Jim Benepe

Jim Benepe
Personal information
Full name James L. Benepe III
Born (1963-10-24) October 24, 1963
Sheridan, Wyoming
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight 150 lb (68 kg; 11 st)
Nationality  United States
Spouse Barbara
Career
College Northwestern University
Turned professional 1986
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Canadian Tour
Professional wins 3
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 1
Other 2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament CUT: 1989, 1991
U.S. Open T14: 1990
The Open Championship T28: 1988
PGA Championship CUT: 1988

James L. Benepe III (born October 24, 1963) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour.

Biography

Benepe was born, raised and lived most of his life in Sheridan, Wyoming. He attended Northwestern University[1] and was a first-team All-American in 1986 as well as the 1986 Big Ten Champion while a member of the golf team. He turned pro in 1986.

Benepe played his first full-year as a professional golfer, 1987, in Asia, on the Australian Tour and on the Canadian Tour. That year, he won the British Columbia Open in Canada; and was the winner of the Canadian Tour's Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year awards. In February 1988, he won Victorian Open in Melbourne, Australia. He joined the PGA Tour in 1988.[2]

Benepe won the 1988 Beatrice Western Open, the first PGA Tour event he ever played in. The tournament was held at Butler National GC in Oak Brook, Illinois that year, and he only got in through a last-minute sponsor exemption. Peter Jacobsen double bogied the 72nd hole, which gave Benepe the victory. It turned out to be his only career win in an official PGA Tour event. He won the PGA Tour's 1988 Rookie of the Year honors.[3] He is still the only person to win a PGA Tour event on his first attempt.

Benepe left the PGA Tour at the end of the 1991 season after struggling the previous several years with back problems and technical problems with his game. After leaving the Tour, he came home to Sheridan and began working in real estate sales and promotions. After a long hiatus, he began playing competitive tour golf again in the late 1990s in Australia, on the PGA Tour and in about 15 events per year on the Nationwide Tour.[4] Benepe finished 26th on the Nationwide Tour in 2001 with 6 top-10 finishes and 16th on the Australian Order of Merit.

Benepe was inducted into the Wyoming Sports & Wyoming State Golf Association Hall of Fames in 2006 and the Northwestern Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.[3]

Today he works in the corporate world consulting in various aviation arenas and lives in Sheridan, Wyoming with his wife.

Amateur wins (3)

  • 1982 Wyoming Stroke Play Championship, Western Junior
  • 1983 Wyoming State Match Play Championship

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner-up
1 Jul 3, 1988 Beatrice Western Open –10 (71-68-69-70=278) 1 stroke United States Peter Jacobsen

Other wins (2)

  • 1987 British Columbia Open (Canadian Tour)
  • 1988 Victorian Open (Australian Tour)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1988 1989
Masters Tournament CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship T28
PGA Championship CUT
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament CUT
U.S. Open T14 CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Jim Benepe profile". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Surprise Winner". The New York Times. July 5, 1988. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Wyoming State Golf Association Hall of Fame". Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Best of Both Worlds for Jim Benepe". Golf Today. Archived from the original on March 16, 2006.


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