Tommy Bolt
# Tommy Bolt

Thomas Henry Bolt (March 31, 1916 – August 30, 2008) was an American professional golfer. He did not join the PGA Tour until he was in his thirties, but he went on to win 15 PGA Tour titles, including the 1958 U.S. Open. He played in the Ryder Cup in 1955 and 1957.

## Early life

Bolt was born in Haworth, Oklahoma. He served in the United States Army during World War II and turned professional in 1946. He worked as a caddie and club professional in Shreveport, Louisiana.

## Professional career

Bolt was the fifth PGA Tour player to shoot a round of 60 when he did it in the second round of the 1954 Insurance City Open at the par-71 Wethersfield Country Club, outside Hartford, Connecticut. Previously, Al Brosch, Wally Ulrich, Ted Kroll and Bill Nary had also scored 60. Bolt had 11 birdies in his round and had a putt for a 59, but missed a 15-foot putt for birdie on the 18th green. Bolt had scored 71 in his first round and followed with rounds of 69 and 71 over his final 36 holes. Bolt tied with Earl Stewart, but won an 18-hole playoff the following day.

Bolt was a member of the United States Ryder Cup teams in 1955 and 1957. In 1955, at Thunderbird Country Club in California, he won his two matches, including a singles victory over Christy O'Connor Snr. In the 1957 match at Lindrick Golf Club in England he won his foursomes match but lost to Eric Brown in the singles.

Bolt's fiery disposition earned him the nickname "Thunder" and "Terrible Tommy". He was known to break clubs during rounds, and his penchant for throwing clubs led to the adoption of a rule prohibiting such behavior. In his later years, he admitted that a lot of his on-course eruptions were merely showmanship and that he felt they had detracted from his playing.

Bolt was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002. He was also elected to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, inducted in 2002.

## Death

Bolt died in Cherokee Village, Arkansas at the age of 92. He is interred at Evening Shade Cemetery in Evening Shade, Arkansas.

## Professional wins (20)

### PGA Tour wins (15)

* Legend
* Major championships (1)
* Other PGA Tour (14)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Nov 11, 1951 | North and South Open | −5 (71-72-71-69=283) | 3 strokes | John Barnum |
| 2 | Jan 8, 1952 | Los Angeles Open | +5 (73-74-70-72=289) | Playoff | Jack Burke Jr., Dutch Harrison |
| 3 | Jan 18, 1953 | San Diego Open | −14 (66-68-70-70=274) | 3 strokes | Doug Ford |
| 4 | Feb 1, 1953 | Tucson Open | −15 (65-68-66-66=265) | 1 stroke | Chandler Harper |
| 5 | Mar 21, 1954 | Miami Beach International Four-Ball (with Dick Mayer) | −30 (67-61-65-65=258) | Playoff | Julius Boros and Dutch Harrison |
| 6 | Jun 28, 1954 | Insurance City Open | −13 (71-60-69-71=271) | Playoff | Earl Stewart |
| 7 | Sep 5, 1954 | Rubber City Open | −23 (69-69-63-64=265) | 5 strokes | Fred Hawkins |
| 8 | Jan 23, 1955 | Convair-San Diego Open (2) | −14 (64-67-72-71=274) | 2 strokes | Johnny Palmer |
| 9 | Feb 13, 1955 | Tucson Open (2) | −14 (69-67-65-65=266) | 3 strokes | Bud Holscher, Art Wall Jr. |
| 10 | Jul 10, 1955 | St. Paul Open | −19 (65-68-68-68=269) | 2 strokes | Jerry Barber |
| 11 | Jul 28, 1957 | Eastern Open Invitational | −12 (64-72-69-71=276) | 4 strokes | Billy Casper, Fred Hawkins |
| 12 | May 4, 1958 | Colonial National Invitation | +2 (68-70-70-74=282) | 1 stroke | Ken Venturi |
| 13 | Jun 14, 1958 | U.S. Open | +3 (71-71-69-72=283) | 4 strokes | Gary Player |
| 14 | Jun 6, 1960 | Memphis Open Invitational | −7 (72-69-65-67=273) | Playoff | Ben Hogan, Gene Littler |
| 15 | Mar 12, 1961 | Pensacola Open Invitational | −13 (72-68-68-67=275) | 2 strokes | Gary Player |

PGA Tour playoff record (4–2)

| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1952 | Los Angeles Open | Jack Burke Jr., Dutch Harrison | Won 18-hole playoff; Bolt: −2 (69), Burke: E (71), Harrison: +3 (74) |
| 2 | 1954 | Miami Beach International Four-Ball (with Dick Mayer) | Julius Boros and Dutch Harrison | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1954 | Insurance City Open | Earl Stewart | Won 18-hole playoff; Stewart conceded on final hole |
| 4 | 1955 | Miami Open | Sam Snead | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 5 | 1960 | Memphis Open Invitational | Ben Hogan, Gene Littler | Won 18-hole playoff; Bolt: −2 (68), Hogan: −1 (69), Littler: +1 (71) |
| 6 | 1961 | Home of the Sun Open | Dave Hill, Bud Sullivan | Hill won with birdie on third extra hole |

### Senior wins (5)

* 1969 PGA Seniors' Championship, World Senior Championship
* 1978 Australian Seniors Championship
* 1980 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Art Wall Jr.)
* 1995 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf - Demaret Division (with Jack Fleck)

Sources:

## Major championships

### Wins (1)

| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1958 | U.S. Open | 3 shot lead | +3 (71-71-69-72=283) | 4 strokes | Gary Player |

### Results timeline

| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Masters Tournament | | | T3 | T5 | T12 | T22 | T8 | CUT | T32 | T30 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T29 | T7 | CUT | T6 | T3 | T22 | WD | 1 | T38 |
| PGA Championship | | | | R32 | SF | SF | R128 | R16 | T5 | T17 |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1969 |
| Masters Tournament | T20 | T4 | CUT | T37 | CUT | T8 | T17 | T26 | |
| U.S. Open | WD | T22 | CUT | CUT | | | | CUT | |
| PGA Championship | T57 | WD | T30 | | WD | | | | CUT |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1977 |
| Masters Tournament | | | CUT | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | | | CUT |
| PGA Championship | | 3 | WD | |

Note: Bolt never played in The Open Championship.

WD = Withdrew CUT = missed the half-way cut R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play "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 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 17 | 13 |
| U.S. Open | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 8 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 8 |
| Totals | 1 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 22 | 48 | 29 |

* Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1953 PGA – 1956 PGA)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (twice)

## U.S. national team appearances

* Ryder Cup: 1955 (winners), 1957
* Hopkins Trophy: 1953 (winners), 1956 (winners)
* Lakes International Cup: 1954 (winners)
