Don Pooley
Personal information
Full name	Sheldon George Pooley Jr.
Nickname	Don
Born	(1951-08-27) August 27, 1951 (age 72) Phoenix, Arizona
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Tucson, Arizona
Career
College	University of Arizona
Turned professional	1973
Current tour(s)	Champions Tour
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	7
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	2
PGA Tour Champions	2
Other	3
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament	T5: 1988
PGA Championship	T5: 1987
U.S. Open	T15: 1985
The Open Championship	T16: 1988
Achievements and awards
Byron Nelson Award 1985 Vardon Trophy 1985 Champions Tour Comeback Player of the Year 2003

Sheldon George "Don" Pooley Jr. (born August 27, 1951) is an American professional golfer. He has won tournaments on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.

Early life and amateur career

Pooley was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He grew up in Riverside, California. He attended the University of Arizona in Tucson, where he was a member of the golf team.

Professional career

Pooley turned pro in 1973. Despite winning the 1980 B.C. Open and the 1987 Memorial Tournament, Pooley is probably best remembered in his PGA Tour career for his dramatic million-dollar hole-in-one at the 1987 Bay Hill Classic. Pooley received $500,000 as did Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women in Orlando, Florida because of this once-in-a-lifetime shot.^[1] In 1985, he won the Vardon Trophy, awarded annually by the PGA to the Tour leader in scoring average. His best finish in a major was T-5 in consecutive major championships: the 1987 PGA Championship and the 1988 Masters Tournament.^[2]

Late in his PGA Tour career, Pooley began to experience many debilitating ailments, and missed several years of playing time as a result; however, he enjoyed a resurgence in his career after turning 50 in August 2001 when he began play on the Champions Tour. The biggest win in his golf career was his first on the Champions Tour. In 2002, he won on the biggest stage in men's senior golf, the U.S. Senior Open. Pooley was inducted into the Pima County (Arizona) Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Aug 31, 1980	B.C. Open	−17 (68-69-66-68=271)	1 stroke	Peter Jacobsen
2	May 31, 1987	Memorial Tournament	−16 (70-67-65-70=272)	3 strokes	Curt Byrum

Other wins (3)

• 1983 Jerry Ford Invitational (tie with Gil Morgan)
• 1989 Ebel Match Play
• 1992 Amoco Centel Championship

Champions Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 30, 2002	U.S. Senior Open	−10 (71-70-63-70=274)	Playoff	Tom Watson
2	Aug 24, 2003	Allianz Championship	−13 (66-67-67=200)	3 strokes	Bruce Fleisher, Bruce Lietzke, Jim Thorpe

Champions Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	2002	U.S. Senior Open	Tom Watson	Won with birdie on fifth extra hole after three-hole aggregate playoff; Pooley: E (4-4-4=12), Watson: E (4-4-4=12)
2	2005	Boeing Classic	Mark McNulty, Tom Purtzer	McNulty won with birdie on second extra hole
3	2009	AT&T Classic	Dan Forsman	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (1982 PGA – 1988 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1987 PGA – 1988 Masters)

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
2002	U.S. Senior Open	−10 (71-70-63-70=274)	Playoff1	Tom Watson

¹ In the three-hole aggregate playoff, Pooley and Watson tied with three pars each.
  On the second sudden-death hole, Pooley won with a birdie to Watson's par.^[3][4]

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2012.

The Senior British Open was not a Champions Tour major until 2003.

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