Lon Hinkle

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title: "Lon Hinkle" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-male-golfers", "san-diego-state-aztecs-men's-golfers", "pga-tour-golfers", "pga-tour-champions-golfers", "golfers-from-michigan", "sportspeople-from-flint,-michigan", "golfers-from-san-diego", "people-from-bigfork,-montana", "1949-births", "living-people", "20th-century-american-sportsmen"] description: "American professional golfer (born 1949)" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lon_Hinkle" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American professional golfer (born 1949) ::

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

Field	Value
name	Lon Hinkle
imagesize
fullname	Lon Currey Hinkle
birth_date
birth_place	Flint, Michigan, U.S.
death_date
height
weight
nationality
college	San Diego State University
yearpro	1972
retired
extour	PGA Tour
Champions Tour
prowins	5
pgawins	3
nwidewins	1
otherwins	1
majorwins
masters	T28: 1981
usopen	T3: 1980
open	T19: 1975
pga	T3: 1980
wghofid
wghofyear
award1
year1
awardssection
::

| name = Lon Hinkle | image = | imagesize = | caption = | fullname = Lon Currey Hinkle | nickname = | birth_date = | birth_place = Flint, Michigan, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | height = | weight = | nationality = | residence = | spouse = | partner = | children = | college = San Diego State University | yearpro = 1972 | retired = | tour = | extour = PGA Tour Champions Tour | prowins = 5 | pgawins = 3 | nwidewins = 1 | otherwins = 1 | majorwins = | masters = T28: 1981 | usopen = T3: 1980 | open = T19: 1975 | pga = T3: 1980 | wghofid = | wghofyear = | award1 = | year1 = | award2 = | year2 = | awardssection = Lon Currey Hinkle (born July 17, 1949) is an American professional golfer. He played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.

Early life and amateur career

In 1949, Hinkle was born in Flint, Michigan. He attended Santana High School in Santee, California and graduated in 1967.

Hinkle attended nearby San Diego State University for college. He was a member of the golf team.

Professional career

In 1972, Hinkle turned professional. He joined the PGA Tour after his success at 1972 PGA Tour Qualifying School.

In the late 1970s, Hinkle won three tournaments on the PGA Tour. In 1979, he earned $247,693, finished 3rd on the money list, and won two tour events, including the World Series of Golf. That year in the first round of the U.S. Open at Inverness Club he took a shortcut, cutting the dogleg on the par-5 8th hole by hitting onto the 17th fairway. Overnight, USGA officials planted a tree (known ever afterwards as The Hinkle Tree) to block the shortcut. His best finish in a major was a T-3 at both the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship in 1980. During his career on the PGA Tour, he had more than 50 top-10 finishes. He also played on the European Tour occasionally. Though he never won he finished runner-up at the 1975 German Open and 1980 European Open.

In 1981, Hinkle won the World Long Drive Championship.

After turning 50 in 1999, Hinkle joined the Champions Tour. His best finish at that level is a T-12 in the 2000 Audi Senior Classic.

Personal life

Hinkle lives in Bigfork, Montana in the northwest corner of the state.

Professional wins (5)

PGA Tour wins (3)

::data[format=table] | No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Apr 30, 1978 | First NBC New Orleans Open | −17 (74-67-64-66=271) | 1 stroke | USA Gibby Gilbert, USA Fuzzy Zoeller | | 2 | Feb 4, 1979 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | −4 (70-68-69-77=284) | Playoff | USA Andy Bean, USA Mark Hayes | | 3 | Sep 30, 1979 | World Series of Golf | −8 (67-67-71-67=272) | 1 stroke | USA Larry Nelson, USA Bill Rogers, USA Lee Trevino | ::

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2) ::data[format=table]

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1977	Tallahassee Open	USA Ed Sneed	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
2	1979	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	USA Andy Bean, USA Mark Hayes	Won with birdie on third extra hole
Bean eliminated by par on second hole
3	1986	Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic	USA Raymond Floyd, USA Mike Sullivan	Floyd won with par on first extra hole
::

Source:

Ben Hogan Tour wins (1)

::data[format=table] | No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Jun 2, 1991 | Ben Hogan Quicksilver Open | −6 (70-68-72=210) | 2 strokes | USA Andy Morse, USA Rick Pearson, USA Joey Rassett | ::

Other wins (1)

• 1978 JCPenney Mixed Team Classic (with Pat Bradley)

Results in major championships

::data[format=table]

Tournament	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987
Masters Tournament					CUT	WD	T28	CUT
U.S. Open		T38		CUT	T53	T3	T6	T45
The Open Championship	T19				CUT	CUT
PGA Championship			T31	63	T65	T3	T39	T9	T47	70	T51		73
::

WD = withdrew

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	0	0	2	2	4	5	23	17
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
U.S. Open	0	0	1	1	2	2	6	5
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	1
PGA Championship	0	0	1	1	2	2	10	10
::

• Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (1982 U.S. Open – 1987 PGA)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (four times)

Results in The Players Championship

::data[format=table]

Tournament	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990
The Players Championship	CUT	3	CUT	T39	CUT		T56	CUT	T7	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT	CUT
::

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

References

1. [http://www.toledohistorybox.com/2011/07/19/the-hinkle-tree/ The Hinkle Tree]
2. "Golf Major Championships".
3. "Lon Hinkle". PGA Tour.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::