.^[5]

Thorpe was released from prison on January 17, 2011. He was under suspension by the PGA Tour until March 31.^[6] He then resumed his career on the Champions Tour.

Professional wins (21)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Sep 15, 1985	Greater Milwaukee Open	−14 (73-69-62-70=274)	3 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
2	Oct 27, 1985	Seiko-Tucson Match Play Championship	4 and 3		Jack Renner
3	Nov 2, 1986	Seiko-Tucson Match Play Championship (2)	−5 (67)	4 strokes	Scott Simpson

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1985	Western Open	Scott Verplank	Lost to par on second extra hole

Other wins (4)

• 1982 Labatt's International

• 1991 Amoco Centel Championship, Jamaica Open
• 1993 Jerry Ford Invitational (tie with Jay Delsing, and Donnie Hammond)

Champions Tour wins (13)

Legend
Champions Tour major championships (1)
Tour Championships (3)
Other Champions Tour (9)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Oct 8, 2000	The Transamerica	−18 (67-66-65=198)	3 strokes	Bruce Fleisher
2	Oct 15, 2000	Gold Rush Classic	−21 (67-62-66=195)	2 strokes	Ed Dougherty
3	Sep 2, 2001	Kroger Senior Classic	−14 (65-65=130)*	Playoff	Tom Jenkins
4	Sep 9, 2001	Allianz Championship	−14 (68-65-66=199)	2 strokes	Gil Morgan
5	Apr 28, 2002	The Countrywide Tradition	−11 (67-70-70-70=277)	Playoff	John Jacobs
6	Aug 17, 2003	Long Island Classic	−15 (68-60-67=195)	1 stroke	Bob Gilder
7	Oct 26, 2003	Charles Schwab Cup Championship	−20 (63-67-70-68=268)	3 strokes	Tom Watson
8	Jun 6, 2004	Farmers Charity Classic	−13 (67-70-66=203)	1 stroke	Fred Gibson
9	Jul 4, 2004	Commerce Bank Long Island Classic (2)	−9 (65-67-69=201)	1 stroke	Andy Bean, Wayne Levi, Bobby Wadkins
10	May 1, 2005	FedEx Kinko's Classic	−10 (69-69-68=206)	4 strokes	Dana Quigley
11	May 16, 2005	Blue Angels Classic	−16 (63-64-67=194)	Playoff	Morris Hatalsky
12	Oct 19, 2006	Charles Schwab Cup Championship (2)	−17 (67-70-67-68=271)	2 strokes	Tom Kite
13	Oct 28, 2007	Charles Schwab Cup Championship (3)	−20 (64-69-69-66=268)	3 strokes	Fred Funk, Denis Watson

*Note: The 2001 Kroger Senior Classic was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Champions Tour playoff record (3–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1999	Bell Atlantic Classic	Tom Jenkins	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2	2001	Kroger Senior Classic	Tom Jenkins	Won with birdie on first extra hole
3	2002	The Countrywide Tradition	John Jacobs	Won with birdie on first extra hole
4	2005	Blue Angels Classic	Morris Hatalsky	Won with birdie on third extra hole

Other senior wins (1)

• 2014 Big Cedar Lodge Legends of Golf - Legends Division (with Jim Colbert)

Results in major championships

Tournament	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament				CUT		CUT	T18	T45	T42	WD
U.S. Open			T11	T30	T13	T4	T34	CUT	T9	CUT
The Open Championship								CUT	CUT
PGA Championship	CUT		T39	T34	T14	T59		T7	CUT

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open				CUT	CUT		T97
The Open Championship
PGA Championship	CUT

  Top 10

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"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	0	0	1	6	3
U.S. Open	0	0	0	1	2	4	11	7
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
PGA Championship	0	0	0	0	1	2	8	5
Totals	0	0	0	1	3	7	27	15

• Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (twice)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (three times)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995
The Players Championship	T28	T45	74	T32	T54	T10	CUT	T4	CUT			WD	CUT			T62	CUT

  Top 10

  Did not play

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

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2002	The Countrywide Tradition	−11 (67-70-70-70=277)	Playoff	John Jacobs

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2016.

Tournament	1999	2000	2001	2002
The Tradition	T7	T15	T19	1
Senior PGA Championship	T34	T32	2	T4
Senior Players Championship	T22	T10	T26	T2
U.S. Senior Open	T27	T6	T21	T11

Tournament	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
The Tradition	T7	T14	T67	T36	T40	T18	T31		T49	T47	T28	T74		T52
Senior PGA Championship	T60	CUT	T19	T14	T52	T71	CUT		CUT	CUT	CUT
Senior Players Championship	T2	T7	T45	2	T46	T47	T53		T55	T53
Senior British Open Championship
U.S. Senior Open	T30	T19	CUT	T20	T22	T29	T32		T37	CUT

The Senior British Open was not a Champions Tour major until 2003.

  Win

  Top 10

  Did not play

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

See also

• Fall 1975 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• Fall 1978 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• List of golfers with most Champions Tour wins