Tway looking forward to 50, watching his son play golf

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PGA TOUR veteran Bob Tway caddied for his son Kevin at the U.S. Open in 2008.

Dec. 10, 2008
By Lauren Deason, PGATOUR.COM Editorial Coordinator

Some of golf's favorite names and most familiar faces will be joining the Champions Tour in 2009. Over the next three weeks, PGATOUR.COM will take a look at the former PGA TOUR winners who turned 50 in late 2008 or who will hit the half-century mark in 2009 and likely make their Champions Tour debut.

After playing in 19 PGA TOUR events in 2008, it came down to the last tournament of the season for Bob Tway.

Tway was 131st on the PGA TOUR money list going into the Children's Miracle Network Classic. He'd received a sponsor's exemption for the event and needed to capitalize on that to move into the top 125 and secure his TOUR spot for 2009. All it would take to reach fully-exempt status was $65,000.

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Tway won eight times on the PGA TOUR from 1986 to 2003.

The Basics

NAME: Robert Raymond Tway

HT: 6-4 WT: 195

BIRTHDATE: May 4, 1959

BIRTHPLACE: Oklahoma City, Okla.

RESIDENCE: Edmond, Okla.

TURNED PRO: 1981

TOUR WINS: 8

Photo gallery

Click here for a look back at Tway's PGA TOUR career.

He fired a 62 in the second round to safely make the weekend, but followed that up with a 75 and 71 to tie for 52nd. Tway wound up 132nd on the final money list and now has conditional status on the PGA TOUR for 2009.

Unlike the young golfers who were fighting for their livelihoods, though, Tway will have another option next year. While he'll rely on sponsor's exemptions at the start of the season, the veteran turns 50 on May 4 and could make his first Champions Tour start at the Regions Charity Classic.

"I'm really looking forward to playing the Champions Tour. I talked with David Edwards and a few of the guys and everyone tells me what a fun time it is out there," Tway said. "Obviously, the competition is great but they all say it's just a wonderful time. I'm really looking forward to that."

The man with eight TOUR wins -- including the PGA Championship in 1986 -- has been playing on the PGA TOUR since 1981. Bob began his professional career seven years before his son, Kevin, was even born. Bob also captured his first four wins in 1986, which was two years before Kevin came into the world.

Kevin was not old enough to remember his father's victories in 1989 or 1990 either, but luckily dad fought his way back into the winner's circle at the 1995 MCI Classic after a four-year drought. And Kevin can definitely remember the 2003 season, when Bob re-emerged to finish 13th on the money list and pick up a win at the Bell Canadian Open, which came eight years after his last victory.

Now Kevin is 20 and, like his old man, pursuing a career in golf. He plays for Oklahoma State -- the same school Bob attended. Bob says he enjoys watching his son's golf matches so much -- and his daughter Carly's dance performances -- that he'd rather do that than play his own game.

"I get more thrill out of watching my kids do stuff then me do stuff," Bob told D.J. Gregory in January 2008. "I mean if I couldn't play golf anymore and only watch them (my kids) do stuff, that would be fine."

Though he didn't know it at the time, those words would take on a whole new meaning at this year's U.S. Open. In 2008, the tournament was held at Torrey Pines, which was the site of Tway's first TOUR victory at the 1986 Shearson Lehman Brothers Andy Williams Open. Bob could have played at Torrey Pines -- he entered the U.S. Open qualifier in Ohio -- but withdrew from that to caddie for Kevin in the same qualifier.

"I hadn't played much, so I thought, 'Hell, I'll just go caddie for Kevin.' I thought he would have a good chance of making it," Bob said to golf.com.

With a major champion on the bag, Kevin rose to the occasion. Kevin, the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur winner and winner of the NCAA Central regional in 2008, had fired an 84 in the final round of the NCAA tournament just weeks before the qualifier. But he secured a spot in the U.S. Open field with three strokes to spare and beat a qualifying field that included Fred Couples, Tom Lehman and Chris DiMarco.

Scott Verplank, one of Bob's closest friends on the PGA TOUR, said Bob might want to consider quitting his day job.

"I called him after Kevin made it and said, 'Bob, you found your calling,''' said Verplank. "The kid shot 84 in the last round of the NCAA, and he coached him to 7 under against TOUR pros. I told him we finally found what he's really good at.''

The elder Tway, though, is not hanging up the spikes just yet to become a full-time looper. He's got the FedExCup race to focus on at the start of the season and the Charles Schwab Cup competition when he joins the Champions Tour.

Five things you may not know -- or may not remember -- about Bob Tway

1. When Bob Tway caddied for son Kevin in the U.S. Open, he saw a very familiar face in the caddie tent. His younger brother, Scott, now caddies for Scott Verplank after caddying for Bob at the start of his career. In 2004, Bob Tway and Scott Verplank played together at the World Cup in Seville, Spain, which made it a truly family affair.

2. At the age of five, Tway's father and grandfather began teaching him the game. He played in his first tournament as a seven-year-old, and won the Redding Country Club Championship as a junior golfer in Redding, Conn.

3. Tway, who was born in Oklahoma City, Okla., attended Oklahoma State University and was a three-time first-team All-American on the golf team. As a freshman in 1978, he earned a NCAA Championship with the team that included seniors Lindy Miller and David Edwards. Two years later, Tway was the star of the team and helped them win the national championship again. He also won the Haskins Award during his senior year.

4. He's a major winner and champion golfer, but Tway is also famous for something rather embarrassing. Tway holds the record for highest score recorded on the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass during THE PLAYERS Championship. In 2005, Tway was only four shots out of the lead when he came to the island green. But, when his first four attempts found water and when he three putted after finally hitting the green, Tway recorded a 12 on the hole and dropped from 7-under par to 2-over and 13 strokes back.

5. When he's not playing golf, Tway enjoys snow skiing, fishing and any other sports. But the father of two told D.J. Gregory (Click here to read about Gregory's week with Tway) that there's one thing he likes more than anything -- spending time with his kids. "My main activity is probably watching my kids participate. Any time I have a chance I go watch my son play. I don't get to watch my daughter dance as much as I probably should, but I enjoy doing that. Just watching them (my kids) is probably more important and more fun then anything else," he said.