David Frost (golfer)


David Laurence Frost is a South African professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He has previously played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour. Frost has thirty professional tournament wins to his name, spread across four continents.

Early life and career

Frost was born in Cape Town, South Africa and matriculated at Paarl Boys' High School in 1977. He turned professional in 1981. He used to be a cigarette salesman. He scored his first professional win in his home country in 1983 and has continued to play in South Africa in the northern winter, but like other leading South African golfers he has spent far more time playing internationally. In line with many other Commonwealth golfers his first move abroad was to the European Tour and he played that tour from 1982 to 1984.
From 1985 he was primarily on the U.S.-based PGA Tour, where he went on to win ten tournaments, the most prestigious of which was the 1989 NEC World Series of Golf which he won by defeating Ben Crenshaw at the second playoff hole. He made the top ten on the PGA Tour money list twice, placing 9th in 1988 and 5th in 1993 and was ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings for 86 weeks between 1988 and 1994. By his forties, he was no longer a regular contender on the tour, but in 2005 he set the all time PGA Tour 72-hole putting record with 92 putts at the MCI Heritage while finishing only tied 38th.
Since 2007 Frost has re-established his career on the European Tour.
In June 2013, Frost won his maiden senior major championship at the 2013 Regions Tradition. He won by a single stroke over Fred Couples to claim his first major title in his 17th attempt. It was also his fifth career victory on the Champions Tour. In March 2015, Frost won his sixth Champions Tour title at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic by a single stroke over Tom Lehman and Kevin Sutherland.
Frost won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit in 1998/99. He was a member of the International Team in the first staging of the Presidents Cup in 1994, and took part again in 1996. In 1997 and 1998 he captained South Africa to victory in the Alfred Dunhill Cup in Scotland. His teammates were Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.
The son of a vintner himself, Frost owns a winery in the Western Cape which produces vintages named after golf legends such as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

Professional wins (29)

PGA Tour wins (10)

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11986Western Open Fred Couples, Tom Kite,
Nick Price		Kite won with birdie on first extra hole
21988Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic Seve Ballesteros, Ken Green,
Greg Norman		Ballesteros won with birdie on first extra hole
31988Southern Open Bob TwayWon with birdie on first extra hole
41989NEC World Series of Golf Ben CrenshawWon with par on second extra hole
51995MCI Classic Nolan Henke, Bob TwayTway won with par on second extra hole
Frost eliminated with par on first hole

European Tour wins (2)

1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour
European Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11997Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship Nick PriceLost to par on first extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

Japan Golf Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11992Dunlop Phoenix Tournament Kiyoshi MurotaWon with par on second extra hole

Sunshine Tour wins (5)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
116 Jan 1983Gordon's Gin Classic−8
29 Feb 1986Southern Suns South African Open−13
313 Dec 1987Safmarine South African Masters−15
416 Jan 1994Lexington South African PGA Championship−21 7 strokes Nick Price
524 Jan 1999Mercedes-Benz - Vodacom South African Open1 −5 1 stroke Scott Dunlap, Jeev Milkha Singh

1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
Sunshine Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11997Alfred Dunhill South African PGA Championship Nick PriceLost to par on first extra hole

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

Other wins (3)

Other playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
12000Fred Meyer Challenge
 John Cook and Mark O'MearaLost to birdie on first extra hole

Champions Tour wins (6)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
18 Aug 20103M Championship−25 7 strokes Mark Calcavecchia
222 Apr 2012Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf
−29 1 stroke John Cook and Joey Sindelar
328 Oct 2012AT&T Championship−8 Playoff Bernhard Langer
417 Mar 2013Toshiba Classic−19 5 strokes Fred Couples
59 Jun 2013Regions Tradition−16 1 stroke Fred Couples
629 Mar 2015Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic−10 1 stroke Tom Lehman, Kevin Sutherland

Champions Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12010Senior PGA Championship Fred Couples, Tom LehmanLehman won with birdie on first extra hole
22012AT&T Championship Bernhard LangerWon with birdie on second extra hole
32013Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai John CookLost to birdie on second extra hole

European Senior Tour wins (2)

European Senior Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12010Senior PGA Championship Fred Couples, Tom LehmanLehman won with birdie on first extra hole
22010Mauritius Commercial Bank Open Roger ChapmanWon with par on second extra hole

Results in major championships

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

Summary

CUT = missed the halfway cut

WD = withdrew

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

"T" = Tied

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

Senior results timeline

Results are not in chronological order prior to 2017.
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances