Kite, "Tom" (Thomas O. Jr.)
Golf
b. Dec. 9, 1949, Austin, TX
Kite and his University of Texas teammate Ben Crenshaw tied for the NCAA golf championship in 1972. He joined the PGA tour late that year and was named the tour's rookie of the year in 1973.
He spent 18 years on the tour before he won a major tournament, but Kite was the PGA's top money winner in 1981 and 1989. He won the 1981 Vardon Trophy for the fewest strokes per round, 69.80, and he was named player of the year in 1989, when he won the Tournament Players Championship.
The 5-foot-8, 155-pounder was often called "the best player who never won a major tournament" until 1992, when he won the U. S. Open at Pebble Beach. Asked afterward how he would describe his emotions, Kite replied, "I don't know. We're talking about dreams that have been around many, many years. And there are an awful lot of dreams left."
Kite began playing on the PGA senior tour in 2000 and he won one of the tour's major championships, the Tradition, that year. He ranks 19th among all-time PGA money winners with $10,865,959.