Introduction
Robert T. Byman (born April 25, 1955) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour.
Byman was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. He attended Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and was a member of the golf team. He played with Jay Haas and Curtis Strange on the 1974 and 1975 teams, which won the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships. Golf World has called the 1974–75 teams "the greatest college team of all time". He turned pro in 1976.
Byman spent the early part of his professional career playing on the European Tour, where he had a great deal of success, winning four times. Tiger Woods is the only American golfer with more regular European Tour wins. He played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1979–84. His best year was 1979 when he won the Bay Hill Citrus Classic in a playoff against John Schroeder, earned $94,243, and made the cut in all 20 of his starts. His best finish in a major championship was T-7 in the 1979 British Open.
Byman also won the New Zealand Open, an official event on the Australian Tour. Almost uniquely for an American golfer he won more events internationally than domestically.
Byman played on the European Seniors Tour in 2005.
Amateur wins (6)
this list may be incomplete
- 1971 Colorado Amateur
- 1972 U.S. Junior Amateur, Colorado Amateur
- 1973 Colorado Amateur
- 1976 Northeast Amateur, Rice Planters Amateur
Professional wins (6)
PGA Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 4, 1979 | Bay Hill Citrus Classic | −6 (67-70-70-71=278) | Playoff | John Schroeder |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1979 | Bay Hill Citrus Classic | John Schroeder | Won with par on second extra hole |
European Tour wins (4)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 24, 1977 | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | −13 (70-69-68-68=275) | 1 stroke | Hugh Baiocchi |
| 2 | Aug 14, 1977 | Dutch Open | −10 (69-70-68-71=278) | 1 stroke | Hugh Baiocchi |
| 3 | Jul 23, 1978 | Dutch Open | −2 (74-72-68=214) | 1 stroke | Nick Price |
| 4 | Jul 4, 1982 | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | −9 (69-69-66-71=275) | 3 strokes | Sam Torrance |
PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dec 11, 1977 | New Zealand Open | +6 (66-72-78-74=290) | 1 stroke | Terry Gale |
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T34 | |||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | CUT | ||||||
| The Open Championship | T17 | T7 | CUT | CUT | ||||
| PGA Championship | 77 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied