Bob Hamilton
American professional golfer (1916-1990)
Robert T. Hamilton (January 10, 1916, December 6, 1990) was an American professional golfer.
01Career
He was born and raised in Evansville, Indiana. He attended and graduated from Evansville Reitz High School in 1934.
Hamilton won ten professional titles, including one major, the PGA Championship in 1944 at Manito Golf and Country Club in Spokane, Washington. Then a match play event, he defeated heavily favored Byron Nelson in the finals, 1 up. Hamilton was a three-time winner of the Indiana Open, winning in 1938, 1942, and 1966. He won five times on the PGA Tour, including the 1948 New Orleans Open, one stroke ahead of runner-up Roberto De Vicenzo. Hamilton was also a member of the 1949 Ryder Cup team.
Hamilton also served as the golf pro at Fort Lewis, south of Seattle, during the latter stages of World War II; he was also a member of the Warriors, the inter-base (intramural) team. Individually, he placed 3rd in the Pacific Northwest Servicemen's Championship (Seattle) and 3rd in the Tacoma Open, a PGA Tour event.
Hamilton finished second to Sam Snead in the 1967 Senior PGA Championship at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
In 1975, Hamilton set the overall record for youngest golfer to shoot his age when he shot a 59 at Hamilton Golf Club in Evansville.
In 1990, Hamilton died in his hometown of Evansville, Indiana.
02Awards and honors
In 1965, Hamilton was inducted into the Indiana Golf Hall of Fame.
03Amateur wins
This list may be incomplete
- 1934 IHSAA State Champion
- 1936 Indiana Amateur
04Professional wins (10)
PGA Tour wins (3)
| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (1) |
| Other PGA Tour (4) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 15, 1944 | PGA Championship | 1 up | Byron Nelson | |
| 2 | Mar 31, 1946 | Charlotte Open | −15 (70-71-67-65=273) | 3 strokes | Pete Cooper, Jimmy Demaret, Sam Snead |
| 3 | Feb 22, 1948 | New Orleans Open | −4 (70-71-70-69=280) | 1 stroke | Roberto De Vicenzo, Fred Haas, Lawson Little |
PGA Tour playoff record (0-1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1949 | Miami Open | Fred Haas | Lost 18-hole playoff; Haas: −1 (69), Hamilton: +1 (71) |
Source:
Other wins (7)
This list may be incomplete
- 1938 Indiana Open
- 1942 Indiana Open
- 1943 Indiana PGA Championship
- 1944 Indiana PGA Championship, North and South Open
- 1949 Inverness Invitational Four-Ball (with Chick Harbert)
- 1966 Indiana Open
05Major championships
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | PGA Championship | 1 up | Byron Nelson |
Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | NT | NT | NT | 3 | T42 | T18 | T23 | ||
| U.S. Open | T45 | NT | NT | NT | NT | T29 | CUT | ||
| PGA Championship | NT | 1 | R32 | R32 | R64 | R64 | R32 |
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T32 | T40 | 4 | WD | ||||||
| U.S. Open | T42 | |||||||||
| PGA Championship | R64 | R32 | SF |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||||||
| U.S. Open | |||||||||
| PGA Championship | WD | T59 |
Note: Hamilton never played in The Open Championship.
NT = no tournament
WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"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 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 7 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 10 |
| Totals | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 23 | 20 |
- Most consecutive cuts made, 11 (1941 U.S. Open, 1949 Masters)
- Longest streak of top-10s, 2 (1952 PGA, 1953 Masters)
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Bob Hamilton”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Bob Hamilton 1949.jpg by Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
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