[2] He attended Oklahoma State University in his hometown on a basketball scholarship his freshman year, but later switched to golf.

[1] Tewell joined the PGA Tour in 1975; his best year came in 1980 when he won the Sea Pines Heritage and IVB-Golf Classic.

[4] Tewell was forced off the PGA Tour at the age of 46 at the end of the 1995 season due to an orthopedic problem in his left elbow.

He had arthroscopic surgery on the same elbow in 2005, a procedure he describes as "cleaning out scar tissue".

He won his first major, the Senior PGA Championship[3] at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida by seven shots over four other players including Tom Kite and Hale Irwin.