Tom Pernice Jr.

He was an All-American golfer in 1981 and 1982 and was the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year in 1981. Teammates at UCLA included Jay Delsing, Corey Pavin, Steve Pate, and Duffy Waldorf.
As a full-time member of the PGA Tour from 1986-90 and 1997-2010, he played in 588 events and made 317 cuts, with two victories (1999 Buick Open and 2001 The International) and four runner-up finishes among his 47 top-10s. In 1989, they went into the final round of the U.S. Open with a chance to win and shot 74 to finish T-14th. At age 51, he was 2nd in the 2011 Viking Classic. He competed on the Korn Ferry Tour periodically, with 79 career starts, making 42 cuts, recording seven top-10 finishes, with his best finish a T-3rd in the 1992 Hawkeye Open.
In 2009, he became only the 15th player in PGA Tour Champions history to win in his first start. They won the SAS Championship and didn't play again that year. The victory came 22 days after turning 50, tying him with Gary Player as the ninth-youngest winner in PGA Tour Champions history.
Had a stellar 2010 campaign on the PGA Tour Champions, with nine top-10 finishes in 10 starts.
2010 Notes: He played most of his golf on the PGA Tour, competing in 22 events compared to 10 on the PGA Tour Champions.
2011 Notes: Split his time between the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. On the PGA Tour, he claimed two top-10s in just 12 starts, including one at year's end, which altered his plans for 2012. Beginning the week of the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic as the fifth alternate and ranked 143rd on the money list, he capitalized on his opportunity in the season's final official event. They had a final round, 3-under 69, and waited until virtually the last putt dropped Sunday to see if it was good enough to elevate him to within the top 125. Finished T-3rd at the tournament, worthy of a 121st place money-list finish and fully exempt status for 2012, at age 52, the oldest to ever earn exempt status from the top-125 category the previous year. He was last exempt on the PGA Tour in 2009 after finishing 80th on the 2008 money list. In mid-July, he nearly became the second-oldest winner of a PGA Tour event when he finished T-2nd in the Viking Classic in Mississippi.
He enjoyed a solid PGA Tour Champions season, garnering six top-10 finishes in 16 starts.
2012 Notes: He played just 10 PGA Tour Champions events due to their fully exempt status on the PGA Tour, where he played 23 times. Missed the PGA Tour Playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, finishing No. 186 in the FedEx Cup standings. Their best PGA Tour Champions effort was a T-3rd in the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, his first Tour start of the season. He played in the final grouping Sunday, with Bernhard Langer, in the U.S. Senior Open at Indianwood, but a final-round 75 dropped him to T-15th. He posted his only PGA Tour top-10 of the year in his 18th start, a T-8th in the Reno-Tahoe Open, the first PGA Tour event to use the Modified Stableford scoring format since 2006. He finished with 30 points, 13 behind J.J. Henry's winning total. He competed in the PGA Tour's National Qualifying Tournament, finishing T-87th. He was T-17th after 90 holes, but a final-round 79 dropped him 70 places, and he failed to earn his 2013 card.
2013 Notes: Played his first full season as a Champions Tour member and finished seventh on the money list, with more than $1.4 million in earnings, thanks to 12 top-10 finishes that included six performances where he placed third or better, including a win in the 3M Championship. He was runner-up in the Allianz Championship and the Greater Gwinnett Championship. Was 3rd in the ACE Group Classic, the Mississippi Gulf Resort, and the Encompass Championship.
2014 Notes: He had perhaps his finest season in professional golf, claiming multiple titles in a season for the first time. Winnings of more than $1.5 million were a PGA Tour Champions' personal best, and he secured the fifth spot on the Charles Schwab Cup points list, earning a $100,000 annuity. He became the last of seven multiple winners when he won the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, defeating Jay Haas on the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff at Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. In early June, he claimed his third career victory in The Principal Charity Classic, defeating Doug Garwood on the second hole of a playoff. In The Senior Open Championship in Wales, he shot a first-round 78 but improved by 14 shots in Round 2 with a course-record 64 at Royal Porthcawl. Steady play on the weekend moved him into a T-3rd, his personal best in a senior major. Shot the low round of his career in the opening round in the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship, a 12-under-par 60 at Kapolei G.C. The round included 12 birdies, which matched the PGA Tour Champions 18-hole record. However, followed with rounds of 72-70 to finish T-7th.
2015 Notes: He had another nice showing in Arizona months after capturing the 2014 Charles Schwab Cup Championship when he finished T-4th in the Tucson Conquistadores Classic in March. Also, T-4th in the rain-shortened Greater Gwinnett Championship. Was T-9th in the Regions Tradition, T-7th in the Senior PGA Championship, and T-5th in the Principal Charity Classic. His last top-10 was a T-10th in the San Antonio Championship. He finished 21st on the money list and 22nd in the Schwab rankings.
2016 Notes: Played in 25 events and won for the 5th time on the Champions Tour in the PowerShares QQQ. He had five top-10s, including a T-3rd in the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, T-9th in the SAS Championship, and a pair of T-10s in the Nature Valley First Tee and Charles Schwab Cup Championship. He was 15th on the money list and 9th in the Schwab Rankings.
2017 Notes: Opened the year with a T-8th finish in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Unfortunately, it would be his only top-10 finish of the year in 24 starts, as he dropped to 48th on the money list.
2018 Notes: Played in 26 PGA Tour Champions events with five top-10 finishes. Pernice led after the first and second rounds at the Toshiba Classic, but he settled for a T-2nd finish after shooting a final-round 69. It was his best finish since he won the 2016 PowerShares QQQ Championship. They had a final-round 71 to finish T-5th, two shots back of the winner, Bernhard Langer, at the Insperity Invitational. He was T-6th at the Senior Open Championship. Three shots back of the winner, Miguel Angel Jimenez. He was 5th at the Boeing Classic, six shots back of the winner Scott Parel. A year after finishing 49th in the Charles Schwab Cup, Pernice rebounded to finish 27th in the final standings of 2018.
2019 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour Champions events with two top-ten finishes. He was 39th on the final Schwab Rankings. Pernice aced the first hole in the final round in his birth state of Missouri as he and his partner Scott Hoch went on to win the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf by five shots. His best individual finish was 2nd at the Boeing Classic, three shots back of the winner Brandt Jobe.
2020 & 2021 Notes: Played in 34 PGA Tour Champions events with four top-25s and finished 75th in the Charles Schwab Cup. Best 2020 finish: T-13th at the Morocco Champions. Best 2021 finish T-18th at the Senior Open Championship. He ended his season with a T-57th at the Dominion Energy Charity.
2022 Notes: Played in 23 PGA Tour Champions events with three top-ten finishes. It was 45th in the Schwab rankings and 44th on the money list with earnings of $501,916. He was T-10th at the Hoag Classic and Dick's Sporting Goods Open. He was 2nd at the American Family Insurance Championship thanks to a bogey-free final round 66. He was one back of winner Thongchai Jaidee; the runner-up finish was his best result on the PGA Tour Champions since he was runner-up at the 2019 Boeing Classic.
2023 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events with one top-25 finish. It was 70th in the Schwab rankings and 70th on the money list with earnings of $203,069. Best finish T-17th at the American Family Insurance.
2024 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events with 3 top-25 finishes. Was 75th on the Schwab money list with earnings of $205,046. Best finish T-17th at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic.
2025 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events with 2 top-25 finishes. Was 82nd on the Schwab Cup list with earnings of $159,286. Best finish, T-21st at the Principal Charity Classic.
2026 Notes: Was T-23rd at the Chubb Classic.