2 - PGA TOUR Media

SECTION 2 PLAYER BIOGRAPHIES
2-96
JOINED CHAMPIONS TOUR: 2001
CHAMPIONS TOUR VICTORIES (3): 2003
SBC Classic. 2004 Toshiba Senior Classic. 2005 3M
Championship.
OTHER SENIOR VICTORIES (1): 2005
Australian PGA Seniors.
2005 CHARLES SCHWAB CUP FINISH:
16th - 1,094 points
PGA TOUR VICTORIES (5): 1977 Glen Campbell-
Los Angeles Open. 1984 Phoenix Open. 1988 Gatlin
Brothers-Southwest Golf Classic. 1991 Southwestern Bell
Colonial, NEC World Series of Golf.
OTHER VICTORIES (3): 1991 Shark Shootout [with
Lanny Wadkins]. 1993 Fred Meyer Challenge [with Steve
Elkington]. 1996 JCPenney Mixed Team Classic [with Juli
Inkster].
PGA TOUR CAREER EARNINGS: $4,192,268
BEST 2005 CHAMPIONS TOUR FINISHES:
1—3M Championship; 2—SBC Championship, Bank of
America Championship; T3—Liberty Mutual Legends of
Golf.
BEST 2005 PGA TOUR FINISH: T21—Bank of
America Colonial.
2005 SEASON:
Enjoyed the most lucrative year of his professional career,
with Champions Tour earnings of $1,144,666, the second
time he has hit the $1-million mark on the circuit…The
second of three players to go wire-to-wire for a victory
during the year, joining Ron Streck and Bob
Gilder…Claimed his third career Champions Tour victory
at the 3M Championship, the first time in his career he led
an event from start to finish. Opened with a courserecord-tying,
9-under-par 63 that included his second
hole-in-one on the Champions Tour. Made a seven-foot
par putt on the last hole to avoid overtime with Craig
Stadler and Lonnie Nielsen. His 15-under-par 201 total
was the lowest three-round score since the event moved
Tom Purtzer
EXEMPT STATUS: Top 30 on 2005 Champions Tour
Money List
FULL NAME: Thomas Warren Purtzer
HEIGHT: 6-0
WEIGHT: 210
BIRTHDATE: December 5, 1951
BIRTHPLACE: Des Moines, IA
RESIDENCE: Green Valley, AZ
CHAMPIONS TOUR CAREER SUMMARY PLAYOFF RECORD: 0-1
Year Events Played 1st 2nd 3rd Top 10 Top 25 Earnings Rank
2002 23 1 8 12 $760,056 27
2003 24 1 11 18 1,043,977 16
2004 19 1 1 2 8 11 997,367 17
2005 22 1 2 1 7 14 1,144,666 11
Total 88 3 3 4 34 55 3,946,067
COMBINED ALL-TIME MONEY (3 TOURS): $8,138,335
to the TPC of the Twin Cities in 2001. First-place check of
$262,500 was his largest ever. Victory in Minnesota
avenged misfortunes of two previous years where he was
the 36-hole leader and did not win…Came close to winning
in late June at the Bank of America Championship.
Was one of three players in a playoff (Don Pooley and
Mark McNulty) but fell short when McNulty made birdie
on the second extra hole after Pooley was eliminated with
a bogey on the first hole. Got himself in overtime when he
birdied the final hole in regulation…Also finished second
late in the year at the SBC Championship in San Antonio.
Was T41 after opening with a 1-over 72, but rallied on the
weekend at Oak Hills with rounds of 66-63. His 13-under
129 total equaled Champions Tour-best for last 36 holes in
2005…Was the first-round leader at the Liberty Mutual
Legends of Golf and in contention throughout at Savannah
Harbor before finishing T3…Had a pair of eagles en route
to a 6-under 65 in the opening round of the U.S. Senior
Open…As a former champion, played at the Bank of
America Colonial on the PGA TOUR and finished T21,
helped in large part by a final-round, 6-under-par 64, tying
him for low score of the day…Took advantage of the
month-long Champions Tour break in April and claimed the
Australian PGA Seniors title by five strokes. Had originally
made the trip to Australia to visit his daughter Ashley
who was attending Sydney University as an exchange student…Relinquished
his Driving Distance title to Dan Pohl
after two seasons but still finished third at 296.0.
CHAMPIONS TOUR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
2004: Narrowly missed hitting the $1-million mark in season
earnings for the second straight year when he closed
the year with $997,367 in official money. However, played
in seven fewer events mainly due to back problems (sliding
disc in lower back), which troubled him for most of the
season…Tied the Champions Tour's all-time record and
set a course record with an 11-under 60 (nine birdies and
an eagle) in the first round of the Toshiba Senior Classic
before going on to win at Newport Beach CC by one stroke
over Morris Hatalsky. Used birdies on two of the last four
holes to secure the Toshiba victory, his second title on the
Champions Tour…Was the 18- and 36-hole leader at the
Bank of America Championship, but eventually T2 near
Boston, four strokes back of Craig Stadler, after posting an
Champions Tour 2006 Guide
FAMILY: Wife, Lori; Laura (7/3/80); Ashley (12/5/83), Eric
(11/5/85), Liza Jane (2/10/96), twins Jay Warren and
Jennifer Ann (5/7/98), twins Robin and Juli (8/25/02)
CLUB AFFILIATION: Desert Mountain GC (Scottsdale, AZ)
EDUCATION: Arizona State University (1973, Business)
SPECIAL INTERESTS: All sports, music, auto racing,
muscle cars
TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 1973
JOINED PGA TOUR: 1975
even-par 72 on Sunday…Also was the 36-hole leader at
the 3M Championship for the second consecutive year, but
eventually T3 after carding a final-round 74…Champions
Tour Player of the Month in March, thanks to his win and
a solo sixth-place finish at the SBC Classic the previous
week…Led all players once again in Driving Distance at
294.8 yards per drive and was also second in Greens in
Regulation behind Hale Irwin. 2003: Was among 17 players
to earn over $1 million for the season…Earned his first
Champions Tour victory when he drained an eagle putt of
58 feet, 3 inches to edge Gil Morgan at the SBC Classic by
one stroke. Came to the final hole trailing Morgan by two
strokes, but became the first player to make an eagle on
the final hole and win an event since Sammy Rachels did
so at the 2001 Transamerica. Had a hole-in-one in the
opening round, the first player to do so and win the event
since Bob Gilder at the 2002 Kroger Senior Classic…Was
the second-round leader at the 3M Championship and was
tied for the lead the final day until hitting two balls into
the water for a quadruple bogey at the 17th hole.
Eventually finished T10…Led all players in Driving
Distance at 298.3…Also led the PGA TOUR in that category
in 1990 at 279. 2002: Official earnings of $760,056
topped his best year on the PGA TOUR (1991:
$750,568)…Balanced eight top-10 finishes among 23
starts…Debuted on the Champions Tour at the Royal
Caribbean Classic and T7. It was his first top 10 since finishing
T4 at the 1998 Walt Disney World Classic on the
PGA TOUR. Was in contention early in the final round, but
faded after playing the back nine on Sunday in 1-over par.
Was the early leader in the event on Friday before steady
rains washed out the round. Rebounded with a 67 in the
opening round at Crandon Park on Saturday…Best performance
of the season was a T3 at the SBC Senior
Classic near Los Angeles in early March. Was the firstround
leader at Valencia CC and one of just two players to
break par, after carding a 2-under 70 in cool, windy conditions
on Friday…Vaulted into the top 31 for good when he
T5 at the Napa Valley Championship and earned a $50,700
paycheck.
OTHER CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Five TOUR victories in 25-year career included two in
CHAMPIONS TOUR MAJOR TOURNAMENT SUMMARY
Year 02 03 04 05
Senior PGA Championship CUT T19
Ford Senior Players T17 T5 T54 T37
U.S. Senior Open T56 CUT T29 T43
JELD-WEN Tradition T7 T16 T29 T27
CHAMPIONS TOUR YEAR-BY-YEAR STATISTICS (TOP 50 ON 2005 MONEY LIST)
Scoring Average Putting Average Greens in Regulation Driving Distance Driving Accuracy
2002 70.87 (19) 1.824 (T62) 73.0 (4) 280.6 (6) 65.9 (57)
2003 70.05 (11) 1.780 (T24) 73.1 (3) 298.3 (1) 63.6 (T62)
2004 70.24 (T7) 1.805 (42) 75.2 (2) 294.8 (1) 63.7 (67)
2005 70.40 (13) 1.806 (50) 72.8 (T6) 296.0 (3) 65.6 (66)
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