Tommy Bolt

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Thomas Henry Bolt (March 31, 1916 - August 30, 2008) was an American professional golfer.

Bolt was born in Haworth, Oklahoma. He served in the United States Army during World War II and turned professional in 1946. He worked as a caddie and club professional in Shreveport, Louisiana. He did not join the PGA Tour until he was in his thirties, but he went on to win fifteen PGA Tour titles, including one major championship, the 1958 U.S. Open. He was the fifth PGA Tour player to shoot a 60 (11 birdies) in an 18-hole round when he did it in the second round of the Insurance City Open outside Hartford, Connecticut Previously, Al Brosch, Wally Ulrich, Ted Kroll and Bill Nary had also shot 60s. Bolt had a putt for a 59, but he missed his 15-footer for birdie on the 18th green at the par-71 Wethersfield Country Club. He followed that round with a 69-71 over his final 36 holes that got him into a playoff with Earl Stewart, an extra session Bolt won.

Bolt was a member of the United States Ryder Cup teams of 1955 and 1957. His career Ryder Cup record was 3-1, including a singles victory over Christy O'Connor Snr in 1955 at Thunderbird Golf and Country Club in Palm Springs, California He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002.

Bolt's fiery disposition earned him the nickname "Thunder" and "Terrible Tommy". He was known to break clubs during rounds, and his penchant for throwing clubs led to the adoption of a rule prohibiting such behavior. In his later years, he admitted that a lot of his on-course eruptions were merely showmanship and that he felt they had detracted from his playing.

Bolt died in Cherokee Village, Arkansas at the age of 92. He is interred at Evening Shade Cemetery in Evening Shade, Arkansas.

Bolt was elected to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Inducted in 2002.

Video Tommy Bolt

On Ben Hogan

"He's the only player I have ever known to get an ovation from the fans on the practice tee. I've seen him playing practice rounds before a tournament and half the gallery was made up of other professionals. Somebody asked me once, Who's better? Jack Nicklaus or Ben Hogan? Well, my answer was, I saw Nicklaus watch Hogan practice. But I never saw Hogan watch Nicklaus."

Maps Tommy Bolt

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins (15)

1951 (1) North and South Open
1952 (1) Los Angeles Open
1953 (2) San Diego Open, Tucson Open
1954 (3) Miami Beach International Four-Ball (with Dick Mayer), Insurance City Open, Rubber City Open
1955 (3) Convair-San Diego Open, Tucson Open, St. Paul Open
1957 (1) Eastern Open Invitational
1958 (2) Colonial National Invitation, U.S. Open
1960 (1) Memphis Open Invitational
1961 (1) Pensacola Open Invitational

Major championship is shown in bold.

Senior wins (3)

1969 PGA Seniors' Championship
1980 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Art Wall)
1995 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Jack Fleck)

1966 Press Photo Tommy Bolt, Golfer, Western Open Golf Tournament ...

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Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Note: Bolt never played in The Open Championship.
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10