Peter Hal Oakley (born June 28, 1949) 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 ...

best known for winning the 2004

Senior British Open The Senior Open Championship, or simply The Senior Open (and originally known as the Senior British Open), is a professional golf tournament for players aged 50 and over. It is jointly owned and run by The R&A, the same body that organises The O ...

, one of the major championships in senior men's professional golf. He is the younger brother of golfer David Oakley.

Early life

Oakley was born in

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Route 98 in Florida, U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida, Pe ...

. He got started in the game at age 11 by his mother, who thought a nearby nine-hole course would be a great babysitter for him and his brother David.

Professional career

Oakley was a long-time club pro in the Philadelphia-Delaware area where he won numerous sectional titles including the Delaware State Open six times and the

Shawnee Open The Shawnee Open was a golf tournament that was first held in 1912. It was played at The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort in Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. The course was completed in 1911, the first design by renowned architect A. W. ...

six times. He played some 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. ...

in his forties to prepare himself for 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 ...

. The biggest win of his career was his first on the Champions Tour, and came 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 ...

– The

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

played at

Royal Portrush Golf Club Royal Portrush Golf Club is a private golf club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The 36-hole club has two links courses, the Dunluce Links (the championship course) and the Valley Links. The former is one of the courses on the rota of the O ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Oakley sank a 10-foot par putt on the final hole to win by one stroke and avoid a playoff with

Tom Kite Thomas Oliver Kite Jr. (born December 9, 1949) is an American professional golfer and golf course architect. He won the U.S. Open in 1992 and spent 175 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 1989 and 1994. Early life a ...

and

Eduardo Romero Eduardo Alejandro Romero (17 July 1954 – 13 February 2022) was an Argentine professional golfer. Nicknamed "El Gato" ("The Cat"), he won over 80 professional tournaments around the world, including eight on the European Tour and five on the Ch ...

. The victory made him only the 10th open qualifier to win a Champions Tour event. In 2008, he had his best season since 2004, when he finished fifth in the Russian Seniors Open en route to ending the year 29th in the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

European Senior Tour The European Senior Tour, currently branded as the Legends Tour, is a professional golf tour for male golfers aged 50 and over, run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was titled as the Staysure Tour for the 2018 and 2019 seasons after UK-based ...

Order Of Merit. Oakley has done some

golf course design A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". T ...

work. In 2001, he completed and opened (with partner Chris Adkins) a public course in

Milton, Delaware Milton is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex County, Delaware, United States, on the Delmarva Peninsula. It is located on the Broadkill River, which empties into Delaware Bay. The population was 3,291 at the United States Census, 2020, 202 ...

, called ''The Rookery Golf Club''.

Awards and honors

* Oakley was awarded the Player of the Year for the Philadelphia Section of the PGA of America in 1980, 1984, 1999, and 2000. * Oakley was awarded 2004 European Seniors Tour Rookie of the Year.

Personal life

His wife has caddied for him in professional tournaments. His son's, Zachary (Zac) and Jeremy Joseph (J.J.), are also golfers. Zac was a three-time All-American at Wesley College, and J.J. played at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

. Oakley is a man of strong religious faith. He formerly lived in

Lincoln, Delaware Lincoln (originally Lincoln City) is an unincorporated community in northern Sussex County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The planner who originally laid out the town pla ...

and has moved to

Palm City Palm City is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States. The population was 25,883 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Port St. Lucie Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Palm City i ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Professional wins (18)

Regular career wins (14)

*1980 Delaware State Open,

*1983

*1984

*1986 Delaware State Open,

*1987 Delaware State Open *1989

Philadelphia Open Championship The Philadelphia Open Championship is an annual golf tournament played in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. It is organized by the Golf Association of Philadelphia. It has been played annually since 1903 (except for war years & 2020) at member ...

, Delaware State Open *1990

*1995 Delaware State Open *1998

*1999

*2000 Delaware State Open

Champions Tour wins (1)

European Seniors Tour wins (1)

Other senior wins (2)

*1999 PGA Senior Club Pro Championship *2000 PGA Senior Stroke Play Championship

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the halfway cut
''Note: Oakley never played in the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...

.''

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

U.S. national team appearances

PGA Cup The PGA Cup is a men's golf competition for club professionals played between a Great Britain and Ireland team and a United States team. The winning team is presented with the Llandudno Trophy. The competition is run by the British PGA and the P ...

: 1994 (winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oakley, Pete American male golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of senior major golf championships American golf course architects Golfers from Florida Golfers from Delaware Sportspeople from Panama City, Florida Sportspeople from Sussex County, Delaware 1949 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen