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Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. (September 6, 1929 – November 4, 2022)^[1]^[2] was an Americanprofessional golfer. He won twelvePGA Tour titles between 1955 and 1963 including the1958 PGA Championship. He also played on fourRyder Cup teams and served as non-playing captain for the 1977 U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Early life and amateur career

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Finsterwald was born and raised inAthens, Ohio. He attendedOhio 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

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Finsterwald turned professional in 1951 and won 11 times on thePGA Tour during his career. He finished fifth or better more than 50 times in his career. He played on fourRyder Cup Teams (1957, 1959, 1961, 1963) and was the non-playing captain of the 1977 team. He won theVardon Trophy in 1957, which is awarded to the tour professional with the lowest scoring average. In 1958, he was honored asPGA Player of the Year.^[3] Finsterwald finished in the money in 72 consecutive tournaments – second only toByron Nelson's 113 consecutive cuts. This record stood for many years until eclipsed byJack Nicklaus,Hale Irwin andTiger Woods; however, he is still fifth on the list as of 2019.

The 1958 PGA Championship was held atLlanerch Country Club inHavertown, 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 overBilly Casper.^[4] Four years later, Finsterwald andGary Player lost the1962 Masters in a playoff toArnold Palmer.

Finsterwald was once involved inlitigation in which aplaintiff 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 1973Western 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 atThe Broadmoor inColorado Springs, Colorado for 28 years. He simultaneously served asPGA of America vice-president from 1976–1978; and on theUSGA Rules of Golf committee from 1979-1981. He was also the Pro Emeritus of the Pikewood National Golf Club, based inMorgantown, West Virginia.

Personal life

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Finsterwald lived inOrlando, Florida during the winter and Colorado Springs during the summer.^[3]

Awards and honors

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In 1969, he was inducted into the Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame.^[6]
At the 2007Memorial Tournament inDublin, Ohio, Finsterwald was honored by fellow Ohio nativeJack Nicklaus.
In 2008, he was inducted into theColorado Sports Hall of Fame.^[3]

Professional wins (13)

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PGA Tour wins (12)

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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)

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This list may be incomplete

1954Carolinas Open

Major championships

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Wins (1)

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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

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Tournament	1950	1951	1952	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	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT			CUT
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	T58	CUT	CUT	T70	70	CUT	CUT

Tournament	1980	1984
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open	CUT
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT

Note: Finsterwald never played inThe Open Championship.

Win

Top 10

Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

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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)

U.S. national team appearances

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Professional

Ryder Cup:1957,1959 (winners),1961 (winners),1963 (winners),1977 (non-playing captain, winners)

References

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^Ferguson, Doug (November 5, 2022)."Dow Finsterwald, 1958 PGA champion, dies at age 93".Golf Channel.
^"Dow Finsterwald, 11-time PGA Tour winner, dies at age 93". PGA Tour. November 5, 2022.
^^a ^b ^cBaines, Gary (February 28, 2008)."Dow Getting His Due".Colorado Golf Journal. Archived fromthe original on July 8, 2011. RetrievedApril 7, 2010.
^"Year by Year History of the PGA Championship – 1958: Bolt was an angel, Dow was a terror". PGA of America. RetrievedNovember 21, 2013.
^Clifford, Robert A. (May 1, 1996)."Getting Teed off Over Golf Balls". RetrievedNovember 21, 2013.
^"Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame site". Archived fromthe original on February 22, 2009. RetrievedNovember 21, 2013.
^"Dow Finsterwald". PGA Tour. RetrievedAugust 15, 2025.

External links

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Media related toDow Finsterwald at Wikimedia Commons
Dow Finsterwald at thePGA Tour official site

v t e PGA Championship champions
Match play era	1916Jim Barnes 1919Jim Barnes 1920Jock Hutchison 1921Walter Hagen 1922Gene Sarazen 1923Gene Sarazen 1924Walter Hagen 1925Walter Hagen 1926Walter Hagen 1927Walter Hagen 1928Leo Diegel 1929Leo Diegel 1930Tommy Armour 1931Tom Creavy 1932Olin Dutra 1933Gene Sarazen 1934Paul Runyan 1935Johnny Revolta 1936Denny Shute 1937Denny Shute 1938Paul Runyan 1939Henry Picard 1940Byron Nelson 1941Vic Ghezzi 1942Sam Snead 1944Bob Hamilton 1945Byron Nelson 1946Ben Hogan 1947Jim Ferrier 1948Ben Hogan 1949Sam Snead 1950Chandler Harper 1951Sam Snead 1952Jim Turnesa 1953Walter Burkemo 1954Chick Harbert 1955Doug Ford 1956Jack Burke Jr. 1957Lionel Hebert
Stroke play era	1958Dow Finsterwald 1959Bob Rosburg 1960Jay Hebert 1961Jerry Barber† 1962Gary Player 1963Jack Nicklaus 1964‡Bobby Nichols 1965Dave Marr 1966Al Geiberger 1967Don January† 1968Julius Boros 1969‡Raymond Floyd 1970Dave Stockton 1971Jack Nicklaus 1972Gary Player 1973Jack Nicklaus 1974Lee Trevino 1975Jack Nicklaus 1976Dave Stockton 1977Lanny Wadkins† 1978John Mahaffey† 1979David Graham† 1980Jack Nicklaus 1981Larry Nelson 1982‡Raymond Floyd 1983‡Hal Sutton 1984Lee Trevino 1985Hubert Green 1986Bob Tway 1987Larry Nelson† 1988Jeff Sluman 1989Payne Stewart 1990Wayne Grady 1991John Daly 1992Nick Price 1993Paul Azinger† 1994Nick Price 1995Steve Elkington† 1996Mark Brooks† 1997Davis Love III 1998Vijay Singh 1999Tiger Woods 2000‡Tiger Woods† 2001David Toms 2002Rich Beem 2003Shaun Micheel 2004Vijay Singh† 2005Phil Mickelson 2006Tiger Woods 2007Tiger Woods 2008Pádraig Harrington 2009Y. E. Yang 2010Martin Kaymer† 2011Keegan Bradley† 2012Rory McIlroy 2013Jason Dufner 2014Rory McIlroy 2015Jason Day 2016Jimmy Walker 2017Justin Thomas 2018Brooks Koepka 2019Brooks Koepka 2020Collin Morikawa 2021Phil Mickelson 2022Justin Thomas† 2023Brooks Koepka 2024‡Xander Schauffele 2025Scottie Scheffler
† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire; 1943cancelled due toWorld War II

v t e PGA and PGA Tour Players of the Year
PGA Players of the Year 1948Ben Hogan 1949Sam Snead 1950Ben Hogan 1951Ben Hogan 1952Julius Boros 1953Ben Hogan 1954Ed Furgol 1955Doug Ford 1956Jack Burke Jr. 1957Dick Mayer 1958Dow Finsterwald 1959Art Wall Jr. 1960Arnold Palmer 1961Jerry Barber 1962Arnold Palmer 1963Julius Boros 1964Ken Venturi 1965Dave Marr 1966Billy Casper 1967Jack Nicklaus 1968 No award 1969Orville Moody 1970Billy Casper 1971Lee Trevino 1972Jack Nicklaus 1973Jack Nicklaus 1974Johnny Miller 1975Jack Nicklaus 1976Jack Nicklaus 1977Tom Watson 1978Tom Watson 1979Tom Watson 1980Tom Watson 1981Bill Rogers 1982Tom Watson 1983Hal Sutton 1984Tom Watson 1985Lanny Wadkins 1986Bob Tway 1987Paul Azinger 1988Curtis Strange 1989Tom Kite 1990Nick Faldo 1991Corey Pavin 1992Fred Couples 1993Nick Price 1994Nick Price 1995Greg Norman 1996Tom Lehman 1997Tiger Woods 1998Mark O'Meara 1999Tiger Woods 2000Tiger Woods 2001Tiger Woods 2002Tiger Woods 2003Tiger Woods 2004Vijay Singh 2005Tiger Woods 2006Tiger Woods 2007Tiger Woods 2008Pádraig Harrington 2009Tiger Woods 2010Jim Furyk 2011Luke Donald 2012Rory McIlroy 2013Tiger Woods 2014Rory McIlroy 2015Jordan Spieth 2016Dustin Johnson 2017Justin Thomas 2018Brooks Koepka 2019Brooks Koepka 2020Justin Thomas 2021Jon Rahm 2022Cameron Smith PGA Tour Players of the Year 1990Wayne Levi 1991Fred Couples 1992Fred Couples 1993Nick Price 1994Nick Price 1995Greg Norman 1996Tom Lehman 1997Tiger Woods 1998Mark O'Meara 1999Tiger Woods 2000Tiger Woods 2001Tiger Woods 2002Tiger Woods 2003Tiger Woods 2004Vijay Singh 2005Tiger Woods 2006Tiger Woods 2007Tiger Woods 2008Pádraig Harrington 2009Tiger Woods 2010Jim Furyk 2011Luke Donald 2012Rory McIlroy 2013Tiger Woods 2013–14Rory McIlroy 2014–15Jordan Spieth 2015–16Dustin Johnson 2016–17Justin Thomas 2017–18Brooks Koepka 2018–19Rory McIlroy 2019–20Dustin Johnson 2020–21Patrick Cantlay 2021–22Scottie Scheffler 2022–23Scottie Scheffler 2024Scottie Scheffler

PGA and PGA Tour Players of the Year

PGA Players of the Year

PGA Tour Players of the Year

Dow Finsterwald in theRyder Cup

AmericanRyder Cup captains

v t e United States Ryder Cup team –1977
Raymond Floyd Lou Graham Hubert Green Dave Hill Hale Irwin Don January Jerry McGee Jack Nicklaus Ed Sneed Dave Stockton Lanny Wadkins Tom Watson Dow Finsterwald (non-playing captain)
Won: 12.5 – 7.5