Thomas Dean Aaron (born February 22, 1937) is an American former

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 ...

. He was a member of 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 ...

during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Aaron is best known for winning the 1973 Masters Tournament. He is also known for an error in the 1968 Masters Tournament, when he entered a 4 instead of a 3 on Roberto De Vicenzo's scorecard, which prevented De Vicenzo from competing in a playoff.

Early life

Thomas Dean Aaron was born on February 22, 1937, in

Gainesville, Georgia Gainesville is a city and the county seat of Hall County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 42,296. Because of its large number of poultry processing plants, it has been calle ...

.Georgia Golf Hall of Fame, Members
Tommy Aaron
Retrieved December 20, 2015. He began playing golf at age 12. He won two Georgia Amateur titles, two Southeastern Amateur events and two Georgia Open crowns, despite not having a golf course in his hometown.

Amateur career

Aaron attended 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 ...

where he was a member of the

Kappa Alpha Order Kappa Alpha Order (), commonly known as Kappa Alpha, KA, or simply The Order, is an American social fraternity founded in 1865 at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Along with Alpha Tau Omega and Sigma Nu, the order constitu ...

Fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

(Beta Zeta chapter). While he was a Florida student, he played for the Florida Gators men's golf team from 1956 to 1959, was a member of the Gators' 1956

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) championship team, and won the individual SEC championship in 1957 and 1958.
Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 27, 35, 39, 41 (2010). Retrieved July 10, 2011. He lost the

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 ...

final to Charles Coe in 1958, was a member of the 1959 Walker Cup team, and won the

Western Amateur The Western Amateur is a leading annual golf tournament in the United States for male amateur golfers. It is organized by the Western Golf Association. The Western Amateur features an international field of top-ranked amateur golfers. It was firs ...

in 1960. He was recognized as an

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 ...

in 1958 and 1959. Aaron graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1960.

Professional career

Aaron turned pro in 1960. His first professional victory came at the 1969 Canadian Open. Although the event is historically considered a PGA Tour event, it was not that year. The following year he gained his first PGA Tour victory at the Atlanta Classic. In 1972, he won the Trophée Lancôme in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Aaron's best money year was 1972, when he finished in ninth place on the PGA Tour money list. Aaron won the Masters Tournament in 1973, which was his one major championship. He also finished in the top ten at the Masters from 1967 to 1970. His only other top ten major championship finishes came at 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 ...

in 1965 and 1972. In 2000, he made the cut at the Masters at the age of 63, breaking a record previously held by

Gary Player Gary James Player (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tour and nine ...

. Aaron played for the U.S. team in the

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 ...

in 1969 and 1973, and had a record of one win, one tie and four losses. In the 1980s and 1990s, Aaron played on the Senior PGA Tour, winning $3,646,302. The 1992 Kaanapali Classic was his last professional win. Aaron is also known for being the playing partner of Argentinian Roberto De Vicenzo for the final round of the 1968 Masters Tournament. On the seventeenth hole, Aaron incorrectly recorded a par 4 on De Vicenzo's scorecard, when his partner had actually scored a birdie 3 for the hole. Because De Vicenzo signed the scorecard without correcting the error, PGA rules required him to stand by the incorrect, higher score. Instead of a De Vicenzo–

Bob Goalby Robert George Goalby (March 14, 1929 – January 19, 2022) was an American professional golfer. He won the Masters Tournament in 1968, after Roberto De Vicenzo notably made an error on his scorecard. It was Goalby's lone major championship am ...

playoff for the green jacket, Goalby won the tournament outright due to the technicality. Ironically, Aaron's 4th round playing partner at the 1973 Masters,

Johnny Miller John Laurence Miller (born April 29, 1947) is an American former professional golfer. He was one of the top players in the world during the mid-1970s. He was the first to shoot 63 in a major championship to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and he ran ...

, recorded a higher score when keeping Aaron's card. Aaron caught the mistake.

Awards and honors

* In 1969, Aaron was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great." * In 1980, he was inducted into the

Georgia Sports Hall of Fame Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

in 1980. * In 1989, Aaron was inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame.

Amateur wins

*1957 SEC Championship (individual), Georgia Amateur *1958 SEC Championship (individual), Southeastern Amateur *1959 Sunnehanna Amateur *1960

, Georgia Amateur, Southeastern Amateur

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour wins (2)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–4) Source:

Other wins (6)

*1957 Georgia Open (as an amateur) *1960 Georgia Open *1969 Canadian Open *1972 Trophée Lancôme, ABC Japan vs USA Golf Matches *1975 Georgia Open

Senior PGA Tour wins (1)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Amateur Professional CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place. Source for The Masters
www.masters.com
Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur
USGA Championship Database
Source for The British Open
www.opengolf.com
Source for PGA Championship
PGA Championship Media Guide
Source for 1959 British Amateur
The Glasgow Herald, May 26, 1959, p. 6.

Results in senior majors

Results may not be in chronological order ''Note: The Senior British Open Championship did not become a major until 2003.''
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...

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) Professional *

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 ...

(tie, cup retained),

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

(winners)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aaron, Tommy American male golfers Florida Gators men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Golfers from Georgia (U.S. state) Sportspeople from Gainesville, Georgia 1937 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen