Michael James Sullivan (born January 1, 1955) 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 has 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 ...

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. ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Sullivan was born in

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

. He attended Forest High School in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

, where he played for the Forest Wildcats high school golf team. He accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in Gainesville, Florida, and played for coach

Buster Bishop Bernays Emery "Buster" Bishop (1920 – November 19, 2004) was an American college golf coach. Bishop was best known for leading the Florida Gators men's golf team of the University of Florida to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NC ...

's Florida Gators men's golf team in 1974. While attending Florida, Sullivan was a roommate of fellow future PGA Tour player Andy Bean. He turned professional in 1975 and joined the PGA Tour in 1976. Sullivan won three PGA Tour events during his career. His first win came at the 1980

Southern Open The Southern Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1970 to 2002. It was played at the Green Island Country Club in Columbus, Georgia, from 1970 to 1990 and at the Callaway Gardens, Callaway Gardens Resort (Mountain View Course), Pine Mo ...

which he calls the biggest thrill of his career due to being paired with

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

in the third round. He had more than forty top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events during his career. Sullivan qualified for and played in every major championship at least twice. His best finish in a major championship was T12 at the

1989 PGA Championship The 1989 PGA Championship was the 71st PGA Championship, held August 10–13 at Kemper Lakes Golf Club in Long Grove, Illinois, northwest of Chicago. Payne Stewart won the first of his three major championships, one stroke ahead of runners-up ...

. Sullivan also had a runner-up finish on the European Tour, finishing 2nd place in the 1983

English Open The English Open was a professional golf tournament held in England. First played in 1988, it was an annual event on the European Tour until 2002. After several aborted attempts at reviving the tournament, it returned to the tour schedule in 20 ...

. He lost to

Hugh Baiocchi Hugh John Baiocchi (born 17 August 1946) is a South African professional golfer who has won more than 20 professional tournaments around the world. Early life Baiocchi was born in Johannesburg. Professional career In 1971, Baiocchi turned ...

in a playoff. Sullivan played some events on the

in his 40s. His best finish in a Nationwide Tour event was a second-place tie in the 1998

NIKE Dominion Open The Henrico County Open was a golf tournament on the Nationwide Tour from 1993 to 2008. It was played at The Dominion Club in Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U. ...

. Sullivan played on the

in 2005 and 2006. His best finish was T9 at the 2005 Blue Angels Classic. Sullivan lives in

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (3)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–4)

Other wins (1)

Playoff record

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

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

Personal life

He called for professional basketball player

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (born Chris Wayne Jackson; March 9, 1969) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for nine years with the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings and Vancouver Griz ...

to be shot, after he refused to stand for the pledge of allegiance.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Mike American male golfers Florida Gators men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from Indiana Golfers from Florida Sportspeople from Gary, Indiana Sportspeople from Ocala, Florida 1955 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen