Phil Blackmar

Fully exempt into the 2011 U.S. Senior Open by way of his victory at the Champions Tour's 2009 AT&T Championship.
Introduced to the game of golf as a youngster by his father, who won the 1965 National Lefthanders title. His father Phil was his first teacher and caddied for him the first two years on tour. His 6-foot-7, 245-pound frame made him the biggest man on the Tour, and when he came out on tour in 1984, he came out in huge way. Earned his tour card at Qualifying School in 1984 when he was just one shot back of the medalist Paul Azinger. In his rookie year in 1985, he won the Sammy Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open, along with Rookie of the Year honors. He returned to the winner's circle in 1997, winning the Shell Houston Open in a playoff against Kevin Sutherland.
Graduated with a degree in finance; he worked in a bank for several months before entering mini-tour events in 1980. Some other off-the-course jobs he had before joining the tour include driving a Coca-Cola truck, auditing banks and repairing golf clubs. Played full-time on the PGA Tour between 1985 and 2000; in 443 events played, he won three times, had 30 top-10 finishes and earned more than $3.2 million.