- Dow Finsterwald
-
Dow Finsterwald Personal information Full name Dow Henry Finsterwald Born September 6, 1929
Athens, OhioHeight 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st) Nationality 
United StatesResidence Orlando, Florida
Colorado Springs, ColoradoCareer College Ohio University Turned professional 1951 Former tour(s) PGA Tour Professional wins 13 Number of wins by tour PGA Tour 11 Other 2 Best results in Major Championships
(Wins: 1)Masters Tournament 3rd: 1960, 1962 U.S. Open T3: 1960 The Open Championship DNP PGA Championship Won: 1958 Achievements and awards PGA Player of the Year 1958 Vardon Trophy 1957 Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. (born September 6, 1929) is an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the 1958 PGA Championship. He won 11 Tour titles between 1955 and 1963, played on four Ryder Cup teams, and served as non-playing captain for the 1977 U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Finsterwald was born and raised in Athens, Ohio. He attended Ohio University in his hometown, where he played on the golf team, and graduated in the Class of 1952. In 1969, he was inducted into the Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame joining his father, Russ Finsterwald, who was in the first class of inductees as a football player, and later basketball and football head coach.[1] He turned professional in 1951.
Finsterwald won 11 times on the PGA Tour during his career. He was known for his superb short game. He was one of the most consistent players on the Tour in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He finished fifth or better more than 50 times in his career. Finsterwald was a close friend of Arnold Palmer, who was also one of the dominant players on the Tour during this same time period.
Finsterwald played on four Ryder Cup Teams (1957, 1959, 1961, 1963) and was the non-playing captain of the 1977 team. He won the Vardon Trophy in 1957, which is awarded to the tour professional with the lowest scoring average. In 1958, he was honored as PGA Player of the Year.[2] Finsterwald finished in the money in 72 consecutive tournaments – second only to Byron Nelson's 113 consecutive cuts. This record stood for many years until eclipsed by Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin and Tiger Woods; however, he is still fifth on the list today.
The 1958 PGA Championship was held at Llanerch Country Club in Havertown, Pennsylvania. This was the first PGA Championship held after the format was switched from match play to stroke play. Finsterwald finished the tournament with a two-stroke victory over Billy Casper.[3] Three and one-half years later, Finsterwald and Gary Player lost one of the most epic battles in golf history — the 1962 Masters — in a playoff to Arnold Palmer.
Finsterwald was once involved in litigation in which a plaintiff claimed she lost the sight in her right eye as a result of an errant tee shot he hit at the 18th hole at the 1973 Western Open. A jury fournd Finsterwald not liable; however, Midlothian (Illinois) Country Club's insurers had to pay the woman about $450,000.[4]
Finsterwald served as director of golf at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado for 28 years. He simultaneously served as PGA of America vice-president from 1976–1978; and on the USGA Rules of Golf committee from 1979-1981. He is also the Pro Emeritus of the Pikewood National Golf Club, based in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Finsterwald was honored by fellow Ohioan Jack Nicklaus at the 2007 Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. In 2008, he was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.[2]
Finsterwald lives in Orlando, Florida during the winter and Colorado Springs during the summer with his wife, Linda.[2] They have three sons and a daughter. His middle son, Dow Jr., is head pro at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, site of the Bank of America Colonial.
Contents
Professional wins (13)
PGA Tour wins (11)
- 1955 (1) Fort Wayne Invitational
- 1956 (1) Carling Open Invitational
- 1957 (1) Tucson Open Invitational
- 1958 (2) PGA Championship, Utah Open
- 1959 (3) Greater Greensboro Open, Carling Open Invitational, Kansas City Open Invitational
- 1960 (2) Los Angeles Open, Greater New Orleans Open Invitational
- 1963 (1) 500 Festival Open Invitation
Major championship is shown in bold.
Other wins (2)
this list may be incomplete
- 1954 Carolinas Open
- 1955 British Columbia Open (Canada)
Major championships
Wins (1)
Year Championship 54 Holes Winning Score Margin Runner-up 1958 PGA Championship 2 shot deficit -4 (67-72-70-67=276) 2 strokes 
Billy CasperResults timeline
Tournament 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 The Masters DNP T50 T46 DNP DNP DNP T24 T7 T17 T18 U.S. Open CUT DNP CUT DNP DNP T28 DNP T13 DNP T11 The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP 2 1 4 Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 The Masters 3 CUT 3 T5 T9 T21 T57 CUT DNP DNP U.S. Open T3 T6 DNP T12 8 CUT DNP DNP CUT T65 The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP PGA Championship T15 T41 T11 T3 CUT T63 T12 T60 T48 T76 Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP U.S. Open CUT DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP PGA Championship CUT CUT T58 CUT CUT T70 DNP 70 CUT CUT Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP U.S. Open CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP PGA Championship CUT DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.See also
References
- ^ Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame site
- ^ a b c Baines, Gary (February 28, 2008). "Dow Getting His Due". Colorado Golf Journal. http://www.coloradogolfjournal.com/Colorado_Golf_Journal/Dow_Finsterwald.html. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
- ^ Year by Year History of the PGA Championship
- ^ Chicago lawyer article
External links
- Dow Finsterwald at the PGA Tour official site
PGA and PGA Tour Players of the Year PGA Players of the Year
1948 Ben Hogan‡ · 1949 Sam Snead‡ · 1950 Ben Hogan† · 1951 Ben Hogan‡ · 1952 Julius Boros · 1953 Ben Hogan#∞ · 1954 Ed Furgol† · 1955 Doug Ford† · 1956 Jack Burke, Jr.‡ · 1957 Dick Mayer† · 1958 Dow Finsterwald† · 1959 Art Wall, Jr.† · 1960 Arnold Palmer‡ · 1961 Jerry Barber† · 1962 Arnold Palmer‡ · 1963 Julius Boros† · 1964 Ken Venturi† · 1965 Dave Marr †· 1966 Billy Casper† · 1967 Jack Nicklaus† · 1968 No award · 1969 Orville Moody† · 1970 Billy Casper† · 1971 Lee Trevino ‡· 1972 Jack Nicklaus‡∞∞ · 1973 Jack Nicklaus† · 1974 Johnny Miller† · 1975 Jack Nicklaus‡ · 1976 Jack Nicklaus · 1977 Tom Watson‡ · 1978 Tom Watson · 1979 Tom Watson · 1980 Tom Watson† · 1981 Bill Rogers† · 1982 Tom Watson‡ · 1983 Hal Sutton† · 1984 Tom Watson · 1985 Lanny Wadkins · 1986 Bob Tway† · 1987 Paul Azinger · 1988 Curtis Strange† · 1989 Tom Kite · 1990 Nick Faldo‡ · 1991 Corey Pavin · 1992 Fred Couples† · 1993 Nick Price · 1994 Nick Price‡ · 1995 Greg Norman · 1996 Tom Lehman† · 1997 Tiger Woods† · 1998 Mark O'Meara‡ · 1999 Tiger Woods† · 2000 Tiger Woods#∞ · 2001 Tiger Woods† · 2002 Tiger Woods‡ · 2003 Tiger Woods · 2004 Vijay Singh† · 2005 Tiger Woods‡∞∞ · 2006 Tiger Woods‡ · 2007 Tiger Woods† · 2008 Pádraig Harrington‡ · 2009 Tiger Woods · 2010 Jim FurykPGA Tour Players of the Year
1990 Wayne Levi · 1991 Fred Couples · 1992 Fred Couples† · 1993 Nick Price · 1994 Nick Price‡ · 1995 Greg Norman · 1996 Tom Lehman† · 1997 Tiger Woods† · 1998 Mark O'Meara‡ · 1999 Tiger Woods† · 2000 Tiger Woods#∞ · 2001 Tiger Woods† · 2002 Tiger Woods‡ · 2003 Tiger Woods · 2004 Vijay Singh† · 2005 Tiger Woods‡∞∞ · 2006 Tiger Woods‡ · 2007 Tiger Woods† · 2008 Pádraig Harrington‡ · 2009 Tiger Woods · 2010 Jim Furyk† One major ‡ Two majors # Three majors ∞ One career grand slam ∞∞ Two career grand slams
All of these are in the year of the awardDow Finsterwald in the Ryder Cup United States Ryder Cup captains 1927 Walter Hagen · 1929 Walter Hagen · 1931 Walter Hagen · 1933 Walter Hagen · 1935 Walter Hagen · 1937 Walter Hagen · 1947 Ben Hogan · 1949 Ben Hogan · 1951 Sam Snead · 1953 Lloyd Mangrum · 1955 Chick Harbert · 1957 Jack Burke, Jr. · 1959 Sam Snead · 1961 Jerry Barber · 1963 Arnold Palmer · 1965 Byron Nelson · 1967 Ben Hogan · 1969 Sam Snead · 1971 Jay Hebert · 1973 Jack Burke, Jr. · 1975 Arnold Palmer · 1977 Dow Finsterwald · 1979 Billy Casper · 1981 Dave Marr · 1983 Jack Nicklaus · 1985 Lee Trevino · 1987 Jack Nicklaus · 1989 Raymond Floyd · 1991 Dave Stockton · 1993 Tom Watson · 1995 Lanny Wadkins · 1997 Tom Kite · 1999 Ben Crenshaw · 2002 Curtis Strange · 2004 Hal Sutton · 2006 Tom Lehman · 2008 Paul Azinger · 2010 Corey PavinUnited States Ryder Cup team – 1957 Tommy Bolt • Dow Finsterwald • Doug Ford • Ed Furgol • Fred Hawkins • Lionel Hebert • Ted Kroll • Dick Mayer • Art Wall, Jr.
Jack Burke, Jr. (playing captain)
Lost: 4.5 – 7.5
United States Ryder Cup team – 1959 Julius Boros • Dow Finsterwald • Doug Ford • Jay Hebert • Cary Middlecoff • Bob Rosburg • Mike Souchak • Art Wall, Jr.
Sam Snead (playing captain)
Won: 8.5 – 3.5United States Ryder Cup team – 1961 Billy Casper • Bill Collins • Dow Finsterwald • Doug Ford • Jay Hebert • Gene Littler • Arnold Palmer • Mike Souchak • Art Wall, Jr.
Jerry Barber (playing captain)
Won: 14.5 – 5.5United States Ryder Cup team – 1963 Julius Boros • Billy Casper • Dow Finsterwald • Bob Goalby • Tony Lema • Gene Littler • Billy Maxwell • Johnny Pott • Dave Ragan
Arnold Palmer (playing captain)
Won: 23 – 9United States Ryder Cup team – 1977 Raymond Floyd • Lou Graham • Hubert Green • Dave Hill • Hale Irwin • Don January • Jerry McGee • Jack Nicklaus • Ed Sneed • Dave Stockton • Lanny Wadkins • Tom Watson
Dow Finsterwald (non-playing captain)
Won: 12.5 – 7.5Categories:- American golfers
- PGA Tour golfers
- Winners of men's major golf championships
- Ohio University alumni
- People from Athens, Ohio
- 1929 births
- Living people
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
