Danny Joe Pohl (born April 1, 1955) is an American professional golfer. Pohl 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 ...

and the

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 ...

. He won two PGA Tour tournaments, both in 1986: the Colonial and the World Series of Golf. However, Pohl may be best known for finishing second place at the 1982 Masters Tournament, losing to

Craig Stadler Craig Robert Stadler (born June 2, 1953) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level, including one major championship, the 1982 Masters Tournament. Early life Stadler was bo ...

in a playoff. Pohl also qualified for the

1987 Ryder Cup The 27th Ryder Cup Matches were held September 25–27, 1987 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb north of Columbus. The European team won their second consecutive competition by a score of 15 to 13 points in probably the ...

representing the American team.

Early life

Born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. He is considered the greatest athlete ever produced by Mt. Pleasant High School, where he has been inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame, earning All State honors in three sports (golf, baseball and basketball). As a prep baseball player, Pohl was scouted by Major League teams. He was a star point guard on a prep basketball team that went undefeated (20-0) during his senior season.

Amateur career

Pohl attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

and played for the Wildcats' golf team. Pohl twice won the Michigan Amateur Golf Championship in 1975 and 1977.

Professional career

Pohl turned pro in 1977 and joined the

in 1978. Early in his career, Pohl was one of the top drivers on tour leading the tour in driving distance in 1980 and 1981. During this era, Pohl had much success at the major tournaments. He had a third-place finish at the 1981 PGA Championship. This qualified him for the 1982 Masters Tournament. Pohl finished the tournament tied with Craig Stadler at the end of regulation. Stadler defeated him in the playoff. A few months later he recorded a T-3 at the 1982 U.S. Open. He won two tournaments on the PGA Tour during his career both of which came in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

: the

Colonial National Invitation The Colonial National Invitation, titled for sponsorship reasons as the Charles Schwab Challenge since 2019, is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, played annually in May in Fort Worth at Colonial Country Club, which organiz ...

and the NEC World Series of Golf. Pohl finished fifth on the money list that year. Pohl had 70 top-10 finishes including more than a dozen second or third-place finishes. A highly ranked player in the world, his career was still ascending in 1987 when he posted the lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour and won the Vardon Trophy. The following year, Pohl began to suffer a series of injuries starting with low back surgery that dramatically altered his competitiveness. He was a member of the

Team. Since turning 50 in April 2005, Pohl has played on the

. His best finish at this level has been a T-3 at the 2005 Commerce Bank Long Island Classic.

Awards and honors

* In 1985, Pohl was inducted into Arizona Sports Hall of Fame * In 1987, he won the PGA Tour's Vardon Trophy * In 2004, he was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame

Amateur wins

*1975 Michigan Amateur *1977 Michigan Amateur

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (2)

''*Note: The 1986 Colonial National Invitation was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.'' PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

Other wins (1)

*1988 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Championship (with

Dan Marino Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1961) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played college f ...

)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1987 U.S. Open – 1989 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1981 PGA – 1982 U.S. Open)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

Professional * Nissan Cup: 1986 *

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pohl, Dan American male golfers Arizona Wildcats men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from Michigan Sportspeople from Mount Pleasant, Michigan Golfers from Phoenix, Arizona 1955 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen