Don Pooley


Sheldon George "Don" Pooley, Jr. is an American professional golfer who has won tournaments on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.
Pooley was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He grew up in Riverside, California. He attended the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he was a member of the golf team. He turned pro in 1973.
Despite winning the 1980 B.C. Open and the 1987 Memorial Tournament, Pooley is probably best remembered in his PGA Tour career for his dramatic million-dollar hole-in-one at the 1987 Bay Hill Classic. Pooley received $500,000 as did Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women in Orlando, Florida because of this once-in-a-lifetime shot. In 1985, he won the Vardon Trophy, awarded annually by the PGA to the Tour leader in scoring average. His best finish in a major was T-5 in consecutive major championships – the 1987 PGA Championship and the 1988 Masters Tournament.
Late in his PGA Tour career, Pooley began to experience many debilitating ailments, and missed several years of playing time as a result; however, he has enjoyed a resurgence in his career after turning 50 in August 2001 when he began play on the Champions Tour. The biggest win in his golf career was his first on the Champions Tour. In 2002, he won on the biggest stage in men's senior golf, the U.S. Senior Open.
Pooley is a spiritual man of deep religious faith. He has been involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the PGA Tour Bible study group throughout his career. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (2)

Other wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Jun 30, 2002U.S. Senior Open−10 Playoff Tom Watson
2Aug 24, 2003Allianz Championship−13 3 strokes Bruce Fleisher, Bruce Lietzke,
Jim Thorpe

Champions Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12002U.S. Senior Open Tom WatsonWon with birdie on fifth extra hole after three-hole aggregate playoff;
Pooley: E,
Watson: E
22005Boeing Classic Mark McNulty, Tom PurtzerMcNulty won with birdie on second extra hole
32009AT&T Classic Dan ForsmanLost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Wins (1)

1 In the three-hole aggregate playoff, Pooley and Watson tied with three pars each.
On the second sudden-death hole, Pooley won with a birdie to Watson's par.

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2012.
The Senior British Open was not a Champions Tour major until 2003.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew from tournament
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.