Peter Thomson (golfer)

Peter William Thomson AO, CBE (23 August 1929 – 20 June 2018) was an Australian professional golfer, often cited as the greatest and most successful golfer in Australian golf history. In the late 1940s, Thomson turned professional and immediately had success on the Australasian circuits, then hoisted his first International win at the 1950 New Zealand Open followed by the coveted 1951 Australian Open.

From the time he turned professional in 1949, Thomson won at least 1 tournament every year for the next 20 years, including 27 'National Opens'. Thomson won professional championships in; Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Philippines, England, Scotland, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Canada, India, Hong Kong and the USA. In the UK, Thomson had extraordinary success, winning dozens of tournaments on the British PGA circuit, including the Open Championship five times.

As a senior, Thomson continued with success, winning 11 times on the Senior PGA Tour in the United States, including a record 9 times in one season, 1985, a record he holds with Hale Irwin.

Thomson was born in Brunswick, a northern suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

Thomson's Open Championship wins came in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1965. He was the only man to win the tournament for three consecutive years in the 20th century.

Thomson was a prolific tournament champion around the world, winning the national championships of ten countries, including the New Zealand Open nine times.

He competed on the American PGA Tour from 1953 -1957, playing 74 events and only missing 3 cuts (all in 1954).

With 1 win, several R/U finishes and over a dozen top 10 finishes, Peter Thomson decided he preferred the 'tour' (and the golf courses) in the UK/Europe and chose to travel from Australia to play his summer season in the UK, rather than the USA from 1958 onwards.

His best year in the USA in 1956, playing in just eight events, he won the rich Texas International Open, and achieved his best finish in one of the three majors staged in the United States (fourth at the U.S. Open), to finish ninth on the money list.

In the era that Thomson won his first four Open Championships, few of the leading professionals from the United States travelled to Britain to play in that event. At that time, the prize money in the Open was insufficient for an American to cover their expenses. However, Thomson demonstrated with his win in 1965 that he could beat a field of the world's best players, as that victory came against a field that included Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tony Lema, three of the top four American golfers from the 1964 money list. Peter Thomson put on a ball-striking clinic at Royal Birkdale in 1965, where, in the final 18 holes he took 71 shots that included 35 putts.

Thomson continued on his winning ways, after his historic 5th British Open victory at Royal Birkdale in 1965, hoisting championship trophies in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand and several more victories in the UK from 1965-1970 before a wrist injury in 1973, in Asia, slowed his performance.

Thomson then enjoyed a successful senior career in the USA. In 1985 he won nine times on the Senior PGA Tour in the United States, and finished top of the money list. His last tournament victory came at the 1988 British PGA Seniors Championship.

He was president of the Australian PGA from 1962 to 1994, still the longest serving President. (He was president of the Australian PGA at the same time he won The British Open in 1965)

A victorious non-playing captain of the international team in the 1998 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne and, at the time of writing (2025), still the only captain to steer the International team to victory.

Thomson was active as a golf writer, contributing to The Age of Melbourne for some 50 years from the early 1950s.

His home club was Victoria Golf Club. He was an honorary member of Royal Melbourne Golf Club and dozens of golf clubs around the world including several in Scotland, Japan and throughout Asia.

Following his successful playing career, Thomson began designing courses with Michael Wolveridge in the 1960s. Over 51 years, he and his business partners, including Ross Perrett, developed more than 180 courses in over 30 countries.

On June 1, 1960, Thomson was married to Mary Kelly of Melbourne, Australia. The wedding took place in London, England.^[3]

Thomson died in Melbourne on 20 June 2018 after a four-year battle with Parkinson's disease, at the age of 88.^[4][5]

• In 1955, he was selected as ABC Sportsman of the Year.
• In 1957, he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in recognition of his services to Australia in the sporting and international sphere.^[6][7]
• In 1979, appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for service to the sport of golf.^[8]
• Thomson was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.^[9]
• Thomson was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988.
• In 1997, The Peter Thomson Trophy, an annual contested between the eight Melbourne Sandbelt golf clubs, was inaugurated.^[10]
• In 2001, he was awarded the Centenary Medal.^[11]
• In 2001, he was elected an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)^[12][13]
• In 2011, he was inducted into the Victorian Golf Industry Hall of Fame.^[14]
• In 2016, he was inducted as inaugural Immortal of the PGA of Australia.^[15]

• 1947 Australasian Foursomes Shield (with Dick Payne)
• 1948 Victorian Amateur Championship

PGA Tour playoff record (2–0)

*Note: The 1976 Pepsi-Wilson Tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (1–0)

• 1969 Chunichi Crowns
• 1971 Dunlop Tournament, Wizard Tournament
• 1972 Chunichi Crowns, Pepsi Tournament

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (2–0)

• 1960 Hong Kong Open
• 1964 Indian Open
• 1966 Indian Open

• 1949 Victorian Close Championship
• 1951 Australian Open, Victorian Close Championship
• 1952 Victorian PGA Championship, Mobilco Tournament
• 1953 Victorian PGA Championship
• 1954 Ampol Tournament (Nov)
• 1955 Wiseman's Tournament, Pelaco Tournament, Speedo Tournament
• 1956 Pelaco Tournament
• 1958 Victorian Open, Pelaco Tournament
• 1959 Pelaco Tournament, Coles Tournament
• 1960 Wills Classic
• 1961 Adelaide Advertiser Tournament, New South Wales Open
• 1963 Lakes Open
• 1967 Australian PGA Championship, Australian Open
• 1968 South Australian Open, Victorian Open
• 1972 Australian Open

• 1950 New Zealand Open
• 1951 New Zealand Open
• 1953 New Zealand Open, New Zealand PGA Championship
• 1955 New Zealand Open, Caltex Tournament
• 1959 New Zealand Open, Caltex Tournament
• 1960 New Zealand Open
• 1961 New Zealand Open

• 1952 Mills Round Robin (South Africa)^[16]
• 1954 Canada Cup (with Kel Nagle)

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

¹Defeated Dave Thomas in 36-hole playoff; Thomson (139), Thomas (143)

Note: Thomson never played in the PGA Championship.

CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1975 and 1984 Open Championships)
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

• Most consecutive cuts made – 10 (1954 Open Championship – 1958 Open Championship)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 4 (1955 Open Championship – 1957 Masters)

^a This was the December edition of the tournament.

Amateur

• Australian Men's Interstate Teams Matches (representing Victoria): 1948 (winners)

Professional

• World Cup (representing Australia): 1953, 1954 (winners), 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959 (winners), 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1969
• Lakes International Cup (representing Australia): 1952
• Slazenger Trophy (representing British Commonwealth and Empire): 1956
• Presidents Cup (representing International): 1996 (non-playing captain), 1998 (non-playing captain, winners), 2000 (non-playing captain)
• Hopkins Trophy (representing Canada): 1952
• Vicars Shield (representing Victoria): 1951 (winners), 1952 (winners), 1953 (winners)

• List of golfers with most PGA Tour Champions wins
• List of golfers with most wins in one PGA Tour event
• List of men's major championships winning golfers

• Peter Thomson at the PGA Tour official site
• Peter Thomson at the European Tour official site
• Peter Thomson at the Japan Golf Tour official site
• Peter Thomson at the World Golf Hall of Fame
• Golflegends.org profile