Dow Finsterwald


Dow Henry Finsterwald, Sr. is an American retired 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. 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.

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 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. 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. 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 Country Club's insurers had to pay the woman about $450,000. 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 is 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 lives in Orlando, Florida during the winter and Colorado Springs during the summer.

Professional wins (13)

PGA Tour wins (11)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1May 29, 1955Fort Wayne Invitational−19 3 strokes Doug Ford
2May 13, 1956Carling Open Invitational−14 3 strokes Jack Burke Jr., Billy Casper,
Billy Maxwell
3Feb 11, 1957Tucson Open Invitational−11 Playoff Don Whitt
4Jul 20, 1958PGA Championship−4 2 strokes Billy Casper
5Sep 8, 1958Utah Open−17 1 stroke Fred Hawkins, Arnold Palmer
6Apr 12, 1959Greater Greensboro Open−6 2 strokes Art Wall Jr.
7Aug 9, 1959Carling Open Invitational −8 1 stroke Gene Littler, Mike Souchak
8Sep 7, 1959Kansas City Open Invitational−13 Playoff Don Fairfield
9Jan 11, 1960Los Angeles Open−4 3 strokes Bill Collins, Jay Hebert,
Dave Ragan
10Apr 24, 1960Greater New Orleans Open Invitational−18 6 strokes Al Besselink
11Jun 3, 1963500 Festival Open Invitation−16 2 strokes Tommy Aaron, Julius Boros,
Tony Lema, Bobby Nichols

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11956Canadian Open Doug SandersLost to par on first extra hole
21957Tucson Open Invitational Don WhittWon 18 hole playoff;
Finsterwald: −5,
Whitt: −1
31958Rubber City Open Invitational Art Wall Jr.Lost to birdie on second extra hole
41959Buick Open Invitational Art Wall Jr.Lost 18 hole playoff;
Wall: −1,
Finsterwald: +1
51959Kansas City Open Invitational Don FairfieldWon with birdie on first extra hole
61962Masters Tournament Arnold Palmer, Gary PlayerPalmer won 18-hole playoff;
Palmer: −4,
Player: −1,
Finsterwald: +5

Other wins (2)

this list may be incomplete

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Note: Finsterwald never played in The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary