Allen Michael Doyle (born July 26, 1948) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

. Though a talented golfer, Doyle elected not to turn pro after graduating from Vermont's

Norwich University Norwich University is a private university in Northfield, Vermont, United States. The university was founded in 1819 as the "American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy". It is the oldest of six senior military college, senior militar ...

. He moved to the south where he owned and operated a driving range in Georgia. In his free time he played in elite amateur events, winning the Georgia Amateur and Sunnehanna Amateur several times each. At the age of 46, Doyle turned professional and had extraordinary success as a pro, winning three events on the Nike Tour and 11 events on the Champions Tour, including the U.S. Senior Open twice.

Early life

Doyle was born in

Woonsocket, Rhode Island Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsoc ...

. He raised in the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

suburb of

Norwood, Massachusetts Norwood is a town and census-designated place in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Norwood is part of the Greater Boston area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,611. The town was named after Norwood, England. Norwood is ...

. He attended Catholic Memorial High School in

West Roxbury, Massachusetts West Roxbury is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Roslindale and Jamaica Plain to the northeast, the village of Chestnut Hill and the town of Brookline to the north, the city of Newton to the northwest, t ...

Amateur career

Doyle attended

in Vermont. He currently hosts an annual golf tournament to benefit the Norwich Hockey Team. During his time at Norwich he finished runner-up at the Massachusetts Amateur, losing to Peter Drooker, 1 up, in the finals. Doyle moved to the south after college and settled in Georgia. He won the Georgia Amateur and Sunnehanna Amateur several times over the course of his amateur career.

Professional career

At the age of 46, Doyle turned professional. In 1995, his first full professional season, he won three times on the Nike Tour. From 1996 to 1998 Doyle competed in 58 PGA Tour events, making the cut in 31, including two top-10 finishes. Doyle became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour when he turned 50 in July 1998 and won four official money events in 1999, including the Senior PGA Championship. In 2001, he won his second senior major, the

Senior Players Championship The Senior Players Championship, stylised by the PGA Tour as The SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, is one of the five major championships on golf's PGA Tour Champions. The inaugural event was played in 1983 and the age minimum is 50, the standard f ...

, and led the tour on the money list. In 2005, he claimed a third major at the U.S. Senior Open, coming behind from a nine stroke deficit with a 63 in the final round. He successfully defended his U.S. Senior Open title in 2006 by defeating Tom Watson at Prairie Dunes Country Club and becoming the oldest U.S. Senior Open Champion at 57 years, 11 months and 17 days. His career earnings on the Champions Tour at the time of his retirement is listed as $13,401,250. Doyle owns and operates The Doyle Golf Center driving range in

La Grange, Georgia LaGrange is a city in and the county seat of Troup County, Georgia, United States. The population of the city was estimated to be 30,858 in 2020 by the U.S. Census Bureau. It is the principal city of the LaGrange, Georgia Micropolitan Statistic ...

. As a philanthropist, Doyle has donated over $1,000,000 to various charities including family members of slain rescuers of the 9/11 attacks.

Awards and honors

* Doyle is a member of the

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. * Doyle is a member of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.

Amateur wins

*1978 Georgia Amateur *1979 Georgia Amateur *1982 Georgia Amateur *1984 Georgia Mid-Amateur *1986 Georgia Mid-Amateur *1987 Georgia Amateur, Georgia Mid-Amateur *1988 Georgia Amateur, Georgia Mid-Amateur, Rice Planters Amateur *1989 Sunnehanna Amateur, Georgia Mid-Amateur *1990 Sunnehanna Amateur, Georgia Amateur, Rice Planters Amateur *1991 Cardinal Amateur *1992 Sunnehanna Amateur *1993 Northeast Amateur *1994

Dogwood Invitational The Dogwood Invitational is an amateur golf championship played annually at Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1941, the goal of the Dogwood is to promote the game of amateur golf and support junior golf organizations. The tou ...

, Sunnehanna Amateur,

Porter Cup The Porter Cup is a 72-hole, medal-play elite amateur golf tournament held annually at the Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, New York. It was first played in 1959 and over the years has hosted some of the biggest names in golf. Past champion ...

, Cardinal Amateur, Rice Planters Amateur

Professional wins (19)

Nike Tour wins (3)

Nike Tour playoff record (2–0)

Champions Tour wins (11)

''*Note: Tournament shortened to 36 holes due to weather.'' Champions Tour playoff record (3–2)

Other senior wins (5)

*1999 Senior Slam *2001 Senior Slam, Hyundai Team Matches (with

Dana Quigley Dana C. Quigley (born April 14, 1947) is an American professional golfer. Early life Quigley was born in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 1969. Professional career In 1971, Quigley turned profess ...

) *2002 Hyundai Team Matches (with

) *2017 Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf – Legends Division (with Hubert Green)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the halfway cut
''Note: Allen only played in the U.S. Open.''

Senior major championships

Wins (4)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order before 2012.'' CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
''Note: Allen never played in The Senior Open Championship.''

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

(team winners and individual leader) *

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

(injured, did not play),

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

(winners),

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

(winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Allen American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of senior major golf championships Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Rhode Island Golfers from Massachusetts Golfers from Georgia (U.S. state) Norwich University alumni Catholic Memorial School alumni Sportspeople from Woonsocket, Rhode Island Sportspeople from Norwood, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Troup County, Georgia 1948 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen