Brian Gay

Brian Gay
Personal information
Full name Joseph Brian Gay
Born (1971-12-14) December 14, 1971
Fort Worth, Texas
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Florida
Spouse Kimberly
Children Makinley, Brantley
Career
College University of Florida
Turned professional 1994
Current tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins 13
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 4
Other 9
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T38: 2013
U.S. Open T63: 2011
The Open Championship CUT: 2001, 2009, 2010, 2016
PGA Championship T20: 2008

Joseph Brian Gay (born December 14, 1971) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.

Early years

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 noncomissioned 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

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.[1] 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.[2] 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).[1][3] Gay was later into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2010.[4][5]

Professional career

Gay turned pro in 1994 and joined the PGA Tour in 1999. He picked up his first win on tour at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun in 2008 after 293 PGA Tour starts, with his second win coming at the Verizon Heritage in 2009.[6] 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 is 13th in 2009. He has featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, ranking as high as 35th in 2009.

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.[7] Gay went on to win by five strokes over David Toms and Bryce Molder for his second wire-to-wire win of the season.[8]

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.[9] 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.

Personal life

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 (13)

PGA Tour wins (4)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 Feb 24, 2008 Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun –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

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2008 Viking Classic United States Will MacKenzie, United States Marc Turnesa MacKenzie won with birdie on second extra hole,
Gay eliminated with 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 with birdie on first hole

Other wins (9)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT DNP CUT CUT CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
The Open Championship DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
PGA Championship DNP T22 T53 T51 DNP DNP DNP DNP T20 CUT
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Masters Tournament CUT DNP DNP T38 DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT T63 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT
PGA Championship T65 CUT DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 5
Totals 0 0 0 0 0 2 21 7

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "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.
  2. ↑ Shipnuck, Alan (May 4, 2009). "Family Guy". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 10, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  3. ↑ "2008–09 Florida Gators Men's Golf Media Guide" (PDF). Gainesville, Florida: University Athletic Association. 2008. p. 36. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Gator Greats". F Club, Hall of Fame. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Eight Former Letterwinners Announced to be Hall of Fame Inductees". GatorZone.com. October 15, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Gay triumphs in Heritage Classic". BBC Sport. April 19, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Round 1: St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx – What's at Stake". PGA Tour. June 11, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Gay strolls to victory in St Jude". BBC Sport. June 15, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Brian Gay wins 4th tour title". ESPN. Associated Press. January 20, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
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