Tommy Jacobs
American professional golfer (1935–2022)
title: "Tommy Jacobs" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-male-golfers", "pga-tour-golfers", "pga-tour-champions-golfers", "ryder-cup-competitors-for-the-united-states", "golfers-from-denver", "golfers-from-north-carolina", "sportspeople-from-brunswick-county,-north-carolina", "1935-births", "2022-deaths", "20th-century-american-sportsmen"] description: "American professional golfer (1935–2022)" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Jacobs" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American professional golfer (1935–2022) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox golfer"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Tommy Jacobs |
| image | Tommy Jacobs 1951.jpg |
| imagesize | 160px |
| caption | Jacobs, circa 1951 |
| fullname | Keith Thomas Jacobs Jr. |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Reno, Nevada, U.S. |
| height | |
| weight | 160 lb |
| nationality | |
| residence | Leland, North Carolina, U.S. |
| yearpro | 1956 |
| retired | |
| tour | |
| extour | PGA Tour |
| Champions Tour | |
| prowins | 7 |
| pgawins | 4 |
| champwins | |
| seneurowins | |
| otherwins | 3 |
| majorwins | |
| masters | 2nd: 1966 |
| usopen | 2nd: 1964 |
| open | DNP |
| pga | T8: 1963 |
| britamateur | R64: 1955 |
| wghofid | |
| wghofyear | |
| award1 | |
| year1 | |
| awardssection | |
| :: |
| name = Tommy Jacobs | image = Tommy Jacobs 1951.jpg | imagesize = 160px | caption = Jacobs, circa 1951 | fullname = Keith Thomas Jacobs Jr. | nickname = | birth_date = | birth_place = Denver, Colorado, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Reno, Nevada, U.S. | height = | weight = 160 lb | nationality = | residence = Leland, North Carolina, U.S. | spouse = | partner = | children = | college = | yearpro = 1956 | retired = | tour = | extour = PGA Tour Champions Tour | prowins = 7 | pgawins = 4 | champwins = | seneurowins = | otherwins = 3 | majorwins = | masters = 2nd: 1966 | usopen = 2nd: 1964 | open = DNP | pga = T8: 1963 | britamateur = R64: 1955 | wghofid = | wghofyear = | award1 = | year1 = | award2 = | year2 = | awardssection =
Keith Thomas Jacobs Jr. (February 13, 1935 – July 9, 2022) was an American professional golfer and golf course owner/operator who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He was the older brother of professional golfer John Jacobs.
Early life
In 1935, Jacobs was born in Denver, Colorado. He was raised in southern California where he started in junior golf. In 1951, Jacobs won the U.S. Junior Amateur. At sixteen, he advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur, which earned him an invitation to the Masters Tournament at age 17. For 58 years, Jacobs had the distinction of being the youngest golfer to ever play in the Masters (in 1952). The record was broken by Matteo Manassero in 2010.
Professional career
In 1956, Jacobs turned professional. Jacobs won four PGA Tour events. His first win came in 1958 at the newly revamped Denver Open, and his last was at the 1964 Palm Springs Golf Classic. During his career, Jacobs had sole 2nd-place finishes in two major championships. He lost the 1964 U.S. Open to Ken Venturi by four strokes, and was runner-up in a playoff at the Masters Tournament in 1966 that he (72) and Gay Brewer (78) lost to Jack Nicklaus (70). Jacobs was a member of the 1965 Ryder Cup team, and finished with a record of 3-1-1.
Jacobs joined the Senior PGA Tour in 1985 and continued to play in selected events into the 2000s; his last appearance was at the 2003 Senior PGA Championship.
Jacobs and his brother John teamed up with Roger Fredericks, to form Champions Corporate Golf Outings, which provides custom tailored golf events for small to medium size groups and corporations.
Personal life
Jacobs died on July 9, 2022, at the age of 87.
Professional wins (7)
PGA Tour wins (4)
::data[format=table] | No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 1 | Sep 14, 1958 | Denver Open | −14 (65-67-67-67=266) | 1 stroke | USA Ernie Vossler | | 2 | Jan 14, 1962 | San Diego Open Invitational | −7 (72-70-70-65=277) | Playoff | USA Johnny Pott | | 3 | Sep 8, 1963 | Utah Open | −12 (68-72-62-70=272) | 1 stroke | USA Don January | | 4 | Feb 2, 1964 | Palm Springs Golf Classic | −7 (66-74-74-69-70=353) | Playoff | USA Jimmy Demaret | ::
PGA Tour playoff record (2–2) ::data[format=table]
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1962 | San Diego Open Invitational | USA Johnny Pott | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1964 | Palm Springs Golf Classic | USA Jimmy Demaret | Won with par on second extra hole |
| 3 | 1966 | Masters Tournament | USA Gay Brewer, USA Jack Nicklaus | Nicklaus won 18-hole playoff; |
| Nicklaus: −2 (70), | ||||
| Jacobs: E (72), | ||||
| Brewer: +6 (78) | ||||
| 4 | 1969 | IVB-Philadelphia Golf Classic | USA Gay Brewer, USA Dave Hill, | |
| USA R. H. Sikes | Hill won with birdie on first extra hole | |||
| :: |
Source:
Other wins (3)
- 1971 Southern California PGA Championship
- 1972 Southern California PGA Championship
- 1976 Southern California PGA Championship
Results in major championships
Amateur ::data[format=table]
| Tournament | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 60 | |||
| U.S. Open | ||||
| British Amateur | R64 | |||
| :: |
Professional ::data[format=table]
| Tournament | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | |||
| U.S. Open | CUT | T10 | T59 | |
| PGA Championship | T14 | |||
| :: |
::data[format=table]
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T28 | CUT | T15 | 2 | CUT | CUT | ||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | T6 | T32 | 2 | T28 | CUT | CUT | CUT | ||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T23 | T8 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T67 | |||
| :: |
::data[format=table]
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | |||||||
| U.S. Open | |||||||
| PGA Championship | T61 | CUT | CUT | CUT | |||
| :: |
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1960 and 1964 PGA Championships)
R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Source for Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship, British Amateur, PGA Championship
Note: Jacobs never played in The Open Championship
Summary
::data[format=table]
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made | Totals | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 31 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 4 | |||||||||
| U.S. Open | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 6 | |||||||||
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 5 | |||||||||
| :: |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (1962 U.S. Open – 1963 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (five times)
Team appearances
- Ryder Cup: 1965 (winners)
- Diamondhead Cup: 1974 (winners)
References
References
- "Tommy Jacobs bio". Champions Corporate Golf Outings.
- "Tommy Jacobs". Golf Major Championships.
- Livsey, Laury. (July 11, 2022). "Tommy Jacobs passes away at age 87". PGA Tour.
- "Tommy Jacobs". PGA Tour.
- [http://www.masters.com/en_US/history/past_winners.html www.masters.com] {{Webarchive. link. (2010-03-26)
- [http://champsdatabase.usga.org/ USGA Championship Database] {{Webarchive. link. (2010-12-21)
- [http://www.opengolf.com/en/History/PreviousOpens.aspx?eventid=2003040&view= www.opengolf.com]
- [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19550602&printsec=frontpage&hl=en The Glasgow Herald, June 2, 1955, pg. 4.]
- [http://www.pgamediaguide.com/pgachampionship.cfm?pgachampid=year PGA Championship Media Guide]
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