Tin Cup PGA Player Profiles
Find out about the PGA players who appear in
Tin Cup.
The profiles below are provided courtesy of
iGolf.
John Cook
1995 was a year that Cook would, in all probability, like
to forget. He lingered above the cut line for most of the year,
struggling
with his game and missing cuts. In 26 events, Cook made only 16 cuts and
finished 50th or worse seven times. Then, with a rally at the end of the
season which included a tie for 15th at the Walt Disney and a 14th at the
Las Vegas Invitational, Cook seemed to regain some of the form that made
him one of the world's best golfers and retained his card for 1996.
Fred Couples
Couples is America's greatest and most volatile talent.
His back problems aside, he is capable of both torrid, extraordinarily
beautiful
golf and strange, almost amateurish shenanigans. In his career Couples
already
totals 11 PGA tour victories, with the 1992 Masters the jewel in his
crown.
His strength is obviously his driving, and correspondingly his iron play
lives and dies with it. In 1994 he was named PGA Tour Player of the year
for the second year running. In 1992 he finished first on the PGA Money
list tallying over 1.3 million dollars. Couples has been a member of the
last four Ryder Cup teams: '89, '91, '93, and '95. In what was by his
standards
an off year in 1995, Couples still managed to win the Dubai Classic and
the
Skins game and missed only three cuts in 17 events while amassing
$567,760
in PGA Tour earnings.
Steve Elkington
Elkington started 1995 off with a flourish by winning the
Mercedes Championships. Then Elkington came from six strokes down on
the
final day to claim his first major at the 1995 PGA Championship. Reputed
to have one of the most beautiful, fluid swings in golf, Elkington is a
native
of Australia and has struggled with medical ailments most stemming from
sinus
problems. He had seven top 10 finishes in his 20 events with two wins.
Peter Jacobsen
1995 may have been Jacobsen's dream season. Seventh on
the
Money List, he missed only three cuts all year and won twice. With over
$1 million in earnings, Jacobsen more than doubled his previous best
season.
With an improved putting game and solid driving, Jacobsen was one of the
shining lights of the 1995 season.
Lee Janzen
With three victories in 1995, Janzen is in total command
of his game and seems to be reaching the height of his abilities. After
impressive victories at the 1995 Tournament Players Championship and then
the Kemper Open, Janzen showed great poise and solid putting to get to
the
winner's circle at the Sprint International. He carded four birdies and
a crucial par over the final five holes to beat a reeling Ernie Els.
Such
heroics fueled the fire over his omission from the losing 1995 Ryder Cup
team. A protege of golfing guru Rick Smith, Janzen has shown periods of
brilliance throughout his career, placing in the top-10 of the Money List
in three out of the last four years.
Bruce Lietzke
Lietzke has become known as a part-time player on the PGA
Tour, preferring to spend time with his family over days and nights on
Tour.
He played only 16 times in 1995 but managed to earn enough to retain
playing
privileges - and then some. At the Mercedes Championship, Lietzke
pocketed
a big check early, taking second place to Steve Elkington. Lietzke is
capable
of fine rounds of shot-making and putting. Despite limited play, he
continues
to occupy a position among the top 100 on the Money List. 1996 will be
Lietzke's
19th on Tour.
Billy Mayfair
In his seventh year on Tour, Mayfair showed the world and
maybe even himself how good a player he truly is. He earned $1,542,191,
had two wins and four other top-10 finishes. Mayfair electrified the
golfing
world with clutch putting and a tee to green game that was rock solid.
He
has been up and down enough times on Tour to know first-hand the fickle
nature
of the game of golf. In his second year, he was 12th on the Money List.
The next year, he dipped to 89th. Two years later, he rose to 30th.
Then,
in 1994, he finished 113th, missed 14 cuts, and had only one top-10
finish.
In 1995, he claimed his second and third career victories with a
one-stroke
win at the Motorola Western Open, then enjoyed an impressive victory at
the
highly lucrative Tour Championship. Mayfair was a highly touted amateur
after his wins at the 1986 U.S. Public Links and the 1987 U.S. Amateur.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson continues to be a favorite among PGA Tour fans.
His short game may only be rivaled by that of Corey Pavin. Fans wondered
whether he peaked too soon last year, however, in only the first half of
'96 he has proven his best year yet. In an aggressive start, Mickelson
defended
his title at the Northern Telecom Open in the first week of the year.
That
same month he birdied the third hole of a playoff with Justin Leonard to
win the $1.3 million Phoenix Open Golf Championship. By May of '96 he
became
the first three-time winner on the PGA Tour this season and topped $1
million
in earnings with a two-stroke victory at the $1.5 million Byron Nelson
Classic
in Irving, Texas. Noted as a very long driver as well as a marvelous
short
iron player and putter, Mickelson is arguably the greatest young talent
on
the Tour. In only three years, Mickelson already has eight tournament
victories.
Steve Pate
In 1991 Pate broke into the Money List top-10 by winning
$727,997. He won the Honda Classic and finished sixth on the Money List.
In 1988 he won two tournaments. He has not won on Tour since 1992.
Pate
had five top-10 finishes in 1994. His 1995 performance was dismal - only
15 cuts made in 31 events and 168th on the Money List.
Corey Pavin
With his two stroke win at the 1995 U.S. Open, The Gritty
Little Bruin finally got the monkey off his back. No longer will he been
known as one of the best golfers never to win a major. His play at
Shinnecock
was superb, highlighted by a 210 yard 4 wood that landed five feet from
the
pin on the 72nd hole. Pavin, who has been a dominant force on the PGA
Tour
for the last four years, also won at the 1995 Nissan Los Angeles Open,
successfully defending his title. His performance at the Players
Championship
and his leadership in the Ryder Cup illustrate what a clutch player he is
on tough courses in difficult conditions. He possesses one of the
greatest
short games in golf. Heroics aside, Pavin also had a career year
statistically,
ranking fourth on Tour in earnings, amassing $1,340,232 while posting six
top-10 finishes. In '96, Pavin recorded his first victory of the year at
the MasterCard Colonial in May. To his disappointment, weeks later, he
failed
to defend his title in the 1996 US Open where a suprising Steve Jones
took
the win.
Tom Purtzer
In 1991 Purtzer won two tournaments and had his career
best
season, breaking into the top five money winners on Tour. Now, only four
seasons later, Purtzer's game has slipped horribly. He finished 144th on
the 1995 Money List, making only 11 cuts and never once finishing in the
top-10. The man who, by most players accounts, possesses the most
beautiful
golf swing in the world is only on Tour by virtue of the 10 year
exemption
he won at the 1991 NEC World Series of Golf.
Craig Stadler
Stadler marked two of his four top-10 finishes in the
first
five tournaments of the year. He enjoys the luxury of a 10 year
exemption
after his 1992 NEC World Series of Golf victory, which means that he is
exempt
until the year 2,002 when he will be 49 years old and only one year away
from the Senior Tour. That suits most golf fanatics just fine. The
prospect
of always seeing the Walrus on T.V. in some tournament or another is a
delightful
one. His colorful nature and powerful swing are among the things that
make
professional golf our passion, and it is often easy to forget what a
marvelous
talent he is. He won four tournaments in 1982 including The Masters.
Stadler
played very well in 1995 missing only six cuts in the 21 events he
entered
and finishing 45th on the Money List.
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© 1996 Warner
Bros.