Tommy Armour III: Living large on and off the course

June 3, 2009

Tommy Armour III is approaching 30 years as a professional golfer. His career has included glimpses of stardom, more than 1,800 tournament rounds and a well-documented celebratory lifestyle as a member of one of golf’s most enduring families.

“You only get one trip around life,” Armour has said often. “Golf is just something that I love to do. I don’t play for the money, I never have. I’ve made a lot of good friends playing golf professionally.”

Good times off the golf course are a personal choice. But persistentcy and consistency keep golfers on the pro circuit. And Armour has fashioned a long career (he turned pro in 1981) with rare moments in the spotlight, but many years of being in the mix.

Now five months from eligibility on the Champions Tour, Armour finished 64ht last week in his 13th PGA Tour event of 2009 at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in Ft. Worth, Texas. He hasn’t won in 2009, but he has five top-25 finishes the season.

In fact, Armour has won only twice on the PGA Tour, but his name is omnipresent in professional golf for three reasons:

* Armour’s win at the 2003 Valero Texas Open is still a PGA Tour 72-hole record pf 34-under par;

* Armour is the grandson of Tommy Armour, the three-time major tournament winner and member of the Golf Hall of Fame;

* Although he’s not involved, the Armour family name is the signature (his grandfather’s) logo on the top line of golf equipment.

Armour’s family legacy isn’t a keen topic for the current PGA Tour player. He doesn’t shy away from discussions of his grandfather or his father, who was a businessman but not a pro golfer. But Armour doesn’t start a conversation about his family, either. The reason? Perhaps it’s a case of “actions speak louder than words.”

At least by reputation, Tommy Armour III seems a lot like Tommy Armour I. Here’s how the original Tommy Armour is described on the golf equipment’s web site:

“During golf’s golden age, a flash of silver appeared from across the sea: Tommy Armour, the Silver Scot. While he gained renown as a world-class raconteur, drinker, and gambler with an eye for the ladies, Tommy Armour was also a wounded and decorated veteran of World War I.

“He was a master bridge player. A concert-level violinist. A best-selling author. And, in his later years, the most respected—and expensive—golf instructor of his day. Ultimately, Tommy Armour was a champion. And his 25 PGA victories—including three Majors— have earned him a place in the World Golf Hall of Fame.”

Tommy Armour III doesn’t share all of his grandfather’s talents and interests, but he’s upheld the family tradition in several ways.

With rare exceptions, Tommy Armour III had retained his PGA Tour status throughout his career. But last season was among his best. He had five top-10 finishes and finished 62nd on the money list with more than $1.5 million in officials earnings. It was the first time in his career Armour surpassed $1 million in a season.

Armour also ended more than a four-year pro tournament winless streak in 2007 when won the uniquely formatted Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational. The “Silly Season” event features men and women players from the five major pros in head-to-head competition. Armour successfully defended his title last November on the first hole of a “sudden death” playoff against former U.S. Open winner Scott Simpson and young pro Brock MacKenzie.

This season, Armour has one top-10 finish and five top-25 finishes in 12 events. He will become eligible for the Champions Tour of Oct. 8. He’s undecided on what Tour he’ll favor next season.

Regardless, the Armour legacy remains.

Earlier this season, after an opening-round 67 at the Northern Trust Open, Armour was asked about his long career and if he’s made any drastic changes:

“A couple of wives,” said Armour to an immediately laughing audience. “As for golf, I’ve always worked at it and had fun working at it.”

Posted in PGA Tour, Player Profiles