Thomas Andrew Bean (March 13, 1953 – October 14, 2023) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour.

Andy Bean
Personal information
Full nameThomas Andrew Bean
Born(1953-03-13)March 13, 1953
LaFayette, Georgia, U.S.
DiedOctober 14, 2023(2023-10-14) (aged 70)
Lakeland, Florida, U.S.
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight260 lb (120 kg; 19 st)
Sporting nationality United States
SpouseDebbie
Children3
Career
CollegeUniversity of Florida
Turned professional1975
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins18
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour11
Japan Golf Tour2
PGA Tour Champions3
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT10: 1982
PGA Championship2nd/T2: 1980, 1989
U.S. OpenT6: 1978
The Open ChampionshipT2: 1983

Bean won numerous tournaments at both the amateur and professional level. Bean won 11 PGA Tour events, including the 1986 Byron Nelson Golf Classic, and three events on the Champions Tour, including a nine-stroke victory at the 2008 Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

Early years

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Bean was born in LaFayette, Georgia, on March 13, 1953,[1] and raised on Jekyll Island, Georgia, where his father was associated with a golf course. His family moved to Lakeland, Florida, when he was 15, and his father bought a golf course there.[1]

College career

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Bean attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he became a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity (Florida Upsilon Chapter) and played for coach Buster Bishop's Florida Gators men's golf team from 1972 to 1975.[2] While he was a Florida student, he won four amateur tournaments. Bean and future fellow PGA Tour players Woody Blackburn, Phil Hancock, and Gary Koch were members of the Gators' 1973 team that won the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and NCAA Championships.[3] He was a first-team All-SEC selection in 1973 and 1975, and an All-American in 1973, 1974 and 1975.[2][4] He graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in marketing in 1975, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 1978.[5][6]

Professional career

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Bean turned professional in 1975. He finished inside the top 35 on the money list from 1977 to 1986. In five of those years he was in the top seven. His first PGA Tour victory was at the Doral-Eastern Open in 1977, and his last was at the Byron Nelson Golf Classic in 1986. In 1978 he won three times. Bean played on the United States Ryder Cup team in 1979 and 1987 and spent several weeks ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings in 1986 and 1987.[7]

Bean never won a major championship but he finished second three times. He had a solo second-place finish behind Jack Nicklaus at the 1980 PGA Championship. At the 1983 British Open, Bean and Hale Irwin finished tied for second, one stroke behind Tom Watson; and in the 1989 PGA Championship, Bean, Mike Reid, and Curtis Strange tied for second, one stroke behind Payne Stewart.[8]

After turning 50 in March, 2003, Bean played on the Champions Tour, where he won for the first time at the 2006 Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn. In May, 2008, he added a second Champions Tour title with a victory in the Regions Charity Classic. He won the season ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship in 2008 at Sonoma, California, winning by nine shots over Gene Jones with a tournament record 20-under-par total.

Bean was inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 2000.[1]

Personal life and death

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Bean lived in Lakeland, Florida, where he enjoyed hunting and fishing. He and his wife Debbie have three daughters: Lauren, Lindsay, and Jordan.

Bean died from complications of double lung transplant surgery in Lakeland on October 14, 2023. He was 70.[9][10]

Amateur wins

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Professional wins (18)

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PGA Tour wins (11)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Mar 13, 1977 Doral-Eastern Open −11 (67-67-71-72=277) 1 stroke   David Graham
2 Jun 4, 1978 Kemper Open −15 (72-67-68-66=273) 5 strokes   Mark Hayes,   Andy North
3 Jun 11, 1978 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic −11 (70-68-69-70=277) Playoff   Lee Trevino
4 Jul 2, 1978 Western Open −6 (70-71-75-66=282) Playoff   Bill Rogers
5 Jun 10, 1979 Atlanta Classic −23 (70-67-61-67=265) 8 strokes   Joe Inman
6 Feb 10, 1980 Hawaiian Open −22 (71-63-66-66=266) 3 strokes   Lee Trevino
7 Mar 1, 1981 Bay Hill Classic −18 (68-62-67-69=266) 7 strokes   Tom Watson
8 Feb 28, 1982 Doral-Eastern Open (2) −10 (68-69-72-69=278) 1 stroke   Scott Hoch,   Mike Nicolette,
  Jerry Pate
9 Apr 8, 1984 Greater Greensboro Open −8 (71-67-72-70=280) 2 strokes   George Archer
10 Mar 9, 1986 Doral-Eastern Open (3) −12 (71-68-68-69=276) Playoff   Hubert Green
11 May 11, 1986 Byron Nelson Golf Classic −11 (66-68-67-68=269) 1 stroke   Mark Wiebe

PGA Tour playoff record (3–3)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1978 Danny Thomas Memphis Classic   Lee Trevino Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1978 Western Open   Bill Rogers Won with par on first extra hole
3 1979 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am   Mark Hayes,   Lon Hinkle Hinkle won with birdie on third extra hole
Bean eliminated by par on second hole
4 1984 Honda Classic   Bruce Lietzke Lost to par on first extra hole
5 1984 Memorial Tournament   Jack Nicklaus Lost to par on third extra hole
6 1986 Doral-Eastern Open   Hubert Green Won with birdie on fourth extra hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Nov 26, 1978 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament −13 (67-70-69-69=275) 5 strokes   Graham Marsh
2 Nov 1, 1987 ABC Japan-U.S. Match −19 (64-72-68-65=269) 5 strokes   Masahiro Kuramoto

Other wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Nov 15, 1986 Isuzu Kapalua International −10 (72-68-68-70=278) 2 strokes   Davis Love III
2 Nov 14, 1987 Isuzu Kapalua International (2) −21 (66-65-69-67=267) 3 strokes   Lanny Wadkins

Champions Tour wins (3)

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Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other Champions Tour (2)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Oct 1, 2006 Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn −15 (63-70-68=201) Playoff   R. W. Eaks
2 May 18, 2008 Regions Charity Classic −13 (65-68-70=203) 1 stroke   Loren Roberts
3 Nov 2, 2008 Charles Schwab Cup Championship −20 (68-66-68-66=268) 9 strokes   Gene Jones

Champions Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2006 Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn   R. W. Eaks Won with birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T19 T24 T28
U.S. Open CUT T63 T23 T6 T25
The Open Championship T48
PGA Championship CUT T7 T12
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament T12 CUT T10 CUT T18 T25 CUT T35 CUT 51
U.S. Open CUT WD T34 T11 T15 T24 CUT T12 CUT
The Open Championship T6 T2 T14 T35 T14 T40 T16 CUT
PGA Championship 2 CUT T30 T16 T3 T53 T65 CUT T2
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Masters Tournament T33
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 1 6 14 10
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 1 7 16 9
The Open Championship 0 1 0 1 2 5 9 8
PGA Championship 0 2 1 3 4 6 14 9
Totals 0 3 1 4 8 24 53 36
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (1983 U.S. Open – 1985 PGA)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1980 Open Championship – 1980 PGA)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992
The Players Championship CUT T28 8 T51 WD T35 CUT CUT CUT T21 CUT T36 T8 T9 CUT CUT
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Andy Bean (2000)". Florida Sports Hall of Fame, Inductees. Retrieved July 19, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Florida Men's Golf 2013 Media Supplement" (PDF). Gainesville, Florida: University Athletic Association. pp. 33, 36, 39, 41. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 5, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2013..
  3. ^ Andreu, Robbie (June 18, 2009). "Top 25 Gator teams: #8 1973 Men's golf". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  4. ^ "2008–09 Florida Gators Men's Golf Media Guide" (PDF). Gainesville, Florida: University Athletic Association. 2008. p. 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  5. ^ "Gator Greats". F Club, Hall of Fame. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  6. ^ "Bean And Koch Inducted". The Ledger. Lakeland, Florida. March 30, 1978. p. 1D. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  7. ^ "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking". Official World Golf Ranking. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  8. ^ "Andy Bean". Golf Major Championships. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
  9. ^ "Andy Bean, 11-time PGA Tour winner, dies after recent lung replacement surgery". NBC Sports. October 14, 2023.
  10. ^ "11-time PGA Tour winner Andy Bean dies at 70". ESPN. Reuters. October 14, 2023.
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