Jerome Kendrick Pate (born September 16, 1953) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour Champions, formerly on the PGA Tour. As a 22-year-old rookie, he won the U.S. Open in 1976.

Early life Born in Macon, Georgia, he was one of six children in his family. His father and grandfather got him into golf early and the family spent summers in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, playing golf.

At a young age, his family moved to Alabama, where Pate learned the game at Anniston Country Club. In 1967 his family moved to Florida because of Pate's fathers work. Pate grew up in the panhandle of Florida in Pensacola.

Amateur career Pate attended the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and played on its Crimson Tide golf team.

Pate had a distinguished amateur career with a win at the U.S. Amateur in and was a member of victorious U.S. teams at the Eisenhower Trophy competition, also winning individually, later that year and at the Walker Cup in May 1975 at St Andrews in Scotland. A few weeks later, he tied Walker Cup teammate Jay Haas of Wake Forest for low amateur at the U.S. Open, finishing in a six-way tie for eighteenth place at Medinah, outside Chicago.

Professional career In 1975, Pate turned professional. Late in the year he was the medalist at Fall 1975 PGA Tour Qualifying School. During his rookie season he won the 1976 U.S. Open. He also won the Canadian Open that year. Pate closed with a 63 (−7) to defeat runner-up Jack Nicklaus by four strokes.

Six more tour victories followed in ensuing years as well as several other titles around the world. He was a member of the victorious Ryder Cup team in 1981, but shoulder injuries curtailed his career. His final win on the PGA Tour came at age 28. That final victory was at the 1982 Tournament Players Championship, the first held at TPC at Sawgrass. Pate celebrated by throwing course designer Pete Dye and PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman into the lake adjacent to the 18th green, then jumped in himself. He had also jumped in the water after a victory the previous June, after going nearly three years without a win.

Later career Pate later served as a golf broadcaster for ABC, CBS, and BBC. He also set up a golf course design practice and a turf and irrigation company. He designed the Kiva Dunes in 1995 and the Ol' Colony Golf Complex in 2000, which is the home course for the Alabama Crimson Tide golf team. In 2006, he earned his first Champions Tour win at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am. Pate has been forced by health problems, including arthroscopic left-knee surgery in 2010, to begin limiting his Champions Tour appearances.

Personal life In the late 1990s, Pate returned to the University of Alabama to complete his bachelor's degree in administrative science. His daughter, Jenni, received her degree at the same graduation ceremony in 2001.

Awards and honors

In 1994, Pate was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. In 2023, Pate was inducted into the Florida State Golf Association Hall of Fame. In 2025, Pate was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

Amateur wins 1974 U.S. Amateur, Florida Amateur

Professional wins (15) PGA Tour wins (8) Legend Major championships (1) Players Championships (1) Other PGA Tour (6) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1 Jun 20, 1976U.S. Open 71-69-69-68=277−32 strokes Al Geiberger, Tom Weiskopf2Jul 25, 1976Canadian Open69-67-68-63=267−134 strokes Jack Nicklaus3Jan 9, 1977Phoenix Open67-67-70-73=277−7Playoff Dave Stockton4Oct 23, 1977Southern Open64-67-69-66=266−147 strokes Phil Hancock, Mac McLendon, Johnny Miller, Steve Taylor5Sep 10, 1978Southern Open (2)67-67-66-69=269−111 stroke Phil Hancock6Jun 28, 1981Danny Thomas Memphis Classic69-70-66-69=274−142 strokes Tom Kite, Bruce Lietzke7Oct 18, 1981Pensacola Open66-69-65-71=271−173 strokes Steve Melnyk8Mar 21, 1982Tournament Players Championship70-73-70-67=280−82 strokes Brad Bryant, Scott Simpson

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11977Phoenix Open Dave StocktonWon with birdie on first extra hole 21978PGA Championship John Mahaffey, Tom WatsonMahaffey won with birdie on second extra hole31980Sea Pines Heritage Doug TewellLost to par on first extra hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up1Oct 10, 1976Taiheiyo Club Masters70-70-68-71=279−52 strokes Isao Aoki2Nov 9, 1980ABC Japan vs USA Golf Matches70-69-72-65=276−121 stroke Tom Purtzer, Norio Suzuki

South American Golf Circuit wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Nov 23, 1980Brazil Open69-70-69-66=274−10Playoff Manuel Piñero2Dec 13, 1981Colombian Open64-67-66-65=262−2621 strokes Luis Arevalo

Other wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunners-up1Dec 4, 1977Pepsi-Cola Mixed Team Championship(with Hollis Stacy)61-70-69-70=270−181 stroke Nancy Lopez and Curtis Strange

Champions Tour wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunners-up1Feb 26, 2006 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am68-68-66=202−111 stroke Morris Hatalsky, Hale Irwin, Mark James2Jan 27, 2008 Turtle Bay Championship71-70-70=211−52 strokes Fulton Allem, Jim Thorpe

Champions Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult12005Senior PGA Championship Dana Quigley, Mike ReidReid won with birdie on first extra hole

Major championships Wins (1) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up 1976 U.S. Open 2 shot deficit −3 (71-69-69-68=277) 2 strokes Al Geiberger, Tom Weiskopf

Results timeline Tournament19751976197719781979Masters Tournament37T14T18T41U.S. OpenT18 LA1CUTT16T2The Open ChampionshipCUTT15WDT26PGA ChampionshipT45T2T5

Tournament1980198119821983198419851986198719881989Masters TournamentT6T5T3U.S. OpenCUTT26CUTCUTCUTWDCUTThe Open ChampionshipT16T19WDPGA ChampionshipT10T11T9T23CUT

Tournament1990199119921993199419951996199719981999Masters TournamentU.S. OpenCUTThe Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipCUT Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009Masters TournamentU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipCUT Tournament20102011Masters TournamentU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipCUT

LA = Low amateur CUT = missed the halfway cut (3rd round cut in 1976 Open Championship) WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 1 2 3 5 7 7U.S. Open 1 1 0 2 2 4 13 5The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 4PGA Championship 0 1 0 4 6 8 12 8Totals 1 2 1 8 11 20 39 24 Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (1980 Open Championship – 1982 Masters) Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

The Players Championship Wins (1) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up 1982 Tournament Players Championship 3 shot deficit −8 (70-73-70-67=280) 2 strokes Brad Bryant, Scott Simpson

Results timeline Tournament197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992The Players ChampionshipT17T20CUTT451CUTT64CUTCUTCUTCUT

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

U.S. national team appearances Amateur Eisenhower Trophy: 1974 (team winners and joint individual leader) Walker Cup: 1975 (winners)

Professional Ryder Cup: 1981 (winners) World Cup: 1976

See also Fall 1975 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates

References

External links