Jim Thorpe

ELIGIBILITY CODE: 19, 20

Is the ninth of 12 children. Grew up next to the eighth fairway at the Roxboro Country Club in North Carolina. His father, Elbert, was the greenskeeper. One of his brothers, Chuck, played for a period on the PGA Tour and former Champions Tour. Earned a scholarship to Morgan State University as a running back. Competed on the PGA Tour between 1976 and 1998, in 460 starts won three times. He was runner-up seven times and had 36 top-10 finishes.
On Jan. 22, 2010, Thorpe was sentenced to one year in prison for failure to pay $1.6 million in taxes between the years 2002 and 2004. Was released from prison on Jan. 17, 2011.
Returned to the Champions Tour after a year's absence, making his first of 16 official starts, at the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am (T59th). His only top-25 performance came in July when he finished T-21 at the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. Also teamed with good friend Dana Quigley to finish T5th in the Raphael Division competition at the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf. Duo fired a 36-hole, better-ball, team score of 15-under-par 129.
2012 Notes: Played his best golf of the season in the first third of the year when he had three finishes among the top 20 in a stretch of four events. Finished the year with five top-25 finishes, the best was when he recorded his 100th top-10 finish of his Champions Tour career when he was T5th at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic.