It is hard to believe Peter Jacobsen is now 70 years old, as he was born on March 4, 1954. Peter is one of the most famous and successful golfers from Oregon, born in Portland, graduating from Lincoln High School, and going on to play for the University of Oregon golf team in college.
Peter turned professional in 1976 after winning the Oregon Open as an amateur. His journey to play on the PGA Tour happened quickly when he qualified in Q-School on his first attempt in 1976. He went on to win 7 times on the PGA Tour and 2 times on the Champions Tour (both Majors). He never won a Major Championship on the PGA Tour, yet he did play well enough to be on two Ryder Cup teams in 1985 and 1995.
Peter had an interesting career with a total of 18 professional wins, including one on the PGA Tour of Australasia. His first win came in 1980 at the Buick Goodwrench Open and the last one in 2005 with the Senior Players Championship. His last win on the PGA Tour at the Greater Hartford Open in 2003 came when he was 49 years old.
After retiring from competitive golf, Jacobsen went on to do some broadcasting and hosted two shows on the Golf Channel. He also went into the golf course design business, helping to design courses like Brasada Canyons Golf Course in Powell Butte, OR – near Pronghorn designed by Jack Nicklaus.
He also was in a musical band in the mid-80s as the guitarist/vocalist with fellow pro golfers Mark Lye and Payne Stewart called Jake Trout & The Flounders. They produced two albums full of humor and music about golf. The last album called “I Love to Play” was released in 1998 with songs such as “Love the One You Whiff,” “I Just Wanna Cry,” and “Get it to the Hole.” Sadly, bandmate and Hall of Fame golfer Payne Stewart died the next year, in 1999, in a plane crash.
Here is one of their humorous remake cover songs:
Jacobsen played in 662 events on the PGA Tour, making 463 cuts with 15 runner-ups, 8 third-place finishes, 40 top 5 finishes, and 77 top 10 finishes, making him a total of nearly $7.8 million total.
Other golf accolades include winning the Individual Pac-8 Conference Championship in 1974 and the Western Australian Open in 1979.
When asked by Links Magazine what his favorite golf course to play, Jacobsen said Pebble Beach. As for the first course he ever played, Gearhart Golf Links was the answer – the oldest golf course in Oregon and west of the Mississippi. The course he’s played the most often, Waverley Country Club in Portland. The hardest course he ever played, Oakmont; and the best course he’s ever played, Winged Foot.
Interestingly, Jacobsen was also featured in the movie "Tin Cup" in 1996 with Kevin Costner, as the winner of the movie’s U.S. Open.
Pro golfer, golf course designer, musician, and actor, Peter Jacobsen has been busy in his 70 years of life. His laid-back and humorous personality always made him a fan and fellow player favorite, and his golfing ability was on the elite level for four decades.
The final bit of information about Jacobsen comes from the 1985 Open Championship, where he became famous for doing something very strange – tackling a naked streaker on the 18th green at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England. I’ll share the video below, so you can see the type of good humor and personality Jacobsen brought to the game of golf and why he is a great representative of Oregon golfers.
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