Corey Pavin

Corey Allen Pavin (born November 16, 1959) is an American professional golfer. In 1982, Pavin turned professional but failed at PGA Tour Qualifying School. The following year, he turned to overseas where he had much success, winning South Africa's Lexington PGA and Europe's German Open. Later in the year he earned PGA Tour membership and had much success on tour, winning a number of events, culminating with the 1995 U.S. Open championship. Soon thereafter, he abruptly lost his game and was rarely a contender. As a senior, Pavin has played on the PGA Tour Champions, recording one win, at the Allianz Championship.

Early life and amateur career

Pavin was born in Oxnard, California, the son of Barbara and Jack Pavin. He attended Oxnard High School.

Pavin attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He won two gold medals at the 1981 Maccabiah Games, the Jewish Olympics in Israel.

Professional career

In 1982, Pavin turned professional. He was "an unexpected failure" at 1982 PGA Tour Qualifying School. He did not move past the regional qualifying section. He turned to play overseas in 1983. Early in the year, he played on the Southern African Tour where he "won his first professional tournament" at the Lexington PGA. It was only his fourth tournament as a professional golfer. He soon moved onto the European Tour. In July, he finished solo 3rd, only behind Sam Torrance and Craig Stadler, at the Scandinavian Enterprise Open. A month later, Pavin won the German Open three strokes ahead of joint runner-up Seve Ballesteros. He finished 13th on the Order of Merit.

Pavin's first PGA Tour victory came at the 1984 Houston Coca-Cola Open. He won at least one event significant domestic or international event over the next decade and topped the PGA Tour's money list in 1991. Pavin's success culminated in his only major victory, the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Pavin went into the final round three strokes behind Greg Norman and Tom Lehman. On the 72nd and final hole of the tournament, a 450 yards long par 4, Pavin produced a four wood, considered one of the great shots in U.S. Open history, 228 yards to five feet of the hole to secure the title.

Rather than marking a move to a new level of achievement, however, this was soon followed by a long slide down the world rankings from a high ranking of 2nd. After Pavin won the Bank of America Colonial in 1996, he did not win another PGA Tour tournament for ten years. His 89th-place finish on the 2004 money list was the first time he had made the top one hundred since 1998. Pavin finally won his 15th career title in 2006 at the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, ending a streak of 242 consecutive tournaments without a win.

On July 27, 2006, during the first round of what would become his 15th tour title, Pavin broke the record for the fewest strokes needed to complete nine holes at a PGA Tour event, with an 8-under par score of 26. The previous record of 27 strokes was held by Mike Souchak, Andy North, Billy Mayfair and Robert Gamez, with Mayfair and Gamez' scores being 9-under par. His 36-hole total of 125 also tied the record for fewest shots taken in the first 36 holes of a PGA Tour event held by Tom Lehman, Mark Calcavecchia, and Tiger Woods.

After acting as an assistant to U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman in 2006, Pavin was in December 2008 by the PGA of America, named captain for the U.S. team at the 2010 Ryder Cup at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. In October 2010, the U.S. Ryder Cup team lost 13½ to 14½, against the European side.

Pavin began playing on the Champions Tour in 2010. In June 2010, he lost in a sudden death playoff to Bubba Watson at the Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour. In his 35th start, Pavin won his maiden Champions Tour event in February 2012 at the Allianz Championship. He defeated Peter Senior at the first sudden death playoff hole with a birdie to take the title, after having finished regulation play at 11 under.

Personal life

In April 1983, Pavin married Shannon Healy. They have two children. He married Lisa Nguyen in 2003.

He was the only top Jewish player on the tour until 1991. In that year, he converted to Christianity. He was named the 117th-greatest Jewish athlete in the 2007 book The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes by Peter S. Horvitz.

Pavin is a Republican. During the 1993 Ryder Cup, Pavin was originally unwilling to meet with president Bill Clinton before the cup owing to their differing political views. Pavin stated that he had voted for Bush, and so was not particularly excited at the prospect of meeting Clinton.

Pavin made a cameo appearance playing himself in the 1996 movie Tin Cup starring Kevin Costner. In the movie, Pavin tells Fred Couples, "It's hard to believe that a guy named 'Tin Cup' might have his name beneath mine on the trophy."

Awards and honors

• In 2002, he was named to the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame.

• He has a stone named after him at Bedlingtonshire Golf Club, in Northumberland, England. It is located on the 7th hole and is called "Corey Paving Slab".

Amateur wins

• 1981 North and South Amateur

Professional wins (28)

PGA Tour wins (15)

PGA Tour playoff record (5–4)

European Tour wins (2)

PGA of Japan Tour wins (2)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

Southern Africa Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (2)

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

Other wins (5)

• 1983 Calberson Classic (Europe – not a European Tour event)
• 1993 Toyota World Match Play Championship (Europe – then an unofficial event).
• 1995 Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge (South Africa – unofficial event)
• 1996 Ssang Yong International Challenge (South Korea)
• 1999 Martel Skins Game (Taiwan)

Champions Tour wins (1)

Champions Tour playoff record (1–1)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

CUT = missed the half way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1984 Open Championship – 1986 Masters)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1995 U.S. Open – 1995 Open Championship)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

"T" = Tied

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

• Walker Cup: 1981 (winners)

Professional

• USA vs. Japan: 1982
• Nissan Cup: 1985 (winners)
• Ryder Cup: 1991 (winners), 1993 (winners), 1995, 2010 (non-playing captain)
• Presidents Cup: 1994 (winners), 1996 (winners)

See also

• 1983 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• List of Jewish golfers

External links

• at the PGA Tour official site
• at the Japan Golf Tour official site
• at the European Tour official site
• at the Official World Golf Ranking official site