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Dow Finsterwald

United States · born , Athens, Ohio · died

1major championship

Summary

  • First major 1958 PGA Championship
  • Ryder Cup 4 Cups · 9-3-1 · 9.5 points (73.1%)
  • Ryder Cup captain 1977
  • Runner-up in majors 2 times

Wins

  1. 1958 PGA Championship Llanerch Country Club · 276 (-4) · by 2 strokes from Billy Casper

Near misses

  1. 1957 PGA Championship Miami Valley Golf Club · runner-up to Lionel Hebert · lost the final 2 & 1
  2. 1962 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Arnold Palmer · 280 · lost playoff

Ryder Cup

4 Cups, 13 matches: 9 won, 3 lost, 1 halved, 9.5 points. Foursomes 4-0-1, four-ball 2-0-0, singles 3-3-0.

  1. 1957 Lindrick Golf Club USA · GB won 7.5–4.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point · automatic
  2. 1959 Eldorado Country Club USA · USA won 8.5–3.5 · 2-0-0, 2 points
  3. 1961 Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club USA · USA won 14.5–9.5 · 2-1-0, 2 points
  4. 1963 Atlanta Athletic Club (East Lake course) USA · USA won 23–9 · 4-1-1, 4.5 points
  5. 1977 Captain USA · won 12.5–7.5

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Lionel Hebert's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1958 PGA Championship The first PGA Championship played at stroke play was also the first televised, with CBS airing the last three holes and the trophy presentation.
  2. 1958 PGA Championship Finsterwald shot a front-nine 31 in his closing 67 to overtake 54-hole leader Sam Snead, who closed with 73 and finished third.

Results by championship

    Best day

    1958 PGA Championship

    Llanerch Country Club, Havertown, Pennsylvania · 276 (-4) · by 2 strokes from Billy Casper

    The first PGA Championship played at stroke play was also the first televised, with CBS airing the last three holes and the trophy presentation.

    Finsterwald shot a front-nine 31 in his closing 67 to overtake 54-hole leader Sam Snead, who closed with 73 and finished third.

    Chosen by rule: his widest winning margin in a major. Year page: 1958.

    Career line, 1957–1963

    Masters
    1962 Masters: runner-up to Arnold Palmer
    PGA Championship
    1957 PGA Championship: runner-up to Lionel Hebert1958 PGA Championship: won
    Ryder Cup
    1957 Ryder Cup (USA): 1-1-01959 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-0-01961 Ryder Cup (USA): 2-1-01963 Ryder Cup (USA): 4-1-1
    1958196019621964

    7 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Ryder Cup, USA

    Dow Finsterwald was born on September 6, 1929, in Athens, Ohio. Finsterwald won one major championship: the 1958 PGA Championship. Finsterwald played in 4 Ryder Cups for USA (1957, 1959, 1961, 1963), winning 9, losing 3 and halving 1 of 13 matches for 9.5 points, and captained the side in 1977.

    See Dow Finsterwald in our rooms: The Masters, Greatest Golfer by State and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (1)

    1. 1958 PGA Championship Llanerch Country Club, Havertown, Pennsylvania · 276 (-4) · by 2 strokes from Billy Casper

    Near misses

    1. 1957 PGA Championship Miami Valley Golf Club · runner-up to Lionel Hebert · lost the final 2 & 1
    2. 1962 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · runner-up to Arnold Palmer · 280 · lost playoff

    Ryder Cup

    Finsterwald played 4 Ryder Cups for USA: 13 matches, 9 won, 3 lost, 1 halved, 9.5 points (73.1% of those available). By format: foursomes 4-0-1, four-ball 2-0-0, singles 3-3-0 (won-lost-halved).

    1. 1957 Lindrick Golf Club USA · GB won 7.5–4.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point · automatic
    2. 1959 Eldorado Country Club USA · USA won 8.5–3.5 · 2-0-0, 2 points
    3. 1961 Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club USA · USA won 14.5–9.5 · 2-1-0, 2 points
    4. 1963 Atlanta Athletic Club (East Lake course) USA · USA won 23–9 · 4-1-1, 4.5 points
    5. 1977 Captain USA · won 12.5–7.5

    Partners, with matches played together: Gene Littler (2), Arnold Palmer (2), Doug Ford (1), Julius Boros (1), Jerry Barber (1).

    PGA Championship match play

    Every recorded match in our bracket file, 1916–1957: 4 won, 1 lost, including 0 of 1 finals.

    1. 1957 Round of 32 beat Joe Kirkwood Jr. 2 & 1
    2. 1957 Round of 16 beat Sam Snead 2 & 1
    3. 1957 Quarterfinal beat Charles Sheppard 2 up
    4. 1957 Semifinal beat Don Whitt 2 up
    5. 1957 Final lost to Lionel Hebert 2 & 1

    Sources

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. where2golf
    2. PGA Tour
    3. Legacy.com obituary
    4. PGA Tour obituary
    5. Golf Compendium PGA Tour career wins
    6. Golf Compendium winners list
    7. WP: List of American Ryder Cup golfers
    8. rydercup.com — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://rydercup.com/news-media/usa/ryder-cup-team-usa-past-captains
    9. Golf Compendium
    10. Golf Compendium 1958
    11. PGA of America 2012 media guide
    12. The Golf News Net history table (2026)
    13. Today's Golfer purse history
    14. PGA of America 1958 leaderboard
    15. Golf Digest Middle East prize-money history
    16. Trenham, televised golf found its future
    17. AP via News4Jax, Finsterwald obituary
    18. Golf Today tournament records
    19. PGA of America 2013 media guide, p. 72
    20. Golf Compendium 1957
    21. PGA of America winners & venues
    22. Dayton Daily News, 1957
    23. GC: 1957 ryder cup
    24. Wikipedia: 1957 Ryder Cup
    25. GC: 1959 ryder cup
    26. Wikipedia: 1959 Ryder Cup
    27. GC: 1961 ryder cup
    28. WP 1961
    29. GC: 1963 ryder cup
    30. WP 1963