Dow Finsterwald
American professional golfer (1929–2022)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. (September 6, 1929 – November 4, 2022)[1][2] was an American professional golfer. He won twelve PGA Tour titles between 1955 and 1963 including the 1958 PGA Championship. He also played on four Ryder Cup teams and served as non-playing captain for the 1977 U.S. Ryder Cup team.
| Dow Finsterwald | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Finsterwald in 1960 | |||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Full name | Dow Henry Finsterwald | ||||
| Born | September 6, 1929 Athens, Ohio, U.S. | ||||
| Died | November 4, 2022 (aged 93) | ||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st) | ||||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||||
| Career | |||||
| College | Ohio University | ||||
| Turned professional | 1951 | ||||
| Former tours | PGA Tour Senior PGA Tour | ||||
| Professional wins | 13 | ||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||
| PGA Tour | 12 | ||||
| Other | 1 | ||||
| Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |||||
| Masters Tournament | 3rd: 1960, 1962 | ||||
| PGA Championship | Won: 1958 | ||||
| U.S. Open | T3: 1960 | ||||
| The Open Championship | DNP | ||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||
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| Signature | |||||
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Early life and amateur career
Finsterwald was born and raised in Athens, Ohio. He attended Ohio University in his hometown, where he played on the golf team and graduated in the Class of 1952. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity while at OU.
Professional career
Finsterwald turned professional in 1951 and won 11 times on the PGA Tour during his career. He finished fifth or better more than 50 times in his career. He played on four Ryder Cup Teams (1957, 1959, 1961, 1963) and was the non-playing captain of the 1977 team. He won the Vardon Trophy in 1957, which is awarded to the tour professional with the lowest scoring average. In 1958, he was honored as PGA Player of the Year.[3] Finsterwald finished in the money in 72 consecutive tournaments – second only to Byron Nelson's 113 consecutive cuts. This record stood for many years until eclipsed by Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin and Tiger Woods; however, he is still fifth on the list as of 2019.
The 1958 PGA Championship was held at Llanerch Country Club in Havertown, Pennsylvania. This was the first PGA Championship held after the format was switched from match play to stroke play. Finsterwald finished the tournament with a two-stroke victory over Billy Casper.[4] Four years later, Finsterwald and Gary Player lost the 1962 Masters in a playoff to Arnold Palmer.
Finsterwald was once involved in litigation in which a plaintiff claimed she lost the sight in her right eye as a result of an errant tee shot he hit at the 18th hole at the 1973 Western Open. A jury found Finsterwald not liable; however, Midlothian (Illinois) Country Club's insurers had to pay the woman about $450,000.[5]
Finsterwald served as director of golf at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado for 28 years. He simultaneously served as PGA of America vice-president from 1976–1978; and on the USGA Rules of Golf committee from 1979-1981. He was also the Pro Emeritus of the Pikewood National Golf Club, based in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Personal life
Finsterwald lived in Orlando, Florida during the winter and Colorado Springs during the summer.[3]
Awards and honors
- In 1969, he was inducted into the Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame.[6]
- At the 2007 Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, Finsterwald was honored by fellow Ohio native Jack Nicklaus.
- In 2008, he was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame.[3]
Professional wins (13)
PGA Tour wins (12)
| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (1) |
| Other PGA Tour (10) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 29, 1955 | Fort Wayne Invitational | −19 (65-66-71-67=269) | 3 strokes |  Doug Ford |
| 2 | Jul 3, 1955 | British Columbia Open | −18 (67-68-65-70270) | 1 stroke | Bud Holscher |
| 3 | May 13, 1956 | Carling Open Invitational | −14 (65-71-69-69=274) | 3 strokes | Jack Burke Jr., Billy Casper, Billy Maxwell |
| 4 | Feb 11, 1957 | Tucson Open Invitational | −11 (68-67-66-68=269) | Playoff | Don Whitt |
| 5 | Jul 20, 1958 | PGA Championship | −4 (67-72-70-67=276) | 2 strokes | Billy Casper |
| 6 | Sep 8, 1958 | Utah Open | −17 (69-65-67-66=267) | 1 stroke | Fred Hawkins, Arnold Palmer |
| 7 | Apr 12, 1959 | Greater Greensboro Open | −6 (68-68-65-77=278) | 2 strokes | Art Wall Jr. |
| 8 | Aug 9, 1959 | Carling Open Invitational (2) | −8 (74-68-66-68=276) | 1 stroke | Gene Littler, Mike Souchak |
| 9 | Sep 7, 1959 | Kansas City Open Invitational | −13 (68-69-69-69=275) | Playoff | Don Fairfield |
| 10 | Jan 11, 1960 | Los Angeles Open | −4 (70-68-71-71=280) | 3 strokes | Bill Collins, Jay Hebert, Dave Ragan |
| 11 | Apr 24, 1960 | Greater New Orleans Open Invitational | −18 (69-66-66-69=270) | 6 strokes | Al Besselink |
| 12 | Jun 3, 1963 | 500 Festival Open Invitation | −16 (68-68-64-68=268) | 2 strokes | Tommy Aaron, Julius Boros, Tony Lema, Bobby Nichols |
PGA Tour playoff record (2–4)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1956 | Canadian Open | Doug Sanders |
Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1957 | Tucson Open Invitational | Don Whitt |
Won 18-hole playoff; Finsterwald: −5 (65), Whitt: −1 (69) |
| 3 | 1958 | Rubber City Open Invitational | Art Wall Jr. |
Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
| 4 | 1959 | Buick Open Invitational | Art Wall Jr. |
Lost 18-hole playoff; Wall: −1 (71), Finsterwald: +1 (73) |
| 5 | 1959 | Kansas City Open Invitational | Don Fairfield |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 6 | 1962 | Masters Tournament | Arnold Palmer,  Gary Player |
Palmer won 18-hole playoff; Palmer: −4 (68), Player: −1 (71), Finsterwald: +5 (77) |
Source:[7]
Other wins (1)
This list may be incomplete
- 1954 Carolinas Open
Major championships
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | PGA Championship | 2 shot deficit | −4 (67-72-70-67=276) | 2 strokes |  Billy Casper |
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T50 | T46 | T24 | T7 | T17 | T18 | ||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | T28 | T13 | T11 | |||||
| PGA Championship | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 3 | CUT | 3 | T5 | T9 | T21 | T57 | CUT | ||
| U.S. Open | T3 | T6 | T12 | 8 | CUT | CUT | T65 | |||
| PGA Championship | T15 | T41 | T11 | T3 | CUT | T63 | T12 | T60 | T48 | T76 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | T58 | CUT | CUT | T70 | 70 | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | ||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT |
Note: Finsterwald never played in The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 12 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 8 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 15 |
| Totals | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 53 | 35 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 13 (1955 U.S. Open – 1960 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)
