Early years

Born in Corvallis, Oregon, Gilder graduated from Corvallis High School and attended Arizona State University in Tempe. He walked on to the Sun Devils' golf team, and was the 1973 Western Athletic Conference individual golf champion.

PGA Tour

Gilder turned pro later that year and found success on the PGA Tour quite rapidly, winning his first tournament in 1976 at the Phoenix Open. He won six times during his career, including three in 1982. Gilder was a tour mainstay for many years, and played on the Ryder Cup team in 1983.

Gilder may be best remembered for his double eagle in 1982 at the Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic. It took place during the third round, at the 509-yard (465 m) par-5 18th hole of the Westchester Country Club, just north of New York City. Gilder used a 3 wood from 251 yards (230 m) away; his second shot carried 230 yards (210 m), landed softly on the green, and rolled into the cup. A plaque on the 18th fairway commemorates the feat. It gave him a 192 (−18) for 54 holes, which tied a tour record. It also doubled his lead to a comfortable six strokes; he won the tournament by five strokes on Sunday with a 69 to finish at 261 (−19).

Gilder won one of the longest sudden death playoffs in PGA Tour history at the Phoenix Open in January 1983. It took him eight holes to defeat Rex Caldwell, Johnny Miller, and Mark O'Meara. It was his second win in Phoenix and sixth and final victory on the PGA Tour.

Champions Tour

At the end of 2000, Gilder became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour (later Champions Tour) and found immediate success, winning two tournaments and being named Rookie of the Year in 2001.

After winning tournaments in five out of his first six years on the Champions Tour, Gilder entered a victory drought of almost five years. In the first seven individual events of the 2011 season, he placed no higher than a tie for 56th place, and had struggled to a stroke average of over 73.5 per round. However, Gilder ended his drought with a come-from-behind win in the Principal Charity Classic, a tournament he had previously won in 2002. With three birdies on his final four holes, including a birdie on the notoriously difficult 18th hole, Gilder was the victor by one shot over Champions Tour rookie Mark Brooks, who was seeking his first win on the senior circuit. This victory gave Gilder his milestone 10th victory on the Champions Tour.

Gilder was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.

Gilder is a lifelong resident of Corvallis, Oregon. He enjoys auto racing and has competed in Trans-Am races. Gilder and his wife, Peggy, have a grandson with cystic fibrosis and are involved with several charities that help battle the disease including Doernbecher Children's Hospital and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Amateur wins (1)

• 1973 Western Athletic Conference Championship (individual)

Professional wins (24)

PGA Tour wins (6)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jan 18, 1976	Phoenix Open	−16 (68-67-66-67=268)	2 strokes	Roger Maltbie
2	Jun 22, 1980	Canadian Open	−6 (67-67-70-70=274)	2 strokes	Jerry Pate, Leonard Thompson
3	May 2, 1982	Byron Nelson Golf Classic	−14 (67-65-67-67=266)	5 strokes	Curtis Strange
4	Jun 27, 1982	Manufacturers Hanover Westchester Classic	−19 (64-63-65-69=261)	5 strokes	Peter Jacobsen, Tom Kite
5	Sep 12, 1982	Bank of Boston Classic	−13 (67-67-70-67=271)	2 strokes	Fuzzy Zoeller
6	Jan 30, 1983	Phoenix Open	−13 (68-68-66-69=271)	Playoff	Rex Caldwell, Johnny Miller, Mark O'Meara

PGA Tour playoff record (1-0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	1983	Phoenix Open	Rex Caldwell, Johnny Miller, Mark O'Meara	Won with birdie on eighth extra hole Miller and O'Meara eliminated with birdie on second hole

Japan Golf Tour wins (3)

• 1980 Bridgestone Open
• 1982 Gold Win Cup Japan vs USA (tie with Calvin Peete)
• 1990 Acom P.T.

Other wins (5)

• 1974 New Zealand Open
• 1987 Northwest Open
• 1988 Isuzu Kapalua International, Acom Team Championship (with Doug Tewell) (Japan)
• 1989 Spalding Invitational

Champions Tour wins (10)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Feb 18, 2001	Verizon Classic	−11 (70-68-67=205)	3 strokes	Bruce Fleisher, Raymond Floyd, Gil Morgan
2	Oct 28, 2001	Senior Tour Championship	−11 (67-68-69-73=277)	1 stroke	Doug Tewell
3	Jul 21, 2002	SBC Senior Open	−12 (70-63-71=204)	Playoff	Hale Irwin
4	Jul 28, 2002	FleetBoston Classic	−13 (66-67-70=203)	Playoff	John Mahaffey
5	Sep 1, 2002	Allianz Championship	−13 (67-66-67=203)	1 stroke	John Bland
6	Sep 8, 2002	Kroger Senior Classic	−16 (66-65-69=200)	Playoff	Tom Jenkins
7	Apr 20, 2003	Emerald Coast Classic	−17 (66-64-63=193)	4 strokes	Vicente Fernández, Larry Nelson, Leonard Thompson
8	Sep 18, 2005	Constellation Energy Classic	−18 (64-67-67=198)	4 strokes	Morris Hatalsky
9	Sep 17, 2006	Constellation Energy Classic	−14 (69-68-65=202)	2 strokes	Brad Bryant, Jay Haas
10	Jun 5, 2011	Principal Charity Classic	−14 (68-66-65=199)	1 stroke	Mark Brooks

Champions Tour playoff record (3-0)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent	Result
1	2002	SBC Senior Open	Hale Irwin	Won with par on first extra hole
2	2002	FleetBoston Classic	John Mahaffey	Won with birdie on third extra hole
3	2002	Kroger Senior Classic	Tom Jenkins	Won with birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	DNP	T39	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT	DNP	T49	T58	CUT	T44	T16
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	T40	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	T69	T58	T19	T16

Tournament	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
Masters Tournament	CUT	T15	14	T44	CUT	T44	DNP	DNP	DNP	37
U.S. Open	T32	CUT	T37	T39	CUT	DNP	CUT	T58	T8	CUT
The Open Championship	T51	DNP	DNP	T39	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T55	T4	8	T63	T37	T18	T53	DNP	T6	T34

Tournament	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Masters Tournament	DNP	DNP	T42	T34	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	T56	DNP	T6	T33	DNP	DNP	T50	CUT	DNP	CUT
The Open Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	T57	T5	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
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	0	2	10	8
U.S. Open	0	0	0	0	2	3	21	13
The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	3
PGA Championship	0	0	0	2	4	7	16	15
Totals	0	0	0	2	6	12	51	39

• Most consecutive cuts made - 8 (1981 PGA - 1983 PGA)
• Longest streak of top-10s - 2 (1988 U.S. Open - 1988 PGA)

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1983 (winners)
• World Cup: 1982

[ Source: Wikipedia ]