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William Timothy Britton (born November 13, 1955) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour for fifteen years during the 1980s and 1990s.
| Bill Britton | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | William Timothy Britton |
| Born | November 13, 1955 Staten Island, New York |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Weight | 140 lb (64 kg; 10 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  United States |
| Residence | Rumson, New Jersey[1] |
| Career | |
| College | Miami Dade North University of Florida |
| Turned professional | 1979 |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Professional wins | 5 |
| Highest ranking | 97 (August 4, 1991)[2] |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 1 |
| Other | 4 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | T7: 1990 |
| PGA Championship | 4th: 1990 |
| U.S. Open | T60: 1984 |
| The Open Championship | CUT: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 |
Britton was born and raised on Staten Island, New York, and attended Monsignor Farrell High School.[3] He played college golf at Miami Dade College, and in 1975 he won the National Junior College Athletic Association Championship. He received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Buster Bishop's Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) competition in 1976 and 1977.[4] Britton graduated from Florida with a bachelor's degree in health and human performance in 1979. He was mentored by Jim Albus, a club professional and six-time winner on the Champions Tour.
Britton is a two-time winner of the Metropolitan Amateur, and was the two-time defending champion when the tournament was held at Century Country Club in Purchase, New York, in 1977. He advanced to the quarterfinals at Century, and played Lou Mattiace, the father of future PGA Tour player Len Mattiace. In a memorable match, Mattiace dethroned the Staten Island native on the 18th green, 1-up.
Britton then turned professional in 1979 and joined the PGA Tour in 1980.[5] During his 15 years on the Tour, Britton won once and had 23 top-10 finishes. His best finishes in majors came in 1990: T-7 at The Masters and 4th in the PGA Championship.[5][6]
After his years as a touring pro were over, Britton became a teaching pro and author in New Jersey. He has published articles for The Met Golfer, New Jersey Golfer and Sports Illustrated. He has been named one of the "Top Ten Teachers" in New Jersey by Golf Digest. He was New Jersey Section PGA's Player of the Year in 2002, and Senior Player of the Year in 2006.[5] He has played in a limited number of PGA Tour Champions events, playing his last event in 2017. He currently serves as the head men's golf coach for Monmouth University.
- 1975 Metropolitan Amateur, National Junior College Championship
- 1976 Metropolitan Amateur
- 1979 Azalea Invitational
PGA Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 1, 1989 | Centel Classic | −16 (71-66-63=200)* | 4 strokes |  Ronnie Black |
*Note: The 1989 Centel Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.
PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1982 | Walt Disney World Golf Classic | Hal Sutton |
Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole |
Other wins (4)
- 1979 Metropolitan Open
- 1986 Westchester Open
- 2005 New Jersey PGA Championship
- 2006 New Jersey PGA Championship
| Tournament | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | T60 | CUT | CUT | CUT | |||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T77 | T41 |
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T7 | CUT | |||||||||||||
| U.S. Open | |||||||||||||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | |||||||||||
| PGA Championship | 4 | CUT | T21 | CUT |
Top 10
Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 6 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (1989 PGA – 1990 PGA)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1990 Masters – 1990 PGA)
| Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior PGA Championship | T68 | T16 | T33 | T75 | CUT | T35 | CUT | CUT | |
| U.S. Senior Open | T53 | T50 | CUT |
Did not play
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
- Britton has been inducted into the Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame.
- Spring 1980 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 1983 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 1984 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 1986 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 1987 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 1993 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 1994 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- List of Florida Gators men's golfers on the PGA Tour
- List of University of Florida alumni
- Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame
- {{Section link}}: required section parameter(s) missing
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