John Cook

He was born in Ohio, but grew up in Southern California. His high school sporting interests included golf, basketball and football. After deciding he was too light for football and too short for basketball, he began concentrating solely on golf. In 1974, he won the World Junior, and, on the advice of Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf, chose to play college golf at Ohio State. He was an All-American selection there for three years, leading the team to the 1979 NCAA title. In 1978, he won the U.S. Amateur, 5 and 4, over Scott Hoch at Plainfield (N.J.) Country Club. In the 1979 U.S. Amateur, he lost in the finals to Mark O'Meara.
He turned professional after that championship and won the 1981 AT&T National Pro-Am in his second year on the PGA Tour. After several years of playing through hand pain, he had an operation on his right hand in 1989. He returned slowly to competition, losing playoffs twice in 1990. In 1992, he won three times, finishing second at both the Open Championship and PGA Championship, and ended up third on the money list. He was a member of the 1993 Ryder Cup Team and played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1980-2007 in 704 events. He won 11 times, finished in the top-10 98 times and notched earnings of more than $12.6 million.
2011 Notes: Finished third in his only PGA Tour appearance of the year at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun. He also finished third on the official PGA Tour Champions money list for the third consecutive season and was among the top-5 money-winners for a fourth straight year. Won three official events in a year for the first time since the 1992 PGA Tour season, tying Tom Lehman for most PGA Tour Champions victories.
2012 Notes: Surpassed the $1 million mark in yearly earnings for the fifth-consecutive year, but his five-year streak of winning at least one event in a season was halted.
2013 Notes: Started his season with a playoff victory over David Frost at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. Started his final round two strokes behind Frost and trailed throughout the final round before finally pulling even with a 15-foot birdie on No. 18 to set up the playoff, which he won on the second hole with a birdie. After that, he had eight additional top 10s, including a runner-up finish at the Boeing Classic. Finished 11th on the PGA Tour Champions money list, marking the first time in his six years playing on the Tour that he failed to finish inside the top 10.
2014 Notes: Despite missing 10 weeks and five events throughout the season due to an injury (left-rib fracture to his ninth rib), he managed to rebound and secure a spot among the top-20 on the final money list for a seventh straight year. Ended a 20-month victory drought by edging Tom Byrum by a shot at the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. It was one of his five top-10 finishes for the year. Finished 18th on the money list and 22nd in the Schwab Rankings.
2015 Notes: Teamed with former college teammate, Joey Sindelar, to claim a T-fifth finish at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf in April. The pair led after the opening round and trailed by two after 36 holes, but could not maintain their momentum in the final round, finishing five shots back. Was also T-fifth at The Principal Charity Classic. Failed to finish among the top 30 for the first time in his Champions Tour career, troubled early in the year with a rib injury. Went on to finish 50th on the money list and 57th in the Schwab ranking.
2016 Notes: Played in 15 Champions Tour events with three top-25 finish. Was 81st in both the Schwab rankings and money list. Best finish was T-12th at the Bass Pro Shops Legends with partner Joey Sindelar.
2017 Notes: Played in only 9 events on the PGA Tour Champions, best finish T-19th at the Tucson Conquistadores Classic. Was 86th on the money list, he is spending more time doing TV for the Golf Channel.
2018 Notes: Played in 3 PGA Tour Champions events, best finish T-33rd at the Toshiba Classic.
2019 Notes: Was T-32nd at the Bass Pro Shots Legends of Golf with partner Joey Sindelar. Spent most of his time on Golf Channel and Morning Drive.