Jeff Sluman
Jeffrey George Sluman is an American professional golfer who has won numerous professional golf tournaments including six PGA Tour victories.
Early years
Sluman was born and reared in Rochester, New York. After graduating from Greece Arcadia High School in 1975 and Monroe Community College in 1977, he attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. He earned a bachelor's degree with a major in finance from FSU in 1980, and turned pro later that year.Professional career
Sluman has had an unusual career in terms of winning golf tournaments. During what are usually considered a golfers most productive years – their early twenties through their middle thirties - Sluman won only once. At the age of 30, he won the 1988 PGA Championship. Then, shortly before his 40th birthday, he started winning consistently on the Tour and in non-Tour events. After winning the 1997 Tucson Chrysler Classic, he won seven more events including four on the PGA Tour during the next seven seasons. Sluman's best season was in 2002 when he finished the year ranked 15th on the PGA Tour with $2,250,187 in earnings. Despite his rather unusual sequence in respect to tournament wins, Sluman has been one of the Tour's most consistent top 10 finishers throughout his career; his regular career earnings exceeded 18 million dollars.The 1988 PGA Championship was played at the Oak Tree Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma. Sluman won the tournament by three strokes over Paul Azinger, shooting a total of 272. On the final day, Sluman took command of the tournament with a round of 65 that tied David Graham's 1979 mark as the lowest winning round in PGA history.
Upon turning 50 in September 2007, Sluman joined the Champions Tour. He won his first tournament in June 2008, the Bank of America Championship and he also won the First Tee Open in 2008, 2009, and 2011.
When Sluman won 1988 PGA Championship, Ping recognized him with a golden putter as a replica of the Ping PAL 2 he used to win. A second one was made and place in the Ping Gold putter vault.
During the first round of the 1992 Masters, Sluman made history when he recorded a hole-in-one on the fourth hole. To date, this is the only time the fourth hole has been aced at the Masters.
Other interests
In his spare time, Sluman can be described as a rabid sports fan. He closely follows the Florida State University Seminoles, the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Bulls, and the Chicago Cubs. He has held Bulls season tickets for over 10 years. Sluman is also a fan of Formula One racing, and is friends with former Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal. He is also a collector of rare, fine wines with about 2,000 bottles in his collection.Amateur wins (2)
- 1978 New York State Amateur
- 1981 Monroe Invitational
Professional wins (18)
PGA Tour wins (6)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
1 | Aug 14, 1988 | PGA Championship | −12 | 3 strokes | Paul Azinger |
2 | Feb 23, 1997 | Tucson Chrysler Classic | −13 | 1 stroke | Steve Jones |
3 | Sep 6, 1998 | Greater Milwaukee Open | −19 | 1 stroke | Steve Stricker |
4 | Jan 17, 1999 | Sony Open in Hawaii | −9 | 2 strokes | Davis Love III, Jeff Maggert, Len Mattiace, Chris Perry, Tommy Tolles |
5 | Jul 22, 2001 | B.C. Open | −22 | Playoff | Paul Gow |
6 | Jul 14, 2002 | Greater Milwaukee Open | −23 | 4 strokes | Tim Herron, Steve Lowery |
PGA Tour playoff record
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
1 | 1987 | Tournament Players Championship | Sandy Lyle | Lost to par on third extra hole |
2 | 1991 | Kemper Open | Billy Andrade | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
3 | 1992 | AT&T National Pro-Am | Mark O'Meara | Lost to par on first extra hole |
4 | 1998 | FedEx St. Jude Classic | Nick Price | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
5 | 1999 | MCI Classic | Glen Day, Payne Stewart | Day won with birdie on first extra hole |
6 | 2001 | Nissan Open | Robert Allenby, Brandel Chamblee, Toshimitsu Izawa, Dennis Paulson, Bob Tway | Allenby won with birdie on first extra hole |
7 | 2001 | B.C. Open | Paul Gow | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
Other wins (5)
- 1985 Tallahassee Open
- 1999 CVS Charity Classic
- 2003 CVS Charity Classic
- 2003 Franklin Templeton Shootout
- 2004 Franklin Templeton Shootout
Champions Tour wins (6)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
1 | 2009 | Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf | Bernhard Langer and Tom Lehman | Lost to par on second extra hole |
2 | 2010 | AT&T Championship | Rod Spittle | Lost to par on first extra hole |
3 | 2014 | Constellation Senior Players Championship | Bernhard Langer | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
Other senior wins (1)
- 2010 Nedbank Champions Challenge
Playoff record
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
1 | 1996 | Sumitomo Visa Taiheiyo Masters | Costantino Rocca, Lee Westwood | Westwood won with par on fourth extra hole Sluman eliminated by birdie on first hole |
Major championships
Wins (1)
Results timeline
CUT = missed the half way cut"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Summary
- Most consecutive cuts made – 7
- Longest streak of top-10s – 2
Results in The Players Championship
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships
1Cancelled due to 9/11QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Results in senior major championships
Results are not in chronological order prior to 2017.CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place