Fulton Allem

Who is Fulton Allem?

Fulton Peter Allem is a South African professional golfer.

Allem was born in Kroonstad, Orange Free State, South Africa, the middle child of five children and the grandson of a Lebanese trader; he had a privileged upbringing. By the time he came into the world, his family had the largest corn farm in the southern hemisphere and the only privately owned grain silos in South Africa. Allem started playing golf at the age of 7 with encouragement from his father. Gary Player, a close family friend, also had a large influence on his early career.

Allem did not attend college and turned pro in 1976. He spent the early part of his career playing mostly in South Africa. He won 11 times on the Sunshine Tour between 1985 and 1991. A second-place finish in the 1987 NEC World Series of Golf convinced him to join the PGA Tour. Allem's first win on the PGA Tour was at the 1991 Independent Insurance Agent Open.

In 1993, he won twice on the PGA Tour and finished ninth on the money list. He won the Southwestern Bell Colonial and NEC World Series of Golf that year, two of the Tour's most prestigious non-majors.

Since his big year in 1993, Allem has been plagued by a host of medical ailments. In 1994, he suffered a herniated disc in his lower back. In 1998, he developed pericarditis, a potentially fatal inflammation of the sack surrounding the heart. In 2003, there were problems with vertebrae in his cervical spine. He has also suffered multiple heart attacks. These conditions have limited his playing time and adversely affected his play.