Dow Finsterwald

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Dow Finsterwald

| image = Dow Finsterwald 1960.jpg

| caption = Finsterwald in 1960

| fullname = Dow Henry Finsterwald

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1929|9|6}}

| birth_place = Athens, Ohio, U.S.

| death_date = {{nowrap|{{Death date and age|2022|11|4|1929|9|6}}}}

| death_place = Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=11}}

| weight = {{convert|160|lb|kg st|abbr=on}}

| nationality = {{USA}}

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| college = Ohio University

| yearpro = 1951

| extour = PGA Tour
Senior PGA Tour

| prowins = 13

| pgawins = 11

| otherwins = 2

| majorwins = 1

| masters = 3rd: 1960, 1962

| usopen = T3: 1960

| open = DNP

| pga = Won: 1958

| wghofid =

| wghofyear =

| award1 = Vardon Trophy

| year1 = 1957

| award2 = PGA Player of the Year

| year2 = 1958

| awardssection =

}}

Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. (September 6, 1929 – November 4, 2022){{cite news |url=https://www.golfchannel.com/news/dow-finsterwald-1958-pga-champion-dies-age-93 |title=Dow Finsterwald, 1958 PGA champion, dies at age 93 |work=Golf Channel |first=Doug |last=Ferguson |date=November 5, 2022}}{{cite web |url=https://www.pgatour.com/news/2022/11/05/dow-finsterwald-11-pga-tour-wins-pga-champion-1958-dies-at-age-93.html |title=Dow Finsterwald, 11-time PGA Tour winner, dies at age 93 |publisher=PGA Tour |date=November 5, 2022}} was an American professional golfer who is best known for winning the 1958 PGA Championship. He won 11 Tour titles between 1955 and 1963, played on four Ryder Cup teams, and served as non-playing captain for the 1977 U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Early life and amateur career

Finsterwald was born and raised in Athens, Ohio. He attended Ohio University in his hometown, where he played on the golf team and graduated in the Class of 1952. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity while at OU. In 1969, he was inducted into the Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame joining his father, Russ Finsterwald, who was in the first class of inductees as a football player, and later basketball and football head coach.{{cite web |url=http://ohiobobcats.cstv.com/hallfame/ohio-hallfame.html |title=Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame site |access-date=November 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222105918/http://ohiobobcats.cstv.com/hallfame/ohio-hallfame.html |archive-date=February 22, 2009 |url-status=dead }}

Professional career

Finsterwald turned professional in 1951 and won 11 times on the PGA Tour during his career. He finished fifth or better more than 50 times in his career. He played on four Ryder Cup Teams (1957, 1959, 1961, 1963) and was the non-playing captain of the 1977 team. He won the Vardon Trophy in 1957, which is awarded to the tour professional with the lowest scoring average. In 1958, he was honored as PGA Player of the Year.{{cite journal |title=Dow Getting His Due |last=Baines |first=Gary |date=February 28, 2008 |journal=Colorado Golf Journal |url=http://www.coloradogolfjournal.com/Colorado_Golf_Journal/Dow_Finsterwald.html |access-date=April 7, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708175536/http://www.coloradogolfjournal.com/Colorado_Golf_Journal/Dow_Finsterwald.html |archive-date=July 8, 2011}} Finsterwald finished in the money in 72 consecutive tournaments – second only to Byron Nelson's 113 consecutive cuts. This record stood for many years until eclipsed by Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin and Tiger Woods; however, he is still fifth on the list as of 2019.

The 1958 PGA Championship was held at Llanerch Country Club in Havertown, Pennsylvania. This was the first PGA Championship held after the format was switched from match play to stroke play. Finsterwald finished the tournament with a two-stroke victory over Billy Casper.{{cite web |url=http://www.pga.com/pgachampionship/2004/history_1958.html |title=Year by Year History of the PGA Championship – 1958: Bolt was an angel, Dow was a terror |publisher=PGA of America |access-date=November 21, 2013}} Four years later, Finsterwald and Gary Player lost the 1962 Masters in a playoff to Arnold Palmer.

Finsterwald was once involved in litigation in which a plaintiff claimed she lost the sight in her right eye as a result of an errant tee shot he hit at the 18th hole at the 1973 Western Open. A jury found Finsterwald not liable; however, Midlothian (Illinois) Country Club's insurers had to pay the woman about $450,000.{{cite web |url=https://www.cliffordlaw.com/|title=Getting Teed off Over Golf Balls |first=Robert A. |last=Clifford |date=May 1, 1996 |access-date=November 21, 2013}} Finsterwald served as director of golf at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado for 28 years. He simultaneously served as PGA of America vice-president from 1976–1978; and on the USGA Rules of Golf committee from 1979-1981. He was also the Pro Emeritus of the Pikewood National Golf Club, based in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Finsterwald was honored by fellow Ohio native Jack Nicklaus at the 2007 Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. In 2008, he was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. Finsterwald lived in Orlando, Florida during the winter and Colorado Springs during the summer.

Professional wins (13)

=PGA Tour wins (11)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

! Legend

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

| Major championships (1)

Other PGA Tour (10)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No.!!Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!Margin of victory!!Runner(s)-up
align=center\|1	align=right\|May 29, 1955	Fort Wayne Invitational	−19 (65-66-71-67=269)	3 strokes	{{flagicon\|USA}} Doug Ford
align=center\|2	align=right\|May 13, 1956	Carling Open Invitational	−14 (65-71-69-69=274)	3 strokes	{{flagicon\|USA}} Jack Burke Jr., {{flagicon\|USA}} Billy Casper, {{flagicon\|USA}} Billy Maxwell
align=center\|3	align=right\|Feb 11, 1957	Tucson Open Invitational	−11 (68-67-66-68=269)	Playoff	{{flagicon\|USA}} Don Whitt
style="background:#e5d1cb;" \| align=center\|4	align=right\|Jul 20, 1958	PGA Championship	−4 (67-72-70-67=276)	2 strokes	{{flagicon\|USA}} Billy Casper
align=center\|5	align=right\|Sep 8, 1958	Utah Open	−17 (69-65-67-66=267)	1 stroke	{{flagicon\|USA}} Fred Hawkins, {{flagicon\|USA}} Arnold Palmer
align=center\|6	align=right\|Apr 12, 1959	Greater Greensboro Open	−6 (68-68-65-77=278)	2 strokes	{{flagicon\|USA}} Art Wall Jr.
align=center\|7	align=right\|Aug 9, 1959	Carling Open Invitational (2)	−8 (74-68-66-68=276)	1 stroke	{{flagicon\|USA}} Gene Littler, {{flagicon\|USA}} Mike Souchak
align=center\|8	align=right\|Sep 7, 1959	Kansas City Open Invitational	−13 (68-69-69-69=275)	Playoff	{{flagicon\|USA}} Don Fairfield
align=center\|9	align=right\|Jan 11, 1960	Los Angeles Open	−4 (70-68-71-71=280)	3 strokes	{{flagicon\|USA}} Bill Collins, {{flagicon\|USA}} Jay Hebert, {{flagicon\|USA}} Dave Ragan
align=center\|10	align=right\|Apr 24, 1960	Greater New Orleans Open Invitational	−18 (69-66-66-69=270)	6 strokes	{{flagicon\|USA}} Al Besselink
align=center\|11	align=right\|Jun 3, 1963	500 Festival Open Invitation	−16 (68-68-64-68=268)	2 strokes	{{flagicon\|USA}} Tommy Aaron, {{flagicon\|USA}} Julius Boros, {{flagicon\|USA}} Tony Lema, {{flagicon\|USA}} Bobby Nichols

PGA Tour playoff record (2–4)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent(s)!!Result

style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|1

|1956

|Canadian Open

|{{flagicon|USA}} Doug Sanders

|Lost to par on first extra hole

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|2

|1957

|Tucson Open Invitational

|{{flagicon|USA}} Don Whitt

|Won 18-hole playoff;
Finsterwald: −5 (65),
Whitt: −1 (69)

style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|3

|1958

|Rubber City Open Invitational

|{{flagicon|USA}} Art Wall Jr.

|Lost to birdie on second extra hole

style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|4

|1959

|Buick Open Invitational

|{{flagicon|USA}} Art Wall Jr.

|Lost 18-hole playoff;
Wall: −1 (71),
Finsterwald: +1 (73)

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|5

|1959

|Kansas City Open Invitational

|{{flagicon|USA}} Don Fairfield

|Won with birdie on first extra hole

style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|6

|1962

|Masters Tournament

|{{flagicon|USA}} Arnold Palmer, {{flagicon|ZAF|1928}} Gary Player

|Palmer won 18-hole playoff;
Palmer: −4 (68),
Player: −1 (71),
Finsterwald: +5 (77)

=Other wins (2)=

This list may be incomplete

1954 Carolinas Open
1955 British Columbia Open

Major championships

File:Dow Finsterwald 1959.jpg]]

=Wins (1)=

class="wikitable"

!Year!!Championship!!54 holes!!Winning score!!Margin!!Runner-up

style="background:#D8BFD8;"

| 1958

PGA Championship

2 shot deficit

−4 (67-72-70-67=276)

2 strokes

{{flagicon|USA|1912}} Billy Casper

=Results timeline=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1950

!1951

!1952

!1953

!1954

!1955

!1956

!1957

!1958

!1959

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T50

|T46

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T24

|style="background:yellow;"|T7

|T17

|T18

align=left|U.S. Open

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T28

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T13

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T11

align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|2

|style="background:lime;"|1

|style="background:yellow;"|4

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1960

!1961

!1962

!1963

!1964

!1965

!1966

!1967

!1968

!1969

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:yellow;"|3

|CUT

|style="background:yellow;"|3

|style="background:yellow;"|T5

|style="background:yellow;"|T9

|T21

|T57

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|style="background:yellow;"|T3

|style="background:yellow;"|T6

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T12

|style="background:yellow;"|8

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|T65

align=left|PGA Championship

|T15

|T41

|T11

|style="background:yellow;"|T3

|CUT

|T63

|T12

|T60

|T48

|T76

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1970

!1971

!1972

!1973

!1974

!1975

!1976

!1977

!1978

!1979

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|PGA Championship

|CUT

|T58

|CUT

|T70

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|70

|CUT

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1980

!1981

!1982

!1983

!1984

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|PGA Championship

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

Note: Finsterwald never played in The Open Championship.

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

=Summary=

Totals	1	1	4	8	12	22	53	35
class=wikitable style=text-align:center !Tournament !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top-5 !! Top-10 !! Top-25 !! Events !! Cuts made
align=left\|Masters Tournament	0	0	2	3	5	9	14	12
align=left\|U.S. Open	0	0	1	1	3	6	15	8
align=left\|The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
align=left\|PGA Championship	1	1	1	4	4	7	24	15