Corey Pavin

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title: "Corey Pavin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-male-golfers", "ucla-bruins-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-ventura-county,-california", "golfers-from-dallas", "jewish-american-golfers", "maccabiah-games-gold-medalists-for-the-united-states", "maccabiah-games-medalists-in-golf", "competitors-at-the-1981-maccabiah-games", "sportspeople-from-oxnard,-california", "oxnard-high-school-alumni", "1959-births", "living-people", "21st-century-american-jews", "presidents-cup-competitors-for-the-united-states", "20th-century-american-sportsmen"] description: "American professional golfer (born 1959)" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corey_Pavin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American professional golfer (born 1959) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox golfer"]

Field	Value
name	Corey Pavin
image	Corey Pavin.jpg
imagesize
caption	Pavin in 2008
fullname	Corey Allen Pavin
nickname	Bulldog
birth_date
birth_place	Oxnard, California, U.S.
death_date
height
weight	155 lb
nationality
residence	Dallas, Texas, U.S.
spouse	Shannon Healy (divorced)
Lisa Nguyen (2003-present)
college	University of California, Los Angeles
yearpro	1982
retired
tour	PGA Tour Champions
extour	PGA Tour
European Tour
prowins	28
pgawins	15
eurowins	2
japwins	2
asiawins
sunwins
auswins	2
champwins	1
seneurowins
otherwins	6
majorwins	1
masters	3rd: 1992
usopen	Won: 1995
open	T4: 1993
pga	2nd: 1994
wghofid
wghofyear
award1	[PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year](pga-tour-rookie-of-the-year)
year1	1984
award2	[PGA Tour
money list winner](pga-tour-money-list-winners)
year2	1991
award3	PGA Player of the Year
year3	1991
awardssection
module	{{Infobox person
signature	Corey_Pavin_signature.jpg
::

| name = Corey Pavin | image = Corey Pavin.jpg | imagesize = | caption = Pavin in 2008 | fullname = Corey Allen Pavin | nickname = Bulldog | birth_date = | birth_place = Oxnard, California, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | height = | weight = 155 lb | nationality = | residence = Dallas, Texas, U.S. | spouse = Shannon Healy (divorced) Lisa Nguyen (2003-present) | partner = | children = | college = University of California, Los Angeles | yearpro = 1982 | retired = | tour = PGA Tour Champions | extour = PGA Tour European Tour | prowins = 28 | pgawins = 15 | eurowins = 2 | japwins = 2 | asiawins = | sunwins = | auswins = 2 | champwins = 1 | seneurowins = | otherwins = 6 | majorwins = 1 | masters = 3rd: 1992 | usopen = Won: 1995 | open = T4: 1993 | pga = 2nd: 1994 | wghofid = | wghofyear = | award1 = PGA Tour Rookie of the Year | year1 = 1984 | award2 = PGA Tour money list winner | year2 = 1991 | award3 = PGA Player of the Year | year3 = 1991 | awardssection = | module = {{Infobox person|embed=yes | signature = Corey_Pavin_signature.jpg Corey Allen Pavin (born November 16, 1959) is an American professional golfer. In 1982, Pavin turned professional but failed at PGA Tour Qualifying School. The following year, he turned to overseas where he had much success, winning South Africa's Lexington PGA and Europe's German Open. Later in the year he earned PGA Tour membership and had much success on tour, winning a number of events, culminating with the 1995 U.S. Open championship. Soon thereafter, he abruptly lost his game and was rarely a contender. As a senior, Pavin has played on the PGA Tour Champions, recording one win, at the Allianz Championship.

Early life and amateur career

Pavin was born in Oxnard, California, the son of Barbara and Jack Pavin. He attended Oxnard High School.

Pavin attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He won two gold medals at the 1981 Maccabiah Games, the Jewish Olympics in Israel.

Professional career

In 1982, Pavin turned professional. He was "an unexpected failure" at 1982 PGA Tour Qualifying School. He did not move past the regional qualifying section. He turned to play overseas in 1983. Early in the year, he played on the Southern African Tour where he "won his first professional tournament" at the Lexington PGA. It was only his fourth tournament as a professional golfer. He soon moved onto the European Tour. In July, he finished solo 3rd, only behind Sam Torrance and Craig Stadler, at the Scandinavian Enterprise Open. A month later, Pavin won the German Open three strokes ahead of joint runner-up Seve Ballesteros. He finished 13th on the Order of Merit.

Pavin's first PGA Tour victory came at the 1984 Houston Coca-Cola Open. He won at least one event significant domestic or international event over the next decade and topped the PGA Tour's money list in 1991. Pavin's success culminated in his only major victory, the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Pavin went into the final round three strokes behind Greg Norman and Tom Lehman. On the 72nd and final hole of the tournament, a 450 yards long par 4, Pavin produced a four wood, considered one of the great shots in U.S. Open history, 228 yards to five feet of the hole to secure the title.

Rather than marking a move to a new level of achievement, however, this was soon followed by a long slide down the world rankings from a high ranking of 2nd. After Pavin won the Bank of America Colonial in 1996, he did not win another PGA Tour tournament for ten years. His 89th-place finish on the 2004 money list was the first time he had made the top one hundred since 1998. Pavin finally won his 15th career title in 2006 at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, ending a streak of 242 consecutive tournaments without a win.

On July 27, 2006, during the first round of what would become his 15th tour title, Pavin broke the record for the fewest strokes needed to complete nine holes at a PGA Tour event, with an 8-under par score of 26. The previous record of 27 strokes was held by Mike Souchak, Andy North, Billy Mayfair and Robert Gamez, with Mayfair and Gamez' scores being 9-under par. His 36-hole total of 125 also tied the record for fewest shots taken in the first 36 holes of a PGA Tour event held by Tom Lehman, Mark Calcavecchia, and Tiger Woods.

After acting as an assistant to U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman in 2006, Pavin was in December 2008 by the PGA of America, named captain for the U.S. team at the 2010 Ryder Cup at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. In October 2010, the U.S. Ryder Cup team lost 13½ to 14½, against the European side.

Pavin began playing on the Champions Tour in 2010. In June 2010, he lost in a sudden death playoff to Bubba Watson at the Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour. In his 35th start, Pavin won his maiden Champions Tour event in February 2012 at the Allianz Championship. He defeated Peter Senior at the first sudden death playoff hole with a birdie to take the title, after having finished regulation play at 11 under.[[Image:Corey_Pavin_20180927.jpg|thumb|Corey Pavin at the Past Captains Match 27 September 2018 ahead of the [[2018 Ryder Cup]] match at [[Le Golf National]] outside Paris, France]]

Personal life

In April 1983, Pavin married Shannon Healy. They have two children. He married Lisa Nguyen in 2003.

He was the only top Jewish player on the tour until 1991. In that year, he converted to Christianity. He was named the 117th-greatest Jewish athlete in the 2007 book The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes by Peter S. Horvitz.

Pavin is a Republican. During the 1993 Ryder Cup, Pavin was originally unwilling to meet with president Bill Clinton before the cup owing to their differing political views. Pavin stated that he had voted for Bush, and so was not particularly excited at the prospect of meeting Clinton.

Pavin made a cameo appearance playing himself in the 1996 movie Tin Cup starring Kevin Costner. In the movie, Pavin tells Fred Couples, "It's hard to believe that a guy named 'Tin Cup' might have his name beneath mine on the trophy."

Awards and honors

• In 2002, he was named to the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame.

• He has a stone named after him at Bedlingtonshire Golf Club, in Northumberland, England. It is located on the 7th hole and is called "Corey Paving Slab".

Amateur wins

• 1981 North and South Amateur

Professional wins (28)

PGA Tour wins (15)

::data[format=table]

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

::data[format=table] | No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Apr 29, 1984 | Houston Coca-Cola Open | −10 (70-68-68-68=274) | 1 stroke | USA Buddy Gardner | | 2 | May 19, 1985 | Colonial National Invitation | −14 (66-64-68-68=266) | 4 strokes | USA Bob Murphy | | 3 | Feb 16, 1986 | Hawaiian Open | −16 (67-67-72-66=272) | 2 strokes | USA Paul Azinger | | 4 | Sep 21, 1986 | Greater Milwaukee Open | −16 (66-72-67-67=272) | Playoff | CAN Dave Barr | | 5 | Jan 18, 1987 | Bob Hope Chrysler Classic | −19 (72-71-65-66-67=341) | 1 stroke | FRG Bernhard Langer | | 6 | Feb 8, 1987 | Hawaiian Open (2) | −18 (65-75-66-64=270) | Playoff | USA Craig Stadler | | 7 | Oct 16, 1988 | Texas Open | −21 (64-63-66-66=259) | 8 strokes | USA Robert Wrenn | | 8 | Feb 10, 1991 | Bob Hope Chrysler Classic (2) | −29 (65-69-66-66-65=331) | Playoff | USA Mark O'Meara | | 9 | May 12, 1991 | BellSouth Atlanta Golf Classic | −16 (68-67-67-70=272) | Playoff | USA Steve Pate | | 10 | Mar 15, 1992 | Honda Classic | −15 (68-67-70-68=273) | Playoff | USA Fred Couples | | 11 | Feb 13, 1994 | Nissan Los Angeles Open | −13 (67-64-72-68=271) | 2 strokes | USA Fred Couples | | 12 | Feb 26, 1995 | Nissan Open (2) | −16 (67-66-68-67=268) | 3 strokes | USA Jay Don Blake, USA Kenny Perry | | 13 | Jun 18, 1995 | U.S. Open | E (72-69-71-68=280) | 2 strokes | AUS Greg Norman | | 14 | May 19, 1996 | MasterCard Colonial (2) | −8 (69-67-67-69=272) | 2 strokes | USA Jeff Sluman | | 15 | Jul 30, 2006 | U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee (2) | −20 (61-64-68-67=260) | 2 strokes | USA Jerry Kelly | ::

PGA Tour playoff record (5–4) ::data[format=table]

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1986	Greater Milwaukee Open	CAN Dave Barr	Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
2	1987	Hawaiian Open	USA Craig Stadler	Won with birdie on second extra hole
3	1991	Bob Hope Chrysler Classic	USA Mark O'Meara	Won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1991	BellSouth Atlanta Golf Classic	USA Steve Pate	Won with par on second extra hole
5	1991	Canon Greater Hartford Open	USA Billy Ray Brown, USA Rick Fehr	Brown won with birdie on first extra hole
6	1992	Honda Classic	USA Fred Couples	Won with birdie on second extra hole
7	1992	Southwestern Bell Colonial	USA Bruce Lietzke	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
8	1995	Kemper Open	USA Lee Janzen	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
9	2010	Travelers Championship	USA Scott Verplank, USA Bubba Watson	Watson won with par on second extra hole
Pavin eliminated by par on first hole
::

European Tour wins (2)

::data[format=table]

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other European Tour (1)
::

::data[format=table] | No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Jul 31, 1983 | Lufthansa German Open | −13 (67-71-68-69=275) | 3 strokes | ESP Seve Ballesteros, ZWE Tony Johnstone | | 2 | Jun 18, 1995 | U.S. Open | E (72-69-71-68=280) | 2 strokes | AUS Greg Norman | ::

PGA of Japan Tour wins (2)

::data[format=table] | No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Nov 3, 1985 | ABC Japan-U.S. Match | −12 (70-68-67-71=276) | Shared title with JPN Tateo Ozaki | | | 2 | Oct 9, 1994 | Tokai Classic | −11 (68-69-68-72=277) | 1 stroke | TWN Hsieh Chin-sheng | ::

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

::data[format=table] | No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Oct 15, 1995 | Volvo Asian Masters | −14 (72-66-67-69=274) | 9 strokes | JPN Isao Aoki | ::

Southern Africa Tour wins (1)

::data[format=table] | No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Jan 22, 1983 | Lexington PGA Championship | −10 (70-68-66-66=270) | 1 stroke | ZIM Nick Price | ::

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)

::data[format=table] | No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Dec 9, 1984 | New Zealand Open | −19 (68-67-65-69=269) | 4 strokes | AUS Terry Gale | | 2 | Dec 8, 1985 (1986 season) | New Zealand Open (2) | −15 (67-67-70-73=277) | 4 strokes | AUS Jeff Senior | ::

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1) ::data[format=table]

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	1998	ANZ Players Championship	AUS Stephen Leaney	Lost to par on first extra hole
::

Other wins (5)

• 1983 Calberson Classic (Europe – not a European Tour event)
• 1993 Toyota World Match Play Championship (Europe – then an unofficial event).
• 1995 Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa – unofficial event)
• 1996 Ssang Yong International Challenge (South Korea)
• 1999 Martel Skins Game (Taiwan)

Champions Tour wins (1)

::data[format=table] | No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Feb 12, 2012 | Allianz Championship | −11 (64-70-71=205) | Playoff | AUS Peter Senior | ::

Champions Tour playoff record (1–1) ::data[format=table]

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2012	Allianz Championship	AUS Peter Senior	Won with par on first extra hole
2	2013	Pacific Links Hawai'i Championship	USA Mark Wiebe	Lost to par on second extra hole
::

Major championships

Wins (1)

::data[format=table]

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1995	U.S. Open	3 shot deficit	E (72-69-71-68=280)	2 strokes	AUS Greg Norman
::

Results timeline

::data[format=table]

Tournament	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament		CUT			T25	T11	T27	T42	50
U.S. Open	CUT	T60	CUT		T9	CUT	WD	CUT
The Open Championship				T22	T39	CUT	CUT	T38
PGA Championship				T20	T6	T21	CUT	T17	CUT
::

::data[format=table]

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament		T22	3	T11	T8	T17	T7	T43	T41	CUT
U.S. Open	T24	T8	CUT	T19	CUT	1	T40	CUT	CUT	T34
The Open Championship	T8	CUT	T34	T4	CUT	T8	T27	T51	CUT	CUT
PGA Championship	T14	T32	T12	CUT	2	CUT	T26		CUT	T10
::

::data[format=table]

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Masters Tournament	CUT
U.S. Open	CUT	T19	T54	CUT	T17	T11	CUT
The Open Championship	CUT	CUT	T22	CUT
PGA Championship	CUT						T49	T62	T63	T19	CUT
::

CUT = missed the half way cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

::data[format=table]

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made	Totals	1	1	1	4	12	30	80	49
Masters Tournament	0	0	1	1	3	8	16	13
U.S. Open	1	0	0	1	3	8	24	12
The Open Championship	0	0	0	1	3	5	19	10
PGA Championship	0	1	0	1	3	9	21	14
::

• Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1984 Open Championship – 1986 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1995 U.S. Open – 1995 Open Championship)

Results in The Players Championship

::data[format=table]

Tournament	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
The Players Championship	CUT	CUT	T58	T50	T42	T34	CUT	T41	T46	T16	T78	T3	T46	CUT	CUT	T71
::

::data[format=table]

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
The Players Championship	T61	T21	CUT	T32	T33	CUT	CUT	T72		CUT		T45
::

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

::data[format=table]

Tournament	2006
Match Play
Championship
Invitational	T48
::

"T" = Tied

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

• Walker Cup: 1981 (winners)

Professional

• USA vs. Japan: 1982
• Nissan Cup: 1985 (winners)
• Ryder Cup: 1991 (winners), 1993 (winners), 1995, 2010 (non-playing captain)
• Presidents Cup: 1994 (winners), 1996 (winners)

References

References

1. Leonard, Tod. (June 15, 2004). "Indelible memories of Shinnecock". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
2. (August 15, 1997). "Obituaries – Kack Pavin; Father of Pro Golfer Corey Pavin". [[Los Angeles Times]].
3. Buttitta, Bob. "Healthy Corey Pavin hoping to turn in big performance in 'home' event". Ventura County Star.
4. Painter, Jill. (2010-09-07). "Ryder Cup captain Pavin makes right pick in Fowler". Daily News.
5. (November 13, 2014). ["Corey Pavin, Craig Stadler welcomed into SCGA Hall of Fame"](http://www.scga.org/news/view/corey-pavin-craig-stadler-welcomed-into-scga-hall-of-fame SCGA.org). SCGA.
6. "Corey Pavin profile". PGA Tour.
7. (2005). "One thousand one facts everyone should know about Israel". Rowman & Littlefield.
8. Goldberg, Dan. (March 11, 2011). "Time to move on". Haaretz.
9. Romine, Rich. (February 23, 1982). "Pavin Invited to Masters". The Press-Courier.
10. Kessel, Yoram. (June 29, 1989). "Argentine Golfers Sign Up At The Eleventh Hour". The Jerusalem Post.
11. (24 January 1983). "Pavin pips Price with final 66". The Daily Telegraph.
12. "Ventura County Star 27 Jan 1983, page 24".
13. "Corey Pavin". Official World Golf Ranking.
14. (July 28, 2006). "Pavin shoots 26 on first nine holes, sets PGA record". ESPN.
15. (July 30, 2006). "Pavin ends 10-year drought with Milwaukee title". PGA Tour.
16. "Pavin selected as 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup Team captain". PGA of America.
17. (October 4, 2010). "Ryder Cup regained by Europe in muddy marathon". The Guardian.
18. (March 28, 1983). "Corey Pavin To Wed Shannon Healy". [[The Press-Courier]].
19. Rubenstein, Lorne. (January 19, 2009). "Tough Team To Beat". [[Golf Digest]].
20. Bamberger, Michael. (2006). "The Green Road Home: A Caddie's Journal of Life on the Pro Golf Tour". Hachette Books.
21. (June 30, 1995). "Daylights". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
22. Rapoport, Ron. (June 28, 1990). "Shame is the Name of this Golf Game". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
23. Berkow, Ira. (June 19, 1995). "1995 U.S. Open – Pavin's Best Shot Sheds Both Pressure and Label". The New York Times.
24. Mendelsohn, Ezra. (2009). "Jews and the Sporting Life: Studies in Contemporary Jewry XXIII". Oxford University Press.
25. Chandler, Rich. (September 14, 2010). "Out of Bounds: Were Pavin's Ryder picks based on religion?". MSNBC.
26. Michael Mayo. (August 7, 1995). "Pavin Knows His Place". The Spokesman-Review.
27. (October 1, 2010). "It's Ryder Cup war, and General Monty wants revenge". The Daily Maverick.
28. Reason, Mark. (August 2, 2010). "Ryder Cup 2010: Corey Pavin could face dilemma over Tiger Woods". Telegraph.
29. Kimball, George. (September 29, 2010). "Pavin's good intentions". The Irish Times.
30. Horvitz, Peter S.. (2007). "The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History and The 150 Greatest Jewish Sports Stars". SP Books.
31. Guest, Larry. (June 19, 1993). "Golfers Don't Go Gaga Over White House Trip". Orlando Sentinel.
32. "Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame". Vcshf.com.

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