African-American golf great Calvin Peete has died at the age of 71, according to WSB-TV in Atlanta.
Born in Detroit on July 18, 1943, Peete became the most successful black golfer on the PGA Tour before the career of Tiger Woods, notching 12 wins. He won four times in 1982, finishing fourth on the money list that year. He also had two-win seasons in 1983, '85 and '86.
Peete was a member of the 1983 and '85 Ryder Cup teams, earning a 4-2-1 mark. He won the 1984 Vardon Trophy, given to the player with the lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour.
Despite suffering from a broken arm as a child that was never set right, Peete was one of the most accurate drivers of the ball in PGA Tour history. For 10 years, from 1981-1990, Peete led the Tour in driving accuracy. In 1983, he hit an astounding 84.55 percent of fairways in 87 PGA Tour rounds.
Peete posted three top-four finishes in the majors, including a T-3 finish in the 1982 PGA, and T-4 efforts in the 1983 U.S. Open and 1984 PGA.
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