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Tommy Aaron
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Dean Aaron
Born	(1937-02-22)February 22, 1937 (age 88) Gainesville, Georgia, U.S.
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Gainesville, Georgia, U.S.
Career
College	University of Florida
Turned professional	1960
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	9
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	3
PGA Tour Champions	1
Other	5
Best results in major championships (wins: 1)
Masters Tournament	Won:1973
PGA Championship	T2:1972
U.S. Open	T29: 1975
The Open Championship	T50: 1970
U.S. Amateur	2nd: 1958
British Amateur	R256: 1959
Achievements and awards
Senior PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year 1992

Thomas Dean Aaron (born February 22, 1937) is an American formerprofessional golfer. He was a member of thePGA Tour during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Aaron is best known for winning the1973 Masters Tournament. He is also known for an error in the1968 Masters Tournament, when he entered a 4 instead of a 3 onRoberto De Vicenzo's scorecard, which prevented De Vicenzo from competing in a playoff.^[1]

Thomas Dean Aaron was born on February 22, 1937, inGainesville, Georgia.^[2] He began playing golf at age 12. He won two Georgia Amateur titles, two Southeastern Amateur events and twoGeorgia Open crowns, despite not having a golf course in his hometown.

Aaron attended theUniversity of Florida where he was a member of theKappa Alpha OrderFraternity (Beta Zeta chapter). While he was a Florida student, he played for theFlorida Gators men's golf team from 1956 to 1959, was a member of the Gators' 1956Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship team, and won the individual SEC championship in 1957 and 1958.^[3] He lost theU.S. Amateur final toCharles Coe in 1958, was a member of the1959 Walker Cup team, and won theWestern Amateur in 1960. He was recognized as anAll-American in 1958 and 1959.^[4] Aaron graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1960, and was later inducted into theUniversity of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."^[5]

Aaron turned pro in 1960. His first professional victory came at the 1969Canadian Open. Although the event is historically considered a PGA Tour event, it was not that year.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]} The following year he gained his first PGA Tour victory at theAtlanta Classic. In 1972, he won theTrophée Lancôme inFrance. Aaron's best money year was 1972, when he finished in ninth place on the PGA Tour money list.

Aaron won the Masters Tournament in 1973, which was his onemajor championship. He also finished in the top ten at the Masters from 1967 to 1970. His only other top ten major championship finishes came at thePGA Championship in 1965 and 1972. In 2000, he made the cut at the Masters at the age of 63, breaking a record previously held byGary Player.

Aaron played for the U.S. team in theRyder Cup in 1969 and 1973, and had a record of one win, one tie and four losses.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Aaron played on theSenior PGA Tour, winning $3,646,302. The 1992Kaanapali Classic was his last professional win.

Aaron is also known for being the playing partner of ArgentinianRoberto De Vicenzo for the final round of the1968 Masters Tournament. On the seventeenth hole, Aaron incorrectly recorded a par 4 on De Vicenzo's scorecard, when his partner had actually scored a birdie 3 for the hole. Because De Vicenzo signed the scorecard without correcting the error, PGA rules required him to stand by the incorrect, higher score. Instead of a De Vicenzo–Bob Goalby playoff for the green jacket, Goalby won the tournament outright due to the technicality.

Ironically, Aaron's 4th round playing partner at the 1973 Masters,Johnny Miller, recorded a higher score when keeping Aaron's card. Aaron caught the mistake.^[12]

• Aaron was inducted into theGeorgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1980.^[13]
• Aaron was inducted into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 1989.^[2]

• 1957 SEC Championship (individual), Georgia Amateur
• 1958 SEC Championship (individual), Southeastern Amateur
• 1959Sunnehanna Amateur
• 1960Western Amateur, Georgia Amateur, Southeastern Amateur

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	May 24,1970	Atlanta Classic	−13 (68-68-70-69=275)	3 strokes	Dan Sikes
2	Apr 9,1973	Masters Tournament	−5 (68-73-74-68=283)	1 stroke	J. C. Snead

PGA Tour playoff record (0–4)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1963	Memphis Open Invitational	Tony Lema	Lost to par on first extra hole
2	1963	Cleveland Open Invitational	Tony Lema,Arnold Palmer	Palmer won 18-hole playoff; Palmer: −4 (67), Aaron: −1 (70), Lema: −1 (70)
3	1972	Glen Campbell-Los Angeles Open	George Archer,Dave Hill	Archer won 18-hole playoff; Archer: −5 (66), Aaron: −3 (68), Hill: −3 (68)
4	1972	Greater Greensboro Open	George Archer	Lost to par on second extra hole

Source:^[14]

• 1957Georgia Open (as an amateur)
• 1960Georgia Open
• 1969Canadian Open^[6]
• 1972Trophée Lancôme,ABC Japan vs USA Golf Matches
• 1975Georgia Open

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Nov 1,1992	Kaanapali Classic	−15 (67-67-64=198)	1 stroke	Dave Stockton

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1992	Vintage ARCO Invitational	Jim Colbert,Mike Hill	Hill won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1992	Murata Reunion Pro-Am	George Archer	Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1973	Masters Tournament	4-shot deficit	−5 (68-73-74-68=283)	1 stroke	J. C. Snead

Amateur

Professional

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
R256, R128, R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Source for The Masters:www.masters.com

Source for U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur:USGA Championship Database

Source for The British Open:www.opengolf.com

Source for PGA Championship:PGA Championship Media Guide

Source for 1959 British Amateur:The Glasgow Herald, May 26, 1959, p. 6.

Results may not be in chronological order

Note: TheSenior British Open Championship did not become a major until 2003.
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10.

Amateur

• Walker Cup:1959 (winners)

Professional

• Ryder Cup:1969 (tie, cup retained),1973 (winners)

• List of American Ryder Cup golfers
• List of Kappa Alpha Order members
• List of Florida Gators men's golfers on the PGA Tour
• List of University of Florida alumni
• List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members

• Tommy Aaron at thePGA Tour official site

• American male golfers
• Florida Gators men's golfers
• PGA Tour golfers
• PGA Tour Champions golfers
• Winners of men's major golf championships
• Ryder Cup competitors for the United States
• Golfers from Georgia (U.S. state)
• Sportspeople from Gainesville, Georgia
• 1937 births
• Living people
• 20th-century American sportsmen

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