James Joseph Colbert (born March 9, 1941) is an American professional golfer.

Jim Colbert
Personal information
Full nameJames Joseph Colbert
Born (1941-03-09) March 9, 1941 (age 83)
Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.[1]
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceLas Vegas, Nevada, U.S.[1]
Career
CollegeKansas State University
Turned professional1965
Current tour(s)Champions Tour
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins35
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour8
PGA Tour Champions20 (Tied-10th all-time)
Other6 (regular)
1 (senior)
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT4: 1974
PGA ChampionshipT12: 1973
U.S. OpenT3: 1971
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 1984
Achievements and awards
Senior PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year
1991
Senior PGA Tour
money list winner
1995, 1996
Senior PGA Tour
Player of the Year
1995, 1996
Senior PGA Tour
Comeback Player of the Year
1998

Colbert was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey.[1] He attended Kansas State University,[1] where he finished second in the NCAA golf championships in 1964, before graduating and turning professional in 1965.

Colbert won eight times on the PGA Tour, including twice in 1983 when he finished a career best fifteenth on the money list. As a senior Colbert has won 20 tournaments on the Champions Tour, including a senior major championship, the 1993 Senior Players Championship.

Colbert has worked as a golf analyst for ESPN and has his own golf course management company based in Pahrump, Nevada.[2] He also helped design a golf course in Manhattan, Kansas, named Colbert Hills, which was ranked by Golfweek as the best public course in Kansas,[3] and by Golf Digest as the eighth-best course overall in the state.[4]

Colbert was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.

Thoroughbred racing

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With an interest in thoroughbred racing, in 1993 Colbert purchased a racemare named Fit to Lead in partnership with Connie Sczesny and the Chairman of Hollywood Park Racetrack, Randall D. Hubbard. Trained by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Richard Mandella for the three partners, Fit to Lead won several graded stakes including the Princess Stakes at Hollywood Park plus at Churchill Downs, the Fleur de Lis Stakes and Louisville Budweiser Breeders' Cup Handicap.[5][6]

Professional wins (35)

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PGA Tour wins (8)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Mar 18, 1969 Monsanto Open Invitational −17 (69-67-64-67=267) 2 strokes   Deane Beman
2 Jul 16, 1972 Greater Milwaukee Open −13 (66-67-69-69=271) 1 stroke   Buddy Allin,   Chuck Courtney,
  George Johnson,   Grier Jones
3 Mar 18, 1973 Greater Jacksonville Open −9 (70-65-71-73=279) 1 stroke   Lou Graham,   Johnny Miller,
  Dan Sikes,   Jim Wiechers
4 Jun 23, 1974 American Golf Classic +1 (70-67-74-70=281) Playoff   Gay Brewer,   Forrest Fezler,
  Raymond Floyd
5 Oct 26, 1975 Walt Disney World National Team Championship
(with   Dean Refram)
−36 (63-63-62-64=252) 3 strokes   Bobby Cole and   John Schlee,
  Victor Regalado and   Charlie Sifford
6 Feb 19, 1980 Joe Garagiola-Tucson Open −22 (66-68-66-70=270) 4 strokes   Dan Halldorson
7 May 15, 1983 Colonial National Invitation −2 (69-67-70-72=278) Playoff   Fuzzy Zoeller
8 Oct 2, 1983 Texas Open −19 (66-62-66-67=261) 5 strokes   Mark Pfeil

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1974 American Golf Classic   Gay Brewer,   Forrest Fezler,
  Raymond Floyd
Won with par on second extra hole
Brewer and Fezler eliminated by par on first hole
2 1983 Colonial National Invitation   Fuzzy Zoeller Won with par on sixth extra hole

Other wins (1)

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Senior PGA Tour wins (20)

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Legend
Senior PGA Tour major championships (1)
Tour Championships (1)
Other Senior PGA Tour (18)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Jun 30, 1991 Southwestern Bell Classic −9 (66-67-68=201) 3 strokes   Al Geiberger,   Larry Laoretti
2 Oct 6, 1991 Vantage Championship −11 (68-70-67=205) 1 stroke   George Archer,   Jim Dent,
  Gibby Gilbert
3 Dec 8, 1991 First Development Kaanapali Classic −15 (66-61-68=195) 2 strokes   Dale Douglass
4 Feb 16, 1992 GTE Suncoast Classic −13 (66-70-64=200) Playoff   George Archer
5 Oct 4, 1992 Vantage Championship (2) −12 (65-67=132)* 2 strokes   Jim Dent
6 Feb 7, 1993 Royal Caribbean Classic −14 (65-64-70=199) 1 stroke   Raymond Floyd,   Al Geiberger
7 Jun 27, 1993 Ford Senior Players Championship −10 (67-72-70-69=278) 1 stroke   Raymond Floyd
8 Jul 10, 1994 Kroger Senior Classic −14 (66-64-69=199) 2 strokes   Raymond Floyd
9 Jul 25, 1994 Southwestern Bell Classic (2) −14 (68-63-65=196) 2 strokes   Isao Aoki,   Larry Gilbert
10 Jan 15, 1995 Senior Tournament of Champions −7 (72-66-71=209) Playoff   Jim Albus
11 Apr 30, 1995 Las Vegas Senior Classic −11 (65-71-69=205) 2 strokes   Jim Dent,   Raymond Floyd,
  Rocky Thompson
12 May 21, 1995 Bell Atlantic Classic −3 (68-71-68=207) 1 stroke   J. C. Snead
13 Nov 6, 1995 Energizer Senior Tour Championship −6 (68-69-71-74=282) 1 stroke   Raymond Floyd
14 Mar 17, 1996 Toshiba Senior Classic −12 (68-65-68=201) 2 strokes   Bob Eastwood
15 Apr 28, 1996 Las Vegas Senior Classic (2) −9 (63-74-70=207) Playoff   Bob Charles,   Dave Stockton
16 May 12, 1996 Nationwide Championship −10 (71-66-69=206) 3 strokes   Isao Aoki
17 Sep 29, 1996 Vantage Championship (3) −9 (65-70-69=204) 1 stroke   Hale Irwin,   Gary Player
18 Oct 20, 1996 Raley's Gold Rush Classic −14 (67-68-67=202) 5 strokes   Dave Stockton
19 Oct 11, 1998 The Transamerica −11 (70-68-67=205) 1 stroke   David Lundstrom
20 Mar 11, 2001 SBC Senior Classic −12 (67-67-70=204) 1 stroke   José María Cañizares

*Note: The 1992 Vantage Championship was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (3–5)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1991 Murata Reunion Pro-Am   Chi-Chi Rodríguez Lost to par on fourth extra hole
2 1992 GTE Suncoast Classic   George Archer Won with birdie on fourth extra hole
3 1992 Vintage ARCO Invitational   Tommy Aaron,   Mike Hill Hill won with birdie on first extra hole
4 1993 First of America Classic   George Archer,   Chi-Chi Rodríguez Archer won with par on third extra hole
Rodríguez eliminated by par on first hole
5 1994 GTE West Classic   Jay Sigel Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
6 1995 Senior Tournament of Champions   Jim Albus Won with birdie on third extra hole
7 1996 Las Vegas Senior Classic   Bob Charles,   Dave Stockton Won with par on fourth extra hole
Charles eliminated by par on first hole
8 1998 Cadillac NFL Golf Classic   Bob Dickson,   Larry Nelson Dickson won with birdie on first extra hole

Other senior wins (6)

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Results in major championships

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Tournament 1967 1968 1969
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship WD
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament CUT T43 T4 CUT T12 T14 T32
U.S. Open CUT T3 T63 10 T5 CUT T55 CUT T41
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT T46 CUT T12 T28 T28 T57 69 T46
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987
Masters Tournament T14 T25 CUT
U.S. Open T47 T26 WD T38 CUT
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship T30 T56 T16 T36 T25 CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1984 Open Championship)
"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 0 0 1 1 5 10 7
U.S. Open 0 0 1 2 3 3 16 9
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 3 17 12
Totals 0 0 1 3 4 11 44 28
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1978 PGA – 1982 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1974 Masters – 1974 U.S. Open)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987
The Players Championship CUT WD T43 CUT 8 T28 T14 T4 CUT 66 T20 T33 T21 WD
  Top 10

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

Champions Tour major championships

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Wins (1)

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Year Championship Winning score Margin Runner-up
1993 Ford Senior Players Championship −10 (67-72-70-69=278) 1 stroke   Raymond Floyd

U.S. national team appearances

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Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "PGA Tour profile". Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  2. ^ "Colbert Golf". Archived from the original on July 18, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  3. ^ "Golfweek's Best: State by State Public-access Courses". Golfweek. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007.
  4. ^ "Kansas: Best In State Rankings". Golf Digest. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  5. ^ "Hollywood Park : Fit To Lead Wins; Eliza a Poor Fourth". Los Angeles Times. June 20, 1993. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  6. ^ "Louisville Budweiser Breeders' Cup". Daily Herald. May 6, 1995. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
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