Horton was born in St Helens, Merseyside during World War 2 in 1941 and came to Jersey at the end of the Occupation in 1945 and was brought up and educated in the island. He played on the European Tour for many years from 1964 with moderate success, winning four titles and finishing fifth on the Order of Merit in 1976 and tenth in both 1974 and 1978. He was more successful as a senior player. The European Seniors Tour was founded shortly after he reached its minimum age of fifty, and he was the dominant player in its early seasons, topping the money list in 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. He was top of the tour's career money list for many years.
He played in the 1975 and 1977 Ryder Cups, was Captain of the PGA in 1978 and was a long serving member of the European Tour Committee.
Tommy Horton started a young professional's golf school in 1978, coaching Ian Woosnam, who went on to be a highly successful professional and eventually a Jersey resident. He stepped down as club professional at Royal Jersey Golf Club in 1999 after 25 years service to concentrate on his tournament career.
In 2000 Horton was awarded the MBE in the New Years Honours List for his services to golf, and then went on to win the opening event of the season in Barbados which was notable because the £12,500 prize money took him through £1 million career earning barrier on the European and the European Seniors Tour.
He shares the record for the lowest round in Seniors Tour history, a 62 (-10) during the final round of the 1997 Scottish Seniors Open at Newmachar.
He won seven European Tour Titles and has become the most prolific collector of titles on the European Seniors Tour, winning 23 times in his nine years.
He died at the age of 76 in 2017
Professional wins (41)
European Tour wins (4)
- 1972 Piccadilly Medal
- 1974 Penfold Tournament
- 1976 Uniroyal International
- 1978 Dunlop Masters
Other wins (11)
- 1967 Worthing Am / Pro Trophy
- 1968 R.T.V. International Open
- 1969 Tyneside Festival
- 1970 South African Open, Long John Scotch Whisky Match Play Championship
- 1971 Gallaher Ulster Open (This is the equivalent of a European Tour win and is listed as such in Horton's profile on europeantour.com, but the tour officially began in 1972.)
- 1973 Nigerian Open
- 1975 Gambian Open
- 1977 Zambia Open
- 1984 PLM Open (Sweden; this was a European Tour event from 1986 to 1990)
- 1985 Togo Open
European Seniors Tour wins (22)
- 1992 Forte PGA Seniors Championship
- 1993 Shell Scottish Seniors Open, Collingtree Seniors, Senior Zurich Pro-Am Lexus Trophy
- 1994 St Pierre Seniors Classic, Belfast Telegraph Irish Senior Masters
- 1995 De Vere Hotels Seniors Classic
- 1996 Castle Royle European Seniors Classic, Stella Senior Open, Northern Electric Seniors, The Players Championship
- 1997 Beko Turkish Seniors Open, AIB Irish Seniors Open, Jersey Seniors Open, Scottish Seniors Open, Clubhaus Seniors Classic, Senior Tournament of Champions
- 1998 El Bosque Seniors Open, De Vere Hotels Seniors Classic, The Belfry PGA Seniors Championship
- 1999 Monte Carlo Invitiational
- 2000 Royal Westmoreland Barbados Open
Other senior wins (4)
- 1995 British Senior Club Professional Championship
- 1996 British Senior Club Professional Championship
- 1997 British Senior Club Professional Championship
- 1998 British Senior Club Professional Championship
