Dan Pohl

Dan Pohl
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name Danny Joe Pohl
Nickname "Pohlcat"
Born (1955-04-01) April 1, 1955
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Phoenix, Arizona
Career
College University of Arizona
Turned professional 1977
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins 3
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament 2nd: 1982
U.S. Open T3: 1982
The Open Championship CUT: 1986
PGA Championship 3rd: 1981
Achievements and awards
Vardon Trophy 1987

Danny Joe Pohl (born April 1, 1955) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He won two PGA Tour tournaments (the 1986 Colonial and the 1986 World Series of Golf at Firestone Country Club) and tied Craig Stadler for first place in the 1982 Masters Tournament before losing in a playoff. Pohl competed for his country as a member of the 1987 Ryder Cup team at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

Amateur career

Born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, Pohl attended the University of Arizona in Tucson, and played for the Wildcats' golf team. He was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 1985. He is considered the greatest athlete ever produced by Mt. Pleasant High School, where he has been inducted into its Athletic Hall of Fame, earning All State honors in three sports (golf, baseball and basketball). He played high school golf for Steve Robbins, father of 9-time LPGA winner Kelly Robbins, who also coached PGA Tour player Doug LaBelle II and LPGA player Cindy Figg, all of whom followed Pohl. As a prep baseball player, Pohl was scouted by Major League teams and considered a top prospect as a pitcher/shortstop/outfielder. He was a star point guard on a prep basketball team that went undefeated (20-0) during his senior season. He twice won the Michigan Amateur Golf Championship (1975 and 1978). He was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.

Professional career

Pohl turned pro in 1977 and joined the PGA Tour in 1978. He won two tournaments on the PGA Tour during his career both of which came in 1986, when he finished fifth on the money list: the Colonial National Invitation and the NEC World Series of Golf. Pohl had 70 top-10 finishes including more than a dozen second or third place finishes. A highly ranked player in the world, his career was still ascending in 1987 when he posted the lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour and won the Vardon Trophy. The following year, Pohl began to suffer a series of injuries starting with low back surgery in 1987 that dramatically altered his competitiveness.

Pohl has seven top-10 finishes in major tournaments. His best finish in a major was 2nd at the 1982 Masters Tournament which he lost to Craig Stadler in a playoff. He also had a third place finish at the 1981 PGA Championship and a T-3 at the 1982 U.S. Open.[1]

In 1980, Pohl led the tour in driving average at 274.1 yards, and again in 1981 with a 280.1 yard average. He was a member of the 1987 Ryder Cup Team. He won the Vardon Trophy in 1987 and was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in May 2004.

Since turning 50 in April 2005, Pohl has played on the Champions Tour. His best finish at this level has been a T-3 at the 2005 Commerce Bank Long Island Classic. Following his back injury, Pohl served as an on-course TV golf analyst for NBC Sports working with Dick Enberg and Johnny Miller along with Roger Maltbie and others for several years. He has designed a golf course in Michigan, the PohlCat, in the town where he was born. He lives in Phoenix, Arizona, and enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time with his children Michelle, Joshua, and Taylor. He has a regular weekly radio show in Phoenix, "Arizona Golf" and is involved with Hopkins Golf as an executive in a golf club company founded by Greg Hopkins, the former CEO of Cleveland Golf.

Amateur wins

Professional wins

PGA Tour wins

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of victoryRunner-up
1 May 18, 1986 Colonial National Invitation −5 (68-69-68=205) Playoff United States Payne Stewart
2 Aug 24, 1986 NEC World Series of Golf −10 (69-66-71-71=277) 1 stroke United States Lanny Wadkins

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1982 Masters Tournament United States Craig Stadler Lost to par on first extra hole
2 1985 Canon Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open United States Phil Blackmar, United States Jodie Mudd Blackmar won with birdie on first extra hole
3 1986 Colonial National Invitation United States Payne Stewart Won with birdie on first extra hole

Major championship is shown in bold.

Other wins

Results in major championships

Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament DNP DNP 2 T8 T35 DNP T31 CUT T16 42
U.S. Open CUT DNP T3 CUT DNP CUT CUT T9 T12 T29
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP 3 T70 8 T39 T12 T26 T14 8 T24

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 1 0 1 2 3 7 6
U.S. Open 0 0 1 1 2 3 8 4
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
PGA Championship 0 0 1 1 3 6 9 9
Totals 0 1 2 3 7 12 25 19

U.S. national team appearances

References

  1. ↑ "Golf Major Championships".
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