Thomas Henry Bolt (March 31, 1916 – August 30, 2008) was an American professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

er. He did not join 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 ...

until he was in his thirties, but he went on to win 15 PGA Tour titles, including the 1958 U.S. Open. He played 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 1955 and 1957.

Early life

Bolt was born in Haworth, Oklahoma. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and turned professional in 1946. He worked as a caddie and club professional in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

Professional career

Bolt was the fifth PGA Tour player to shoot a round of 60 when he did it in the second round of the 1954 Insurance City Open at the par-71 Wethersfield Country Club, outside

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. Previously,

Al Brosch Albert Wenzel "Red" Brosch (November 8, 1911 – December 10, 1975) was an American professional golfer. Early life Brosch was born in Farmingdale, New York, on November 8, 1911, to Henry J. Brosch and his wife Catherine. Professional career Br ...

, Wally Ulrich, Ted Kroll and Bill Nary had also scored 60. Bolt had 11 birdies in his round and had a putt for a 59, but missed a 15-foot putt for birdie on the 18th green. Bolt had scored 71 in his first round and followed with rounds of 69 and 71 over his final 36 holes. Bolt tied with Earl Stewart, but won an 18-hole playoff the following day. Bolt was a member of the United States

teams in 1955 and 1957. In 1955, at

Thunderbird Country Club The Thunderbird Country Club is a country club in Rancho Mirage in California's Coachella Valley. Its signature 18-hole golf course has hosted the Ryder Cup and the Palm Springs Golf Classic (now known as the American Express). Opened in 1951, th ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, he won his two matches, including a singles victory over

Christy O'Connor Snr Patrick Christopher "Christy" O'Connor (21 December 1924 – 14 May 2016) was an Irish professional golfer. He was one of the leading golfers on the British and Irish circuit from the mid-1950s. O'Connor won over 20 tournaments on the British P ...

. In the

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 ...

match at Lindrick Golf Club in England he won his foursomes match but lost to Eric Brown in the singles. Bolt's fiery disposition earned him the nicknames "Thunder" and "Terrible Tommy". He was known to break clubs during rounds, and his penchant for throwing clubs led to the adoption of a rule prohibiting such behavior. In his later years, he admitted that a lot of his on-course eruptions were merely showmanship and that he felt they had detracted from his playing.

Death

Bolt died in

Cherokee Village, Arkansas Cherokee Village is a city in Fulton County, Arkansas, Fulton and Sharp County, Arkansas, Sharp counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The population was 4,671 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, with a population of 4,780 in 2020 ( ...

at the age of 92. He is interred at Evening Shade Cemetery in Evening Shade, Arkansas.

Awards and honors

* In 2002, Bolt 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 ...

* The same year, Bolt was also elected to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame

Professional wins (20)

PGA Tour wins (15)

PGA Tour playoff record (4–2)

Senior wins (5)

*1969 PGA Seniors' Championship, World Senior Championship *1978 Australian Seniors Championship *1980

Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf The Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour Champions. From 2014 to 2019, it was played at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri, on the par-3 Top of the Rock course, designed by Jack Nicklaus and the ...

(with

Art Wall Jr. Arthur Jonathan Wall Jr. (November 25, 1923 – October 31, 2001) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the Masters Tournament in 1959. Early life and amateur career Wall was born and raised in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. He ...

) *1995

- Demaret Division (with Jack Fleck) Sources:

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Note: Bolt never played in

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 ...

.''
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1953 PGA – 1956 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)

U.S. national team appearances

: 1955 (winners),

* Hopkins Trophy: 1953 (winners), 1956 (winners) * Lakes International Cup: 1954 (winners)

References

External links

* * *
St. Petersburg Times feature
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolt, Tommy American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Ryder Cup competitors for the United States World Golf Hall of Fame inductees Golfers from Oklahoma United States Army personnel of World War II People from McCurtain County, Oklahoma 1916 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen