Calvin Peete

Calvin Peete (July 18, 1943 – April 29, 2015) was an American professional golfer. He was the most successful African-American to have played on the PGA Tour, with 12 wins, prior to the emergence of Tiger Woods. Peete won the 1985 Tournament Players Championship and finished the season top-5 on the PGA Tour money list three times; 1982, 1983 and 1985. He was ranked in the top 10 players on the McCormack's World Golf Rankings in 1984.

Calvin Peete
Personal information
Full nameCalvin Peete
Born(1943-07-18)July 18, 1943
Detroit, Michigan
DiedApril 29, 2015(2015-04-29) (aged 71)
Atlanta, Georgia
Nationality United States
Career
Turned professional1975
Retired2001
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins14
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour12
Japan Golf Tour2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT11: 1986
PGA ChampionshipT3: 1982
U.S. OpenT4: 1983
The Open ChampionshipDNP
Achievements and awards
Vardon Trophy1984
Byron Nelson Award1984

Biography

Peete was born in Detroit. He played on the 1983 and 1985 U.S. Ryder Cup teams. He won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average in 1984. He was in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for several weeks when they debuted in 1986.[1]

Peete did not begin playing golf until he was in his 20s, but immediately excelled at a game most pros learn as young children. He learned the game while peddling goods to migrant workers in Rochester, New York, playing on the public course at Genesee Valley Park. Growing up poor, Peete suffered a badly broken arm that was never properly set.[2] He was the leader in driving accuracy on the PGA Tour for 10 straight years, 1981–90. Peete was inducted into the African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.[3]

Peete died of lung cancer, in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 29, 2015.[4] He was 71.

Family

Peete and his first wife, Christine, who divorced in 1987, are the parents of Charlotte, Calvin, Rickie, Dennise, Nicole and Kalvanetta Peete. He was married to Pepper Peete and had two daughters, Aisha and Aleya. He was a cousin of former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete and NFL coach Skip Peete.[5]

Professional wins (14)

PGA Tour wins (12)
Legend
Players Championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (11)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 Jul 15, 1979 Greater Milwaukee Open 69-67-68-65=269 −19 5 strokes Victor Regalado, Jim Simons,
Lee Trevino
2 Jul 11, 1982 Greater Milwaukee Open (2) 70-66-69-69=274 −14 2 strokes Victor Regalado
3 Jul 25, 1982 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic 66-68-69=203 −10 2 strokes Bruce Lietzke
4 Sep 5, 1982 B.C. Open 69-63-64-69=265 −19 7 strokes Jerry Pate
5 Oct 24, 1982 Pensacola Open 65-66-72-65=268 −16 7 strokes Dan Halldorson, Hal Sutton
6 May 22, 1983 Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic 68-75-63=206 −10 2 strokes Chip Beck, Jim Colbert,
Don Pooley
7 Jul 24, 1983 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic (2) 66-75-66-69=276 −8 1 stroke Tim Norris
8 Oct 7, 1984 Texas Open 67-67-66-66=266 −14 3 strokes Bruce Lietzke
9 Jan 20, 1985 Phoenix Open 65-65-72-68=270 −14 2 strokes Morris Hatalsky, Doug Tewell
10 Mar 31, 1985 Tournament Players Championship 70-69-69-66=274 −14 3 strokes D. A. Weibring
11 Jan 11, 1986 MONY Tournament of Champions 68-67-64-68=267 −21 6 strokes Mark O'Meara
12 Mar 23, 1986 USF&G Classic 68-67-66-68=269 −19 5 strokes Pat McGowan

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 1986 Houston Open Curtis Strange Lost to birdie on third extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runners-up
1 Nov 7, 1982 Gold Win Cup Japan vs USA 66-68=134 −10 Shared title with Bob Gilder
2 Nov 21, 1982 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament 73-69-67-72=281 −7 3 strokes Seve Ballesteros, Larry Nelson

Results in major championships
Tournament1976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988
Masters Tournament T19 T21 T30 49 T15 T31 T11 T33
U.S. Open T23 T11 T28 T14 T10 T4 T24 CUT
PGA Championship T42 T43 T3 T36 4 T18 T30 WD T38

Note: Peete never played in The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00000488
U.S. Open00012687
The Open Championship00000000
PGA Championship00122398
Totals00134132523
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 22 (1976 U.S. Open – 1987 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1982 U.S. Open – 1982 PGA)

The Players Championship

Wins (1)
YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
1985Tournament Players ChampionshipTied for lead−14 (70-69-69-66=274)3 strokes D. A. Weibring

Results timeline
Tournament 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995
The Players Championship CUT CUT CUT T70 T29 T41 T35 1 CUT CUT T16 CUT T46 76 WD CUT WD WD
  Win
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

U.S. national team appearances

References
  1. "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking" (PDF). Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  2. White Jr., Gordon S. (March 27, 1988). "Peete Returns to the Ranks of Leaders". The New York Times.
  3. 2002 United States Inductees Archived February 1, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. Livsey, Laury (April 29, 2015). "Players champion Peete passes away at age 71". PGA Tour.
  5. "Rodney Peete Profile: Personal Life". The Wealth Record. January 23, 2019.
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