Peter William Thomson (23 August 1929 – 20 June 2018) was an Australian

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 ...

, often cited as the greatest and most successful golfer in Australian golf history. While also successful in academia, in the late 1940s Thomson turned professional and immediately had success on the Australasian circuits; beginning with victories in his home state of Victoria and then his first International victory the 1950 New Zealand Open followed by winning the 1951

Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...

by 4 shots over one of his heroes Norman Von Nida. He then ventured over to Great Britain, trying his luck in the oldest championship of them all, the British Open where he finished T6th in his first Open championship in 1951. After playing several events in the USA, Thomson decided to focus on Europe thereafter with extraordinary success, winning dozens of tournaments on the British PGA, including the

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 ...

five times and victories all over Europe to be known as one of the most prolific winners on European soil. From 1949-1988 Peter Thomson notched professional victories in Australia, New Zealand, America, Italy, Spain, Germany, India, England, Scotland, Japan, Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong and The Philippines...including 27 National Opens. As a senior, Thomson continued with success, winning 11 times on the Senior PGA Tour, including 9 times in one season (1985) a record he still holds with Hale Irwin. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all-time and more specifically one of the greatest links golfers that has ever lived.

Early life

Thomson was born in Brunswick, a northern suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia.

Professional career

Thomson's

wins came in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1965. He was the only man to win the tournament for three consecutive years in the 20th century. Thomson was a prolific tournament champion around the world, winning the national championships of ten countries, including the

New Zealand Open The New Zealand Open is the premier men's golf tournament in New Zealand. It has been a regular fixture on the PGA Tour of Australasia tournament schedule since the 1970s. The 2019 event was the 100th edition of the tournament. Since 2014 it has ...

nine times. He competed 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 ...

in 1953 and 1954 with relatively little success (finishing 44th and 25th on the money list), and after that was an infrequent competitor. However, in 1956, playing in just eight events, he won the rich Texas International Open, and achieved his best finish in one of the three majors staged in the United States (fourth at the U.S. Open), to finish ninth on the money list. In the era, that Thomson won his first four Open Championships, few of the leading professionals from the United States travelled to Britain to play in that event. At that time, the prize money in the Open was insufficient for an American to cover their expenses. However, Thomson demonstrated with his win in 1965 that he could beat a field of the world's best players, as that victory came against a field that included

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 ...

Jack Nicklaus Jack William Nicklaus (; born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "the Golden Bear", is an American retired professional golfer and List of golf courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, golf course designer. He is widely considered to be one of the greate ...

and

Tony Lema Anthony David Lema (February 25, 1934 – July 24, 1966) was an American professional golfer who rose to fame in the mid-1960s and won a major title, the 1964 Open Championship at the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland. He died two years later ...

, three of the top four American golfers from the 1964 money list. Peter Thomson put on a ball-striking clinic at Royal Birkdale in 1965, where, in the final 18 holes he took 71 shots that included 35 putts. Thomson enjoyed a successful senior career. In 1985 he won nine times on the Senior PGA Tour in the United States, and finished top of the money list. His last tournament victory came at the 1988 British PGA Seniors Championship. He was president of the Australian PGA from 1962 to 1994 and a victorious non-playing captain of the international team in the 1998

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world except Europe as that continent competes against the United States in a similar but ...

. He was president of the Australian PGA at the same time he won The British Open in 1965. Thomson was active as a golf writer, contributing to ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' of Melbourne for some 50 years from the early 1950s. His local club was Victoria Golf Club. He was an honorary member of

Royal Melbourne Golf Club Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a 36-hole Golf Club (establishment), golf club in Australia, located in Black Rock, Victoria, Black Rock, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, a suburb in southeastern Melbourne. Its West and East courses are respectivel ...

and dozens of golf clubs around the world including several in Scotland, Japan and throughout Asia. Thomson designed over a hundred golf courses in Australia and around the world with his business partners Michael Wolveridge and Ross Perrett.

Personal life

On June 1, 1960, Thomson was married to Mary Kelly of

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

. The wedding took place in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Thomson died in Melbourne on 20 June 2018 after a four-year battle with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

, at the age of 88. Upon his passing, fellow 5 times British Open champion Tom Watson from America said ''"The golf world has lost arguably the greatest links golfer in history, Australian Peter Thomson. 5 Open Championship titles + top 10 finishes in 18 out of 21 Open Championships (1951-1971) will go down in the annals of golfs greatest achievements. We will miss him."''

Awards and honors

* In 1955, he was selected as ABC Sportsman of the Year. *In 1957, he was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in recognition of his services to Australia in the sporting and international sphere.Australia list: Thomson, Peter William MBE
''It's an Honour'', 1 January 1957. *In 1979, appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) for service to the sport of golf.Thomson, Peter William CBE
''It's an Honour'', 31 December 1979. *Thomson was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

in 1985. *Thomson was inducted into the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame was, until recently, located at World Golf Village between Jacksonville, Florida and St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States. It is unusual amongst sports halls of fame in that a single site honored both men ...

in 1988. *In 1997, The Peter Thomson Trophy, an annual contested between the eight Melbourne Sandbelt golf clubs, was inaugurated. *In 2001, he was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

.Thomson, Peter William
''It's an Honour'', 1 January 2001. *In 2001, he was elected an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AO)Thomson, Peter William AO
''It's an Honour'', 11 June 2001. *In 2011, he was inducted into the Victorian Golf Industry Hall of Fame. *In 2016, he was inducted as inaugural Immortal of the PGA of Australia.

Amateur wins

*1947 Australasian Foursomes Shield (with Dick Payne) *1948 Victorian Amateur Championship

Professional wins (99)

PGA Tour wins (6)

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

European Tour wins (1)

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

''*Note: The 1976 Pepsi-Wilson Tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.'' PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (1–0)

Other Japan wins (5)

*1969 Chunichi Crowns *1971 Dunlop Tournament,

Wizard Tournament The Yomiuri Open was a professional golf tournament on the Japan Golf Tour. Founded in 1970 as the Wizard Tournament, a 36-hole invitational tournament, it was played at Hashimoto Country Club in Wakayama until 1979 when it moved to Yomiuri Count ...

*1972 Chunichi Crowns, Pepsi Tournament

Asia Golf Circuit wins (5)

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (2–0)

Other Asian wins (3)

*1960 Hong Kong Open *1964 Indian Open *1966 Indian Open

PGA Tour of Australia wins (1)

Other Australian wins (24)

*1949 Victorian Close Championship *1951

, Victorian Close Championship *1952 Victorian PGA Championship, Mobilco Tournament *1953 Victorian PGA Championship *1954 Ampol Tournament (Nov) *1955 Wiseman's Tournament, Pelaco Tournament,

Speedo Tournament The Speedo Tournament was a golf tournament held in Australia in 1955 and 1956. Total prize money was A£2,000. The sponsor was Speedo Speedo International Limited is an Australian-British distributor of Swimsuit, swimwear and swim-related ...

*1956 Pelaco Tournament *1958

Victorian Open The Victorian Open is an annual golf tournament held in Australia. It was founded in 1957 and is the Victoria state open championship for men. It is run by Golf Victoria and is a Golf Australia national ranking event. The event is held concur ...

, Pelaco Tournament *1959 Pelaco Tournament, Coles Tournament *1960

Wills Classic The Wills Classic was a series of golf tournaments held in Australia and New Zealand from 1960 to 1964. The first event in 1960 was contested by four players over nine different courses between 17 September and 2 October; the winner was determined ...

*1961

Adelaide Advertiser Tournament The Adelaide Advertiser Tournament was a golf event played in Adelaide, Australia between 1948 and 1967. Up to 1960 the event was played in March or April but was later played in September or October. The venue generally alternated between Royal ...

, New South Wales Open *1963 Lakes Open *1967

Australian PGA Championship The Australian PGA Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia. It is the home tournament of the Australian PGA. Since 2000 it has been held in the South East Queensland region. The tournament was part of the OneAsia Tour fro ...

*1968 South Australian Open,

*1972

New Zealand Golf Circuit wins (11)

Other New Zealand wins (10)

* 1950

* 1951 New Zealand Open * 1953 New Zealand Open, New Zealand PGA Championship * 1955 New Zealand Open, Caltex Tournament * 1959 New Zealand Open, Caltex Tournament * 1960 New Zealand Open * 1961 New Zealand Open

British PGA Circuit wins (25)

Other European wins (3)

Other wins (2)

* 1952 Mills Round Robin (South Africa) * 1954

Canada Cup The Canada Cup () was an invitational international ice hockey tournament held on five occasions between 1976 and 1991. The brainchild of Toronto lawyer Alan Eagleson, the tournament was created to meet demand for a true world championship that a ...

(with

Kel Nagle Kelvin David George Nagle AM (21 December 1920 – 29 January 2015) was an Australian professional golfer best known for winning The Open Championship in 1960. He won at least one tournament each year from 1949 to 1975. Early life Nagle was ...

)

Senior PGA Tour wins (11)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other senior wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (5)

¹Defeated Dave Thomas in 36-hole playoff; Thomson (139), Thomas (143)

Results timeline

''Note: Thomson never played in the

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 ...

.'' CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1975 and 1984 Open Championships)
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1954 Open Championship – 1958 Open Championship) *Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1955 Open Championship – 1957 Masters)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (1)

^a This was the December edition of the tournament.

Team appearances

Amateur * Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing Victoria): 1948 (winners) Professional *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

(representing Australia):

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

(winners),

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

(winners),

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

* Lakes International Cup (representing Australia): 1952 *

Slazenger Trophy The Slazenger Trophy was a men's professional team golf competition; one team representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team representing the British Commonwealth and Empire. It was played just once, in 1956. Format The cup was contested ...

(representing British Commonwealth and Empire): 1956 *

(representing International):

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

(non-playing captain),

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

(non-playing captain, winners),

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

(non-playing captain) * Hopkins Trophy (representing Canada): 1952 * Vicars Shield (representing Victoria): 1951 (winners), 1952 (winners), 1953 (winners)

References

External links

* * * *
Golflegends.org profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Peter Australian male golfers PGA Tour of Australasia golfers Golf course architects European Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Winners of senior major golf championships World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Golf writers Officers of the Order of Australia Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Golfers from Melbourne People from Brunswick, Victoria Neurological disease deaths in Victoria (state) Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Australia 1929 births 2018 deaths Sportsmen from Victoria (state) 20th-century Australian sportsmen