Jimmy Lee Thorpe (born February 1, 1949) is an American retired professional golfer, who last played on the Champions Tour.[1]
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
Thorpe turned professional in 1972. He won three times on the PGA Tour in the mid-1980s. He has surpassed this at senior level by winning over ten times, including one senior major championship (the 2002 Tradition) and making the top ten of the Champions Tour's career money list in 2004.[2]
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] 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] and 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 |
Canadian Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 11, 1982 | Labatt's International | −1 (72-72-70-69=283) | Playoff |  Dave Barr
|
Other wins (3)
- 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 |
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 |
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.
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
References
- ^ "Jim Thorpe's long, unlikely career nears end". March 28, 2015.
- ^ 2009 Champions Tour Champions Career Money Leaders
- ^ "Golfer Jim Thorpe charged with tax evasion". Reuters. February 11, 2009. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022.
- ^ Thorpe faces two years in prison
- ^ Jim Thorpe sentenced to one-year prison term
- ^ Jim Thorpe, Champions Tour golfer, released from jail
External links
- Jim Thorpe at the PGA Tour official site
- Jim Thorpe at the Official World Golf Ranking official site