Peter Thomson (golfer)


Peter William Thomson was an Australian professional golfer. He won the Open Championship five times between 1954 and 1965. Thomson is the only golfer to win a modern major three times in succession – The Open 1954, 1955, 1956.

Life

Thomson was born in Brunswick, a northern suburb of Melbourne, Australia. His Open Championship wins came in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1965. He was the only man to win the tournament for three consecutive years in the 20th century.
Thomson was a prolific tournament champion around the world, winning the national championships of ten countries, including the New Zealand Open nine times. He competed on the PGA Tour in 1953 and 1954 with relatively little success, and after that was an infrequent competitor. However, in 1956, playing in just eight events, he won the rich Texas International Open, and achieved his best finish in one of the three majors staged in the United States, to finish ninth on the money list.
In the era that Thomson won his first four Open Championships, few of the leading professionals from the United States travelled to Britain to play in that event. At that time, the prize money in the Open was insufficient for an American to cover their expenses. However, Thomson demonstrated with his win in 1965 that he could beat a field of the world's best players, as that victory came against a field that included Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tony Lema, three of the top four American golfers from the 1964 money list.
Thomson enjoyed a successful senior career. In 1985 he won nine times on the Senior PGA Tour in the United States, and finished top of the money list. His last tournament victory came at the 1988 British PGA Seniors Championship. He was president of the Australian PGA from 1962 to 1994 and a victorious non-playing captain of the international team in the 1998 Presidents Cup.
He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.
Thomson was active as a golf writer, contributing to The Age of Melbourne for some 50 years from the early 1950s. His local club was Victoria Golf Club. He was an honorary member of Royal Melbourne Golf Club. Thomson designed over a hundred golf courses in Australia and around the world.

Death

Thomson died in Melbourne on 20 June 2018 after a four-year battle with Parkinson's disease at the age of 88.

Amateur wins

PGA Tour wins (6)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
19 Jul 1954The Open Championship−9 1 stroke Bobby Locke, Dai Rees,
Syd Scott
28 Jul 1955The Open Championship −7 2 strokes John Fallon
34 Jun 1956Texas International Open−13 Playoff Gene Littler, Cary Middlecoff
46 Jul 1956The Open Championship +2 3 strokes Flory Van Donck
55 Jul 1958The Open Championship −6 Playoff Dave Thomas
69 Jul 1965The Open Championship −3 2 strokes Brian Huggett, Christy O'Connor Snr

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11956Texas International Open Gene Littler, Cary MiddlecoffWon with birdie on second extra hole
21958The Open Championship Dave ThomasWon 36-hole playoff;
Thomson: –3,
Thomas: +1

European Tour wins (1)

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)

*Note: The 1976 Pepsi-Wilson Tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.
Japan Golf Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
11976Pepsi-Wilson Tournament Brian Jones, Graham Marsh,
Shozo Miyamoto		Won with par on fourteenth extra hole
Jones eliminated by par on fourth hole
Miyamoto eliminated by par on first hole

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

Other European wins (28)

Other Australia and New Zealand wins (43)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
116 Sep 1984World Seniors Invitational−7 1 stroke Arnold Palmer
29 Dec 1984General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship−2 3 strokes Don January
317 Mar 1985The Vintage Invitational−7 1 stroke Billy Casper, Arnold Palmer
431 Mar 1985American Golf Carta Blanca Johnny Mathis Classic−11 1 stroke Don January
55 May 1985MONY Senior Tournament of Champions−4 3 strokes Don January, Dan Sikes
69 Jun 1985The Champions Classic−6 2 strokes Billy Casper, Jim Ferree
716 Jun 1985Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am−14 2 strokes Lee Elder
821 Jul 1985MONY Syracuse Senior's Classic−9 2 strokes Miller Barber, Gene Littler
918 Aug 1985du Maurier Champions−13 1 stroke Ben Smith
1015 Sep 1985United Virginia Bank Seniors−9 4 strokes George Lanning
1120 Oct 1985Barnett Suntree Senior Classic−9 1 stroke Charlie Sifford

Senior PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11985Merrill Lynch/Golf Digest Commemorative Pro-Am Lee ElderLost to eagle on first extra hole

Other senior wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (5)

1Defeated Dave Thomas in 36-hole playoff; Thomson, Thomas

Results timeline

Note: Thomson never played in the PGA Championship.
CUT = missed the halfway cut

DQ = disqualified

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Wins (1)

a This was the December edition of the tournament.

Team appearances