# Don Pooley

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. 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.
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)

* Legend
* Senior major championships (1)
* Other Champions Tour (1)
| 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

| Tournament | 1977 | 1978 |
| Masters Tournament | | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | | |
| PGA Championship | | CUT |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
| Masters Tournament | | T19 | CUT | | | | 41 | T45 | T5 | T14 |
| U.S. Open | | CUT | CUT | | | T15 | T24 | T24 | CUT | T26 |
| The Open Championship | | | | | | | | | T16 | T19 |
| PGA Championship | T46 | T19 | T67 | T23 | T34 | T62 | T16 | T5 | T58 | T34 |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1995 | 1997 | 1998 |
| Masters Tournament | T42 | T46 | | | | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | | T44 | | | CUT |
| The Open Championship | T39 | | | T101 | | |
| PGA Championship | T8 | T73 | | CUT | T29 | |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2003 |
| Masters Tournament | | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT |
| The Open Championship | | |
| PGA Championship | | |
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 7 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 5 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 13 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 40 | 29 |
* 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) | Playoff$^1$ | 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.

### Results timeline

Results not in chronological order before 2012.
| Tournament | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2013 |
| Senior PGA Championship | T18 | CUT | | T54 | T57 | WD | T6 | T28 | T23 | | |
| The Tradition | T9 | T14 | T53 | T36 | T9 | T40 | 46 | T8 | T29 | WD | T66 |
| Senior Players Championship | T22 | T40 | T13 | T18 | T11 | T23 | T27 | T34 | T57 | | |
| U.S. Senior Open | 1 | T43 | T15 | T22 | T51 | | T18 | T47 | T40 | | T47 |
| Senior British Open Championship | – | T27 | T5 | | T13 | | | T8 | | | |
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