Early years

Bean was born in LaFayette, Georgia in 1953, and raised in Jekyll Island, Georgia, where his father was associated with a golf course. His family moved to Lakeland, Florida when he was 15, and his father bought a golf course there.

College career

He attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he became a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity (Florida Upsilon Chapter) and played for coach Buster Bishop's Florida Gators men's golf team from 1972 to 1975. While he was a Florida student, he won four amateur tournaments. Bean and future fellow PGA Tour players Woody Blackburn, Phil Hancock and Gary Koch were members of the Gators' 1973 team that won the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and NCAA Championships. He was a first-team All-SEC selection in 1973 and 1975, and an All-American in 1973, 1974 and 1975. He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in marketing in 1975, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1978.

Professional career

Bean turned professional in 1975 and had a very successful career on the PGA Tour. He finished inside the top 35 on the money list from 1977 to 1986, a stretch that included 5 top-seven finishes on the list. His first PGA Tour victory was at the Doral-Eastern Open in 1977, and his last was at the Byron Nelson Golf Classic in 1986. In 1978 he won three times. Bean played on the United States Ryder Cup team in 1979 and 1987 and spent several weeks ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings in 1986 and 1987.

Bean never won a major championship but he came close three times. He had a solo second-place finish behind Jack Nicklaus at the 1980 PGA Championship. At the 1983 British Open, Bean and Hale Irwin finished tied for second, one stroke behind Tom Watson; and in the 1989 PGA Championship Bean, Mike Reid and Curtis Strange tied for second, one stroke behind Payne Stewart.

After turning 50 years old in March 2003 Bean enjoyed a resurgence of his game on the Champions Tour, where he won for the first time at the 2006 Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn. In May 2008, he added a second Champions Tour title with a victory in the Regions Charity Classic. He won the season ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in 2008 at Sonoma, California, winning by nine shots over Gene Jones with a tournament record 20 under par total.

Bean was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.

Personal

Bean lives in Lakeland, Florida, where he enjoys hunting and fishing. He and his wife Debbie have three grown daughters: Lauren, Lindsay, and Jordan.

Amateur wins (4)

• 1974 Eastern Amateur, Falstaff Amateur
• 1975 Dixie Amateur, Western Amateur

Professional wins (18)

PGA Tour wins (11)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Mar 13, 1977	Doral-Eastern Open	−11 (67-67-71-72=277)	1 stroke	David Graham
2	Jun 4, 1978	Kemper Open	−15 (72-67-68-66=273)	5 strokes	Mark Hayes, Andy North
3	Jun 11, 1978	Danny Thomas Memphis Classic	−11 (70-68-69-70=277)	Playoff	Lee Trevino
4	Jul 2, 1978	Western Open	−6 (70-71-75-66=282)	Playoff	Bill Rogers
5	Jun 10, 1979	Atlanta Classic	−23 (70-67-61-67=265)	8 strokes	Joe Inman
6	Feb 10, 1980	Hawaiian Open	−22 (71-63-66-66=266)	3 strokes	Lee Trevino
7	Mar 1, 1981	Bay Hill Classic	−18 (68-62-67-69=266)	7 strokes	Tom Watson
8	Feb 28, 1982	Doral-Eastern Open	−10 (68-69-72-69=278)	1 stroke	Scott Hoch, Mike Nicolette, Jerry Pate
9	Apr 8, 1984	Greater Greensboro Open	−8 (71-67-72-70=280)	2 strokes	George Archer
10	Mar 9, 1986	Doral-Eastern Open	−12 (71-68-68-69=276)	Playoff	Hubert Green
11	May 11, 1986	Byron Nelson Golf Classic	−11 (66-68-67-68=269)	1 stroke	Mark Wiebe

PGA Tour playoff record (3-3)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1978	Danny Thomas Memphis Classic	Lee Trevino	Won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1978	Western Open	Bill Rogers	Won with par on first extra hole
3	1979	Bing Crosby National Pro-Am	Mark Hayes, Lon Hinkle	Hinkle won with birdie on third extra hole Bean eliminated with par on second hole
4	1984	Honda Classic	Bruce Lietzke	Lost to par on first extra hole
5	1984	Memorial Tournament	Jack Nicklaus	Lost to par on third extra hole
6	1986	Doral-Eastern Open	Hubert Green	Won with birdie on fourth extra hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (2)

• 1978 Dunlop Phoenix
• 1987 ABC Japan-U.S. Match

Other wins (2)

• 1986 Isuzu Kapalua International
• 1987 Isuzu Kapalua International

Champions Tour wins (3)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner-up
1	Oct 1, 2006	Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn	−15 (63-70-68=201)	Playoff	R. W. Eaks
2	May 18, 2008	Regions Charity Classic	−13 (65-68-70=203)	1 stroke	Loren Roberts
3	Nov 2, 2008	Charles Schwab Cup Championship	−20 (68-66-68-66=268)	9 strokes	Gene Jones

Champions Tour playoff record (1-0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2006	Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn	R. W. Eaks	Won with birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T19	T24	T28
U.S. Open	CUT	T63	DNP	DNP	T23	T6	T25
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	T48	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	T7	T12

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	T12	CUT	T10	CUT	T18	T25	CUT	T35	CUT	51
U.S. Open	CUT	DNP	WD	T34	T11	T15	T24	CUT	T12	CUT
The Open Championship	T6	DNP	DNP	T2	T14	T35	T14	T40	T16	CUT
PGA Championship	2	DNP	CUT	T30	T16	T3	T53	T65	CUT	T2

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000
Masters Tournament	T33	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	CUT	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament	Wins	2nd	3rd	Top-5	Top-10	Top-25	Events	Cuts made
Masters Tournament	0	0	0	0	1	6	14	10
U.S. Open	0	0	0	0	1	7	16	9
The Open Championship	0	1	0	1	2	5	9	8
PGA Championship	0	2	1	3	4	6	13	9
Totals	0	3	1	4	8	24	52	36

• Most consecutive cuts made - 11 (1983 U.S. Open - 1985 PGA)
• Longest streak of top-10s - 2 (1980 Open Championship - 1980 PGA)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]