James Oliver Hallet (born March 30, 1960) 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 ...

who 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 ...

Early life

Hallet was born in

Hyannis, Massachusetts Hyannis is the largest of the seven villages in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area at the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer to Hya ...

. He was raised in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

. He attended Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School. He grew up playing golf at Bass River Golf Course in Yarmouth.

Amateur career

Hallet played college golf at Bryant College, where he was a four-time Division II

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 also the goaltender for the Bryant hockey team for some time. He stated later as an adult that he was "an overnight success" and did not play a lot of junior golf. He reached the semi-finals of the 1982

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

which was played in his home state of Massachusetts at

The Country Club The Country Club, located in Brookline, Massachusetts, is the oldest golf-oriented country club in the United States. (The Philadelphia Cricket Club, founded in 1854, was the first country club for any sport.) It holds an important place in ...

. Hallet's good play at the U.S. Amateur qualified him for the

1983 Masters Tournament The 1983 Masters Tournament was the 47th Masters Tournament, held April 7–11 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Seve Ballesteros won his second Masters and third Men's major golf championships, major title, four strokes ahead of ...

. He first achieved national media attention with an opening round 68 (−4), one shot back of the lead. He continued to play well on the front nine of the second round and held a share of the lead after 28 holes. He would fall back mightily over the next two days, shooting 78-78 to finish at 297 (+9) in a tie for 40th. He would finish low amateur, however, and be interviewed with champion

Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...

at the end of the tournament on CBS' telecast.

Professional career

Hallet turned professional in 1984 and participated at

PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament The annual PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, also known as Qualifying School or Q-School, was historically the main method by which golfers earned PGA Tour playing privileges, commonly known as a Tour card. From 2013 to 2022, Q-School granted privil ...

that fall but narrowly failed in earning a card. He would narrowly fail the next two seasons as well. His best season during this interim era was in 1987. He finished runner-up in two Asia Golf Circuit events in 1987 and won the circuit's Order of Merit. He also qualified for his first majors as a professional that summer, competing in

Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

and

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

. His T-21 at the PGA Championship would ultimately be the best major championship performance of his career. Later in the fall Hallet finally secured his PGA Tour card. Competing against roughly "1,000 upper echelon pros" he performed extremely well, finishing runner-up behind

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...

. This circuitous journey to the PGA Tour earned him a full-length profile in ''The New York Times''. Hallet played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1988 to 1993. He performed solidly on tour his first two years, scoring half a dozen top-10s in total and easily finishing with the top 125 of the money list both years. Hallet was known for his strong work ethic and played nearly every week on tour. In 1990, he had his first chance to win a tournament. In the fall, at the Buick Southern Open, he had a 12-foot putt to defeat his playing partner Kenny Knox but missed. Knox would birdie the second hole of the playoff to defeat him. The next year, at the USF&G Classic in New Orleans, he shot a 65 (−7) in the third round to take a three shot lead entering Sunday. However, he quickly blew his lead over the first six holes until charging back, making four consecutive birdies, and then hitting a 4-iron to 4 feet on the 18th hole for a final birdie to tie. He entered a playoff with Ian Woosnam, then one of the world's best players who would win the Masters and reach #1 in the world within a month. Both players would tie on the first hole before Hallet bogeyed the 2nd, giving Woosnam the win. The remainder of his PGA Tour career would be much more of a struggle. In 1992 he did not record a top-10 and barely retained his PGA Tour card with a #118 spot on the money list. The 1993 season would be even more of a struggle as he missed the cut in the majority of tournaments he entered and did not finish within the top 150 of the money list. At this stage in his career, wrist injuries hindered his development. Hallet would never play full-time on tour again. He returned to Cape Cod. In 2008 he joined Bass River Golf Course (where he learned to play golf) and Bayberry Hills Golf Course to work as a teacher. As of May 2019, Hallet still works at Bass River. He has also informally taught the girls' golf team at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School.

Amateur wins

*1982 New England Amateur, Massachusetts Amateur *1983 Massachusetts Amateur

Professional wins (3)

Canadian Tour wins (1)

Other wins (2)

*1984

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 ...

*1985 Massachusetts Open

Playoff record

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

Results in major championships

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hallet, Jim American male golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Massachusetts People from Hyannis, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Barnstable, Massachusetts People from Yarmouth, Massachusetts 1960 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen