MAMARONECK, N.Y. — Tom Nieporte, the longtime club pro at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, died Sunday in South Florida at the age of 86.
Nieporte won three times on the PGA Tour and remains the last club pro to win a Tour event, winning the Bob Hope Desert Classic in 1967.
Nieporte taught golf for 45 years in the area, including a 28-year stint at Winged Foot from 1978 until his retirement in 2006.
He grew up in the suburbs of Cincinnati and won an individual NCAA golf title in 1951 while at Ohio State. The school inducted him into its Varsity Hall of Fame in 1983.
Nieporte won eight other times as a pro golfer, including five Long Island Open titles in the 1960s and '70s. His best finish in a major was a tie for fifth at the 1964 PGA Championship.
He is survived by nine children and 28 grandchildren. One son, John, is the current pro at Trump International in West Palm Beach and qualified for the 2013 U.S. Open.
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