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Dan Pohl

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Dan Pohl
Pohl in 2021
Personal information
Full nameDanny Joe Pohl
NicknamePohlcat
Born (1955-04-01) April 1, 1955 (age 69)
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidencePhoenix, Arizona
Career
CollegeUniversity of Arizona
Turned professional1977
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins3
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament2nd: 1982
PGA Championship3rd: 1981
U.S. OpenT3: 1982
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 1986
Achievements and awards
Vardon Trophy1987

Danny Joe Pohl (born April 1, 1955) is an American professional golfer. Pohl played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He won two PGA Tour tournaments, both in 1986: the Colonial and the World Series of Golf. However, Pohl may be best known for finishing second place at the 1982 Masters Tournament, losing to Craig Stadler in a playoff. Pohl also qualified for the 1987 Ryder Cup representing the American team.

Early life

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Born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. 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). As a prep baseball player, Pohl was scouted by Major League teams. He was a star point guard on a prep basketball team that went undefeated (20-0) during his senior season.

Amateur career

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Pohl attended the University of Arizona and played for the Wildcats' golf team. Pohl twice won the Michigan Amateur Golf Championship in 1975 and 1977.

Professional career

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Pohl turned pro in 1977 and joined the PGA Tour in 1978. Early in his career, Pohl was one of the top drivers on tour leading the tour in driving distance in 1980 and 1981. During this era, Pohl had much success at the major tournaments. He had a third-place finish at the 1981 PGA Championship. This qualified him for the 1982 Masters Tournament. Pohl finished the tournament tied with Craig Stadler at the end of regulation. Stadler defeated him in the playoff. A few months later he recorded a T-3 at the 1982 U.S. Open.[1]

He won two tournaments on the PGA Tour during his career both of which came in 1986: the Colonial National Invitation and the NEC World Series of Golf. Pohl finished fifth on the money list that year. 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 that dramatically altered his competitiveness. He was a member of the 1987 Ryder Cup Team.

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.

Awards and honors

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  • Inducted into Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 1985
  • Won the PGA Tour's Vardon Trophy in 1987
  • Inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame in 2004

Amateur wins

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  • 1975 Michigan Amateur
  • 1977 Michigan Amateur

Professional wins (3)

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PGA Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-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

*Note: The 1986 Colonial National Invitation was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(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

Other wins (1)

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  • 1988 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Championship (with Dan Marino)

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament 2 T8 T35 T31 CUT T16 42
U.S. Open CUT T3 CUT CUT CUT T9 T12 T29
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship 3 T70 8 T39 T12 T26 T14 8 T24
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Summary

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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
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1987 U.S. Open – 1989 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (1981 PGA – 1982 U.S. Open)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
The Players Championship T8 T45 WD CUT T8 74 CUT T7 T8 T50 CUT T35 WD CUT T68 T62
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

U.S. national team appearances

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Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Golf Major Championships".
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