Brian J. Claar (born July 29, 1959) 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 ...

Early life

Claar was born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. He played college golf at the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UTampa, UT or Tampa U) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UTampa offers more than 200 programs of study, including 19 master's degrees and a br ...

where he was a two-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He was inducted into their Athletic Hall of Fame in 1989.

Professional career

Claar turned professional in 1981. He played on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

from 1986 to 1998. He was selected as the PGA Rookie of the Year in 1986. His best finish was a T-2 at the 1991

AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held annually at Pebble Beach, California, near Carmel. The tournament is usually held during the month of February on two different courses, currently Pebble Beach ...

. He then played primarily on the

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...

from 1999 to 2002. His best finishes on this tour were a pair of T-2s in 2002, a playoff loss at the

Hershey Open The Hershey Open was a golf tournament in Pennsylvania on the PGA Tour from 1933 to 1941. It was played at the Hershey Country Club in Hershey on what is now called the West Course. It was played as a 72-hole stroke play event every year excep ...

and T-2 at the Utah Classic. Outside of the United States, Claar had success on the

Asia Golf Circuit The Asia Golf Circuit was the principal men's professional golf tour in Southeast Asia from the early 1960s through to the mid-late 1990s. The tour was founded in 1961 as the Far East Circuit. The first series of five tournaments was held in 196 ...

. In 1989 he claimed the Order of Merit title having won twice during the season, at the

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

opens. Claar twice finished in the top-10 at a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. At the 1989 U.S. Open, he finished fifth, two shots behind

Curtis Strange Curtis Northrup Strange (born January 30, 1955) is an American professional golfer and TV color commentator. He is the winner of consecutive U.S. Open titles and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He spe ...

. At the 1992 PGA Championship, he finished tied for ninth, six shots behind

Nick Price Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean former professional golfer who has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice (in 1992 and 1994) and The Open Championship in 1994. In the mid-1 ...

. Claar has also worked as

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

official.

Professional wins (3)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (2)

Other wins (1)

*1983

Rhode Island Open The Rhode Island Open is the Rhode Island state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Rhode Island Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1929 at a variety of courses around the stat ...

Playoff record

Buy.com Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Claar, Brian American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Santa Monica, California University of Tampa alumni 1959 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen