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Tom Kite is an American golfer. He was born
December 9, 1949  in Austin, Texas. 

==Career outline==
Kite began playing golf at age 6.25 and won his
first tournament at age 11. Kite attended the
University of Texas at Austin|University of Texas
on a golf scholarship and was coached by Harvey
Penick. He turned professional in 1972 and has
been a consistent money winner ever since. Known
for his innovation, he was the first to add a
third wedge to his bag, one of the first players
to use a sports psyhcologist and one of the first
to emphasise physical fitness for game
improvement. 

Kite’s short game is excellent.  His long game
is weaker - in part because his size makes it
difficult to get distance off the tee. Consistency
is one of his greatest assets.

Among Kite's career accomplishments are:
* 2002 - won the Mastercard Championship and shot
a course-record, 63 in the opening round.
* 2001 - he tied for 5th place at the U.S. Open;
was 5th at the 2001 State Farm Classic, and tied
for 3rd at the SBC Senior Open.
* 2000 - won his first Senior Tour at Countrywide
Tradition and his second Senior Tour title at the
SBC Senior Open.
He has 19 PGA TOUR victories, including the 1992
US Open (golf)|U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
He competed on seven Ryder Cup squads and served
as the 1997 U.S. Ryder Cup Captain.

In 1989 he was named PGA of America Player of the
Year; in 1981 the Golf Writers Association Player
of the Year, the Vardon Trophy winner in 1981 &
1980, Bob Jones Award recipient in 1979 and Golf
Digest Rookie of the Year in 1973.

Tom Kite was the first in Tour history to reach $6
million, $7 million, $8 million, and $9 million in
career earnings. He was the Tour’s leading
money-winner in 1981 and 1989.

In 2005 he led the PGA Tour's Booz Allen Classic
by one shot going into the final round at the age
of 55. If he had been able to stay ahead he would
have beaten Sam Snead's record as the oldest
winner on the PGA Tour by three years, but he fell
away to finish tied thirteenth, seven shots behind
Sergio Garcia.

==PGA Tour wins==
*1976  IVB-Bicentennial Golf Classic  
*1978  B.C. Open  
*1981  American Motors Inverrary Classic  
*1982  Bay Hill Classic  
*1983  Bing Crosby National Pro-Am  
*1984  Doral-Eastern Open,  Georgia-Pacific
Atlanta Golf Classic  
*1985  MONY Tournament of Champions  
*1986  Western Open  
*1987  Kemper Open  
*1989  Nestle Invitational,  The Players
Championship,  Nabisco Championship 
*1990  Federal Express St. Jude Classic  
*1991  Infiniti Tournament of Champions  
*1992  BellSouth Classic,  U.S. Open (golf)|U.S.
Open  
*1993  Bob Hope Chrysler Classic,  Nissan Los
Angeles Open

Kite's major championship is shown in bold.

==Champions Tour wins==
*2000  The Countrywide Tradition,  SBC Senior Open
 
*2001  Gold Rush Classic
*2002  MasterCard Championship,  SBC Senior
Classic,  Napa Valley Championship  
*2004  3M Championship

Kite's senior major is shown in bold.

==Other wins==
*1972 NCAA Division I Men's Golf
Championships|NCAA Championship(individual, tie.
Amateur event) 
*1974 Air New Zealand Open 
*1980 European Open 
*1981 JCPenney Classic (with Beth Daniel) 
*1987 Kirin Cup (individual) 
*1989 Alfred Dunhill Cup (team) 
*1992 Shark Shootout (with Davis Love III} 
*1996 Oki Pro-Am, Franklin Templeton Shark
Shootout (with Jay Haas).

==External links==
*http://www.golfweb.com/players/bio/132049 Profile
on the PGA Tour's site
*http://www.golfstarsonline.com/K/Tom_Kite/ Golf
Stars Online - links to features and profiles
*http://golf.about.com/od/golfersmen/p/tom_kite.ht
m about.com profile
*http://choosegolfbooks.com/tomkite.html Books by
and about Tom Kite