Robert Raymond Tway IV (born May 4, 1959) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments including eight PGA Tour victories. He spent 25 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986-87.
Tway was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was introduced to golf at the age of five by his father and grandfather. He participated in his first tournament at age seven. He won the Redding Country Club Championship as a junior golfer in Redding, Connecticut. Tway attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he had a distinguished career as a member of the golf team — a three-time, first-team All-American his last three years. In 1978, Tway's freshman year, the Cowboys, led by seniors Lindy Miller and David Edwards, won the NCAA Championship. When Oklahoma State won again two years later, Tway was their star player. He was the winner of the Haskins Award in his senior year. He turned pro in 1981 and joined the PGA Tour in 1985.
In 1986, he was named PGA Player of the Year and finished the season with four victories including one major, the PGA Championship. He was second on the final money list that year — just a few dollars behind Greg Norman.
The 1986 PGA Championship was held at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Tway finished with a score of 276 - a two-stroke margin of victory over Greg Norman. Tway had holed a greenside bunker shot at the 18th hole on the final day, which is a memorable shot in golf history.
Tway is also known for recording the worst score ever on the 17th Hole at TPC Sawgrass, which occurred during the third round of the 2005 Players Championship. His first four attempts ended up in the water. After finally hitting the green on his fifth attempt, he three putted for 12 to go from 7-under-par and 4 strokes out of the lead to 2-over-par and 13 behind the leader.
Tway has PGA Tour career earnings in excess of 14 million dollars. Upon reaching the age of 50 in May 2009, Tway began play on the Champions Tour. His best finish in that venue is T-2 at the 2009 Administaff Small Business Classic, two strokes behind tournament winner John Cook.
Tway lives in Edmond, Oklahoma and enjoys snow skiing, fishing and a variety of other sports. Tway's son, Kevin, celebrated his 17th birthday by winning the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2005. Kevin turned professional in 2011 and won a Web.com Tour event in 2013.
Amateur wins
this list may be incomplete
- 1978 Trans-Mississippi Amateur
- 1980 Southern Amateur
Professional wins (13)
PGA Tour wins (8)
Legend |
Major championships (1) |
Other PGA Tour (7) |
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Feb 9, 1986 | Shearson Lehman Brothers Andy Williams Open | −12 (67-68-69=204) | Playoff | Bernhard Langer |
2 | Jun 8, 1986 | Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic | −12 (73-63-69-67=272) | 1 stroke | Willie Wood |
3 | Jun 22, 1986 | Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic | −19 (68-66-71-64=269) | 2 strokes | Hal Sutton |
4 | Aug 11, 1986 | PGA Championship | −8 (72-70-64-70=276) | 2 strokes | Greg Norman |
5 | May 14, 1989 | Memorial Tournament | −11 (71-69-68-69=277) | 2 strokes | Fuzzy Zoeller |
6 | Oct. 14, 1990 | Las Vegas Invitational | −26 (67-67-65-65-70=334) | Playoff | John Cook |
7 | Apr 16, 1995 | MCI Classic | −9 (67-69-72-67=275) | Playoff | David Frost, Nolan Henke |
8 | Sep 7, 2003 | Bell Canadian Open | −8 (70-70-66-66=272) | Playoff | Brad Faxon |
PGA Tour playoff record (4-4)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1986 | Shearson Lehman Brothers Andy Williams Open | Bernhard Langer | Won with par on second extra hole |
2 | 1988 | AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am | Steve Jones | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
3 | 1988 | Southern Open | David Frost | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
4 | 1989 | BellSouth Atlanta Golf Classic | Scott Simpson | Lost to par on first extra hole |
5 | 1990 | Las Vegas Invitational | John Cook | Won with par on first extra hole |
6 | 1995 | MCI Classic | David Frost, Nolan Henke | Tway won with par on second extra hole Frost eliminated with par on first hole |
7 | 2001 | Nissan Open | Robert Allenby, Brandel Chamblee Toshi Izawa, Dennis Paulson, Jeff Sluman |
Allenby won with birdie on first extra hole |
8 | 2003 | Bell Canadian Open | Brad Faxon | Won with bogey on third extra hole |
Other wins (5)
- 1980 Georgia Open (as an amateur, tie with Tim Simpson)
- 1985 Oklahoma Open
- 1987 Oklahoma Open, Chrysler Team Championship (with Mike Hulbert)
- 1988 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Paul Azinger)
Major championships
Wins (1)
Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1986 | PGA Championship | 4 shot deficit | −8 (72-70-64-70=276) | 2 strokes | Greg Norman |
Results timeline
Tournament | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T8 | CUT | T33 | CUT |
U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T8 | T68 | T25 | CUT |
The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T46 | T35 | T20 | T61 |
PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | 1 | T47 | T48 | CUT |
Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | T36 | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | T12 | CUT | CUT | T52 |
U.S. Open | T33 | T26 | DNP | CUT | CUT | T10 | T67 | T5 | 3 | T62 |
The Open Championship | CUT | T5 | CUT | DNP | DNP | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT |
PGA Championship | T45 | T66 | T56 | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | T13 | T13 | T57 |
Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | T27 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
U.S. Open | DNP | T52 | T59 | CUT | CUT | T78 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
The Open Championship | CUT | DNP | T50 | DNP | 70 | T41 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
PGA Championship | CUT | T29 | CUT | CUT | T55 | CUT | T65 | T50 | CUT | T56 |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. 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 | 2 | 13 | 6 |
U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 13 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 8 |
PGA Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 14 |
Totals | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 71 | 41 |
- Most consecutive cuts made - 7 (1987 U.S. Open - 1988 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s - 2 (1986 Masters - 1986 U.S. Open)
U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
- Eisenhower Trophy: 1980 (winners)
Professional
- World Cup: 2004