Brian Thomas ("Bud" or "Buddy") Allin (October 13, 1944 – March 10, 2007) was 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 ...

who won five

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 ...

events in the 1970s.

Early life

Allin was born in

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington, Kitsap County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 43,505 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and an estimated 44,122 in 2021, making it the largest city ...

. He learned to play

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

at age 13 while working as a

caddie In golf, a caddie (or caddy) is a companion to the player, providing both practical support and strategic guidance on the course. Caddies are responsible for carrying the player’s bag, managing clubs, and assisting with basic course maintena ...

at the Santa Barbara Municipal Golf Course in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

Amateur career

A prodigal player, Allin attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

and was a member on the golf team along with

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ran ...

. He served in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

as an artillery officer during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

earning four decorations including the Bronze Star and an Air medal.

Professional career

In 1969, Allin turned pro and qualified for the

on his first attempt citing the fact that golf was no "big deal" compared to war. Allin's first win on the

came in 1971 at the

Greater Greensboro Open The Wyndham Championship is a professional golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in Greensboro and was originally the Greater Greensboro Open. History Founded in 1938 as the Greater Greensboro Open, it was usu ...

when he defeated

Dave Eichelberger Martin Davis Eichelberger Jr. (born September 3, 1943) is an American professional golfer who has won several tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour levels. Early life and amateur career Eichelberger was born in Waco, Texas. H ...

and

Rod Funseth James Rodney Funseth (April 3, 1933 – September 9, 1985) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour (now PGA Tour Champions). Amiable and low-key but less than confident, Funseth was one of longest ...

on the first extra-hole in a playoff. He would win five times in five years between 1971 and 1976. His best season was in 1974 when he won the Doral Ryder Open and the Byron Nelson Classic, which propelled him to a ninth-place finish on the money list. His best finish in 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 ...

was a T-10 at the 1974

U.S. Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...

and the

1975 PGA Championship The 1975 PGA Championship was the 57th PGA Championship, played August 7–10 at the South Course of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Jack Nicklaus, an Ohio native, won the fourth of his five PGA Championships and the fourteenth of his eigh ...

. He had 3 dozen top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events in his career; his last win came at the 1976 Pleasant Valley Classic. After reaching the age of 50 in October 1994, Allin began competing on the

Senior PGA 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 ...

. He was nominated for ''Rookie of the Year'' in 1995, after an outstanding first full season. He also shot a Senior Tour record low round of 61 at the FHP Healthcare Classic that year. His lone Senior tour win came in 1997 at the American Express Invitational where he 2-putted from 60 feet on the 54th hole to win by one stroke over Jim Colbert. He competed five full seasons before electing to leave the tour despite being exempt for the 2000 season. Allin devoted the last years of his life to teaching at the San Diego Golf Academy and authoring his instructional manual, ''Center-Line'', as well as an instructional DVD, ''Preferences''. He lived in

Boulder City, Nevada Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon ...

as well as California. He died in

Hemet, California Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California, United States. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto, California, San Jacinto. The population w ...

at the age of 62 from multiple forms of cancer.

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour wins (5)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

Other wins (2)

*1970

Utah Open The Utah Open is the Utah state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Utah section of the PGA of America. It was first played in 1926 and has been played at a variety of courses around the stat ...

British Columbia Open The British Columbia Open, commonly known as the B. C. Open, was a golf tournament that was held in British Columbia, Canada. It was held annually from 1928 until 1993 except for during the Second World War and 1958, when it was cancelled due to ...

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

Results in major championships

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

Results in senior majors

Results may not be in chronological order DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allin, Buddy American male golfers BYU Cougars men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Washington (state) Sportspeople from Bremerton, Washington Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from cancer of unknown primary origin 1944 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen