# Jerry Pate

Jerome Kendrick Pate (born September 16, 1953) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions, formerly on the PGA Tour. As a 22-year-old rookie, he won the U.S. Open in 1976.

## Early life

Born in Macon, Georgia, Pate grew up in the panhandle of Florida at Pensacola.

## Amateur career

He attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and played on its Crimson Tide golf team. He had a distinguished amateur career with a win at the U.S. Amateur in 1974, and was a member of victorious U.S. teams at the Eisenhower Trophy competition later that year and for the Walker Cup in May 1975 at St Andrews in Scotland. A few weeks later, he tied Walker Cup teammate Jay Haas of Wake Forest for low amateur at the U.S. Open, finishing in a six-way tie for eighteenth place at Medinah, outside Chicago.

## Professional career

Pate turned professional in 1975. Late in the year he was the medalist at Fall 1975 PGA Tour Qualifying School. During his rookie season he won the 1976 U.S. Open. He also won the Canadian Open that year. Pate closed with a 63 (-7) to defeat runner-up Jack Nicklaus by four strokes. Pate was selected as the Rookie of the Year and Co-Player of the Year.
Six more tour victories followed in ensuing years as well as several other titles around the world. He was a member of the victorious Ryder Cup team in 1981, but shoulder injuries curtailed his career. His final win on the PGA Tour came at age 28. That final victory was at the 1982 Tournament Players Championship, the first held at TPC at Sawgrass. Pate celebrated by throwing course designer Pete Dye and PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman into the lake adjacent to the 18th green, then jumped in himself. He had also jumped in the water after a victory the previous June, after going nearly three years without a win.

### Later career

Pate later served as a golf broadcaster for ABC, CBS, and BBC. He also set up a golf course design practice and a turf and irrigation company. He designed the Kiva Dunes in 1995 and the Ol' Colony Golf Complex in 2000, which is the home course for the Alabama Crimson Tide golf team. In 2006, he earned his first Champions Tour win at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. Pate has been forced by health problems, including arthroscopic left-knee surgery in 2010, to begin limiting his Champions Tour appearances.

## Personal life

In the late 1990s, Pate returned to the University of Alabama to complete his bachelor's degree in administrative science. His daughter, Jenni, received her degree at the same graduation ceremony in 2001.

## Amateur wins

* 1974 U.S. Amateur

## Professional wins (15)
### PGA Tour wins (8)

* Legend
* Major championships (1)
* Players Championships (1)
* Other PGA Tour (6)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | Jun 20, 1976 | U.S. Open | 71-69-69-68=277 | −3 | 2 strokes | Al Geiberger, Tom Weiskopf |
| 2 | Jul 25, 1976 | Canadian Open | 69-67-68-63=267 | −13 | 4 strokes | Jack Nicklaus |
| 3 | Jan 9, 1977 | Phoenix Open | 67-67-70-73=277 | −7 | Playoff | Dave Stockton |
| 4 | Oct 23, 1977 | Southern Open | 64-67-69-66=266 | −14 | 7 strokes | Phil Hancock, Mac McLendon, Johnny Miller, Steve Taylor |
| 5 | Sep 10, 1978 | Southern Open (2) | 67-67-66-69=269 | −11 | 1 stroke | Phil Hancock |
| 6 | Jun 28, 1981 | Danny Thomas Memphis Classic | 69-70-66-69=274 | −14 | 2 strokes | Tom Kite, Bruce Lietzke |
| 7 | Oct 18, 1981 | Pensacola Open | 66-69-65-71=271 | −17 | 3 strokes | Steve Melnyk |
| 8 | Mar 21, 1982 | Tournament Players Championship | 70-73-70-67=280 | −8 | 2 strokes | Brad Bryant, Scott Simpson |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 1977 | Phoenix Open | Dave Stockton | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 1978 | PGA Championship | John Mahaffey, Tom Watson | Mahaffey won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 3 | 1980 | Sea Pines Heritage | Doug Tewell | Lost to par on first extra hole |

### PGA of Japan Tour wins (2)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | Oct 10, 1976 | Taiheiyo Club Masters | 70-70-68-71=279 | −5 | 2 strokes | Isao Aoki |
| 2 | Nov 9, 1980 | ABC Japan vs USA Golf Matches | 70-69-72-65=276 | −12 | 1 stroke | Tom Purtzer, Norio Suzuki |

### South American Golf Circuit wins (2)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
| 1 | Nov 23, 1980 | Brazil Open | 69-70-69-66=274 | −10 | Playoff | Manuel Piñero |
| 2 | Dec 13, 1981 | Colombian Open | 64-67-66-65=262 | −26 | 21 strokes | Luis Arevalo |

### Other wins (1)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
| 1 | Dec 4, 1977 | Pepsi-Cola Mixed Team Championship (with Hollis Stacy) | 61-70-69-70=270 | −18 | 1 stroke | Nancy Lopez and Curtis Strange |

### Champions Tour wins (2)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
| 1 | Feb 26, 2006 | Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am | 68-68-66=202 | −11 | 1 stroke | Morris Hatalsky, Hale Irwin, Mark James |
| 2 | Jan 27, 2008 | Turtle Bay Championship | 71-70-70=211 | −5 | 2 strokes | Fulton Allem, Jim Thorpe |
Champions Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
| 1 | 2005 | Senior PGA Championship | Dana Quigley, Mike Reid | Reid won with birdie on first extra hole |

## Major championships
### Wins (1)

| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runners-up |
| 1976 | U.S. Open | 2 shot deficit | −3 (71-69-69-68=277) | 2 strokes | Al Geiberger, Tom Weiskopf |

### Results timeline

| Tournament | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
| Masters Tournament | 37 | | T14 | T18 | T41 |
| U.S. Open | T18 LA | 1 | CUT | T16 | T2 |
| The Open Championship | | CUT | T15 | WD | T26 |
| PGA Championship | | T4 | 5 | T2 | T5 |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1989 |
| Masters Tournament | T6 | T5 | T3 | | | | | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T26 | CUT | CUT | | CUT | WD | CUT |
| The Open Championship | T16 | T19 | WD | | | | | |
| PGA Championship | T10 | T11 | T9 | T23 | CUT | | | |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 |
| Masters Tournament | | |
| U.S. Open | | CUT |
| The Open Championship | | |
| PGA Championship | CUT | |
| Tournament | 2001 |
| Masters Tournament | |
| U.S. Open | |
| The Open Championship | |
| PGA Championship | CUT |
| Tournament | 2011 |
| Masters Tournament | |
| U.S. Open | |
| The Open Championship | |
| PGA Championship | CUT |
LA = Low amateur CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1976 Open Championship) WD = withdrew "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 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| U.S. Open | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 5 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 8 |
| Totals | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 20 | 39 | 24 |
* Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1980 Open Championship – 1982 Masters)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

## The Players Championship
### Wins (1)

| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runners-up |
| 1982 | Tournament Players Championship | 3 shot deficit | −8 (70-73-70-67=280) | 2 strokes | Brad Bryant, Scott Simpson |

### Results timeline

| Tournament | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 |
| The Players Championship | T17 | T20 | CUT | T45 | 1 | | CUT | T64 | | | | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place.

## U.S. national team appearances

Amateur
* Eisenhower Trophy: 1974 (team winners and joint individual leader)
* Walker Cup: 1975 (winners)
Professional
* Ryder Cup: 1981 (winners)
* World Cup: 1976