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Brian Gay

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Brian Gay
Personal information
Full nameJoseph Brian Gay
Born (1971-12-14) December 14, 1971 (age 52)
Fort Worth, Texas
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceWindermere, Florida
SpouseKimberly
Children2
Career
CollegeUniversity of Florida
Turned professional1994
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Asian Tour
Hooters Tour
Golden Bear Tour
Professional wins15
Highest ranking35 (June 14, 2009)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour5
Other10
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT38: 2013
PGA ChampionshipT20: 2008
U.S. OpenT20: 2018
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 2001, 2009, 2010, 2016

Joseph Brian Gay (born December 14, 1971) is an American professional golfer. During his career, he won five times on the PGA Tour. After turning 50, he played on the PGA Tour Champions.

Early years

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A military brat, Gay was born in Fort Worth, Texas, but was raised primarily at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where his father was a U.S. Army non-commissioned officer involved in flight operations. His father was also a member of the All-Army golf team in his spare time. As an only child, Gay spent much of his youth at the Fort Rucker golf course, first at the practice area, then on the course. Encouraged by a group of military retirees he often played with, he dominated the local tournament scene as a tween.

College career

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Gay's success as a teenager led to his receiving an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Buddy Alexander's Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 1991 to 1994.[2] During his time as a Gator golfer, the team won four consecutive Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships (1991–1994), and the 1993 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships.[3] As a collegian, he was the SEC Freshman of the Year (1991), a five-time individual medalist, two-time SEC individual champion (1992, 1994), three-time first-team All-SEC selection (1992–1994), and two-time All-American (1992, 1993).[2][4] Gay was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2010.[5][6]

Professional career

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Gay turned pro in 1994 and mostly competed on mini-tours in the United States, winning several tournaments, before qualifying for the PGA Tour in 1999. He picked up his first win on the tour at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun in 2008 after 293 starts, with his second win coming at the Verizon Heritage in 2009.[7] He won the event by ten strokes, finishing at 20-under par. The ten stroke victory is one of the biggest wins in the PGA Tour's history. His best position on the year-end money list was 13th in 2009. He has featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, ranking as high as 35th in 2009.[8]

Gay was not exempt to play in the 2009 U.S. Open heading into the St. Jude Classic. He was one of seven golfers who could earn the last spot in the U.S. Open by winning the St. Jude Classic, using the "Winners of multiple PGA Tour events since the last Open" exemption.[9] Gay went on to win by five strokes over David Toms and Bryce Molder for his second wire-to-wire win of the season.[10]

In 2013, Gay won for the first time in four years at the Humana Challenge, the fourth victory of his PGA Tour career. He defeated Charles Howell III on the second hole of a three-man sudden-death playoff when he made birdie. Earlier, David Lingmerth had been eliminated on the first extra hole.[11] This performance helped Gay earn the PGA Tour Player of the Month award for January.

Gay did not play during the 2014–15 season after back surgery and played the next two seasons on a Major Medical Extension. A T6 at the 2017 Valero Texas Open secured his return to the PGA Tour.

In November 2020, Gay won his fifth PGA Tour event (and first in seven years) at the Bermuda Championship when he defeated Wyndham Clark in a playoff.[12]

Personal life

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Gay was mentioned frequently in Bud, Sweat and Tees: A Walk on the Wild Side of the PGA Tour by Alan Shipnuck, which profiled Rich Beem's rookie year on the PGA Tour. Steve Duplantis, who became Gay's caddy following a split with Beem, was chronicled as well in Shipnuck's book.

Professional wins (15)

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PGA Tour wins (5)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Feb 24, 2008 Mayakoba Golf Classic −16 (66-67-62-69=264) 2 strokes United States Steve Marino
2 Apr 19, 2009 Verizon Heritage −20 (67-66-67-64=264) 10 strokes United States Briny Baird, England Luke Donald
3 Jun 14, 2009 St. Jude Classic −18 (64-66-66-66=262) 5 strokes United States Bryce Molder, United States David Toms
4 Jan 21, 2013 Humana Challenge −25 (67-66-67-63=263) Playoff United States Charles Howell III, Sweden David Lingmerth
5 Nov 1, 2020 Bermuda Championship −15 (70-68-67-64=269) Playoff United States Wyndham Clark

PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2008 Viking Classic United States Will MacKenzie, United States Marc Turnesa MacKenzie won with birdie on second extra hole
Gay eliminated by birdie on first hole
2 2013 Humana Challenge United States Charles Howell III, Sweden David Lingmerth Won with birdie on second extra hole
Lingmerth eliminated by birdie on first hole
3 2020 Bermuda Championship United States Wyndham Clark Won with birdie on first extra hole

Hooters Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 Mar 12, 1995 Hooters Auburn Classic −10 (69-69-69-71=278) 5 strokes United States Rob McKelvey

Golden Bear Tour wins (3)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 Jun 21, 1996 Golf Capital Magazine Tournament −11 (69-66-70=205) 1 stroke United States Adam Armagost, United States Gary Nicklaus
2 Sep 27, 1996 Golden Bear Tour Championship −14 (67-69-70-68=274) 1 stroke United States Ed Humenik
3 Jul 18, 1997 Canon Computer Systems Invitational −10 (69-65-72=206) 1 stroke United States Graham Davidson, United States Michael McNerney,
United States Rick Price

Other mini-tour wins (5)

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  • 1995 Timbercreek Classic (Gulf Coast Tour), Killearn tournament (Emerald Coast Tour), St. Lucie West tournament (Gold Coast Tour), Emerald Dunes tournament (Gold Coast Tour), PGA Estates tournament (South Florida Tour)

Other wins (1)

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  • 1996 Key Biscayne Open

Results in major championships

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Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT CUT
PGA Championship T22 T53 T51 T20 CUT
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament CUT T38
U.S. Open CUT T63 T20
The Open Championship CUT CUT
PGA Championship T65 CUT CUT 79
Tournament 2019 2020 2021
Masters Tournament CUT
PGA Championship WD 81
U.S. Open
The Open Championship NT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 11 7
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 2
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Totals 0 0 0 0 0 3 27 10
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 2 (twice)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 0

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The Players Championship T40 T63 CUT T75 CUT CUT T32 WD
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
The Players Championship CUT T12 T46 CUT CUT CUT T72 T56
Tournament 2020 2021 2022
The Players Championship C CUT CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships

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Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Match Play R16
Championship T30 T35
Invitational 79 T63
Champions T25 T46
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

U.S. national team appearances

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Amateur

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 24 2009 Ending 14 Jun 2009" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement" (PDF). Gainesville, Florida: University Athletic Association. 2010. pp. 34, 37, 39, 41. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  3. ^ Shipnuck, Alan (May 4, 2009). "Family Guy". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  4. ^ "2008–09 Florida Gators Men's Golf Media Guide" (PDF). Gainesville, Florida: University Athletic Association. 2008. p. 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 22, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  5. ^ "Gator Greats". F Club, Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  6. ^ "Eight Former Letterwinners Announced to be Hall of Fame Inductees". GatorZone.com. October 15, 2009. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  7. ^ "Gay triumphs in Heritage Classic". BBC Sport. April 19, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  8. ^ "Brian Gay". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "Round 1: St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx – What's at Stake". PGA Tour. June 11, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  10. ^ "Gay strolls to victory in St Jude". BBC Sport. June 15, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  11. ^ "Brian Gay wins 4th tour title". ESPN. Associated Press. January 20, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  12. ^ "Brian Gay rallies to win Bermuda Championship in playoff". Golf.com. November 1, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
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