Bob Alan Estes (born February 2,
1966) is an American professional golfer. Estes
was born in Graham, Texas and
raised in Abilene, Texas. He first
played golf at age 4 and decided to become a professional golfer at
age 12. Estes attended the University of Texas from
1984 to 1988 and was a member of the golf team. He won the 1988 Haskins Award for most outstanding collegiate golfer in
the nation. Estes had four PGA Tour victories between 1994 and 2002, and he has been
in the top 20 of the Official World Golf
Ranking. He is particularly well known for his excellent short game.
Estes follows a strict physical conditioning routine that includes
weightlifting, agility exercises, diet and short-distance wind sprints. In addition, he has experimented with the
10-finger grip, which is rare in the modern game of golf. In 2011, Estes was
recovering from a wrist injury, but still managed to make 12 starts on the PGA
Tour. Of the five cuts he made, one was a near-win at the Greenbrier Classic, where
he lost in a playoff. Estes is 0-4 in PGA Tour playoffs. He still managed to
finish 135th on the Tour's money list, but regained his Tour card through Q School and satisfied a medical extension. After making
the FedEx Cup in 2012, Estes only made two starts in 2013, missing the cut in
Las Vegas and finishing T10 at Mayakoba. Estes had a medical exemption until
July 2018. In 2016, he changed his focus to PGA Tour Champions.