Peter Jacobsen

Peter Erling Jacobsen (born March 4, 1954) is an American professional golfer and commentator on Golf Channel and NBC. He has played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. He has won seven events on the PGA Tour and two events on the Champions Tour, both majors.

Early life
Jacobsen was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He graduated from Portland’s Lincoln High School.

Amateur career
Jacobsen played college golf at the University of Oregon. He turned professional in 1976 after winning the Oregon Open as an amateur.

Professional career
Jacobsen qualified for the PGA Tour in his first attempt, finishing in 19th place at the 1976 qualifying tournament. He made steady progress during his first few seasons on the tour, before capturing his first title in 1980 at the Buick-Goodwrench Open. He won twice on the tour in 1984 and broke into the top-10 on the money list for the first time. Two more wins in 1995 catapulted him to a career best 7th place on the end of season money list. As a result of his performance during those two seasons, he was selected to play in two Ryder Cups, in 1985 and 1995.

Jacobsen has won seven tournaments on the PGA Tour, the last coming at the 2003 Greater Hartford Open at the age of 49, making him one of the oldest players to win on the PGA Tour. That year he was voted the Tour's comeback player of the year.

Since turning fifty, Jacobsen has competed mainly on the Champions Tour, although he continued to play on the PGA Tour for several years. In his first year of eligibility for senior golf, he won the 2004 U.S. Senior Open, one of senior golf's major championships. The following year he added a second senior major title at the 2005 Senior Players Championship.

Broadcasting and business career
Away from competing, Jacobsen has presented two shows on the Golf Channel. Plugged In was a variety show, featuring music, story-telling and skits performed with co-host Matt Griesser, former star of the FootJoy SignBoy campaign, and Peter and Friends was a panel discussion show.

Jacobsen provided video and audio commentary for Golden Tee Golf, a video game from Incredible Technologies, including Peter Jacobson's Golden Tee 3D Golf.

Jacobsen also owns Peter Jacobsen Sports. It is an event management company that has run several professional golf tournaments including the JELD-WEN Tradition, one of the majors on the Champions Tour. The company also runs the CVS Caremark Charity Classic, one of the PGA Tour's Challenge Series events. Until 2002 it also organized the Fred Meyer Challenge, a three-day charity event in Oregon. Jacobsen is also the face of Peter Jacobsen Challenge Keno and Peter Jacobsen Challenge Poker, two video gambling casino games.

Personal life
Jacobsen is married to Jan. The couple married in December 1976. They have three children: Amy, Kristen, and Mick.

He is known for his laid-back, humorous personality. During the Fred Meyer Challenge, Jacobsen was known to do impressions of other players, such as Craig Stadler. The event was filmed and broadcast on the Golf Channel, and they have released a DVD and VHS of the footage, titled "Peter's Party." Jacobsen also appeared as himself alongside Kevin Costner in the 1996 movie Tin Cup, where he was the winner of the fictional U.S. Open.

A self-taught guitarist, Jacobsen was a founding member and lead singer of Jake Trout & The Flounders, a band he formed in the mid-80s with Mark Lye and Payne Stewart. The group is no longer together, but they recorded two albums.

Amateur wins (1)

 * 1974 Pacific-8 Conference Championship

PGA Tour wins (7)
PGA Tour playoff record (1–3)

Other wins (7)

 * 1976 Oregon Open (as an amateur), Northern California Open
 * 1979 Oregon Open
 * 1981 Johnnie Walker Trophy
 * 1982 Johnnie Walker Trophy
 * 1986 Fred Meyer Challenge (with Curtis Strange; Shared title with Greg Norman & Gary Player)
 * 1989 Isuzu Kapalua International

Other senior wins (1)

 * 2008 Wendy's Champions Skins Game (with Fuzzy Zoeller)

Results in major championships
{{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} CUT = missed the half-way cut WD = Withdrew "T" = tied

Summary

 * Most consecutive cuts made – 15 (1980 U.S. Open – 1984 PGA)
 * Longest streak of top-10 finishes – 1 (six times)

Results in The Players Championship
{{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships
{{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} "T" = Tied

Results timeline
Results not in chronological order before 2017.

{{legend|lime|Win}} {{legend|yellow|Top 10}} {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place

Awards

 * 2003 PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year
 * 2003 Oregon Sports Hall of Fame
 * 2006 Francis Ouimet Award
 * 2012 Old Tom Morris Award
 * 2013 Payne Stewart Award
 * 2017 Northern Ohio Golf Charities Ambassador of Golf Award
 * 2022 Golf Writers Association of America ASAP Sports/Jim Murray Award

U.S. national team appearances
Professional
 * Japan vs USA Match: 1984
 * Ryder Cup: 1985, 1995
 * Dunhill Cup: 1995
 * Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 1995, 2003 (winners), 2004 (Champions Tour)