Exempt status
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PGA TOUR: Top 125 in 2018-19 FedExCup standings (thru 2020-21)
JOINED TOUR
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Korn Ferry Tour: 2013
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PGA TOUR: 2014
PGA TOUR Victories (1)
- 2016 Sanderson Farms Championship
Korn Ferry Tour Victories (2)
- 2013 News Sentinel Open Presented by Pilot
- 2015 Brasil Champions presented by HSBC
PLAYOFF RECORD
KORN FERRY TOUR (0-1)
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2018 Lost to Robert Streb, Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship
Personal
- Was born in Indiana but grew up near Knoxville, Tennessee (Dandridge). Attended Jefferson County High School.
- Is a big Kansas City Royals fan and wears a royal blue golf shirt during his final rounds. Is currently a brand ambassador for mlb.com. Threw out the first pitch before a 2015 Kansas City Royals-Chicago White Sox game.
Special Interests
- Kansas City Royals, mountain climbing, hiking, fitness
CURRENT YEAR HIGHLIGHTS
- Sony Open in Hawaii: Held a share of the lead after the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii before finishing T14. Marked his second 18-hole lead/co-lead of his career and second of the season (Bermuda Championship/T21).
- Shriners Hospitals for Children Open: Held a share of the 36-hole lead at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open en route to a T5, recording back-to-back top-fives for the first time in his career. Second-round 62 came two rounds after recording his first career score of 63 or better (63/R4/Sanderson Farms Championship). Fell to 0-for-3 in his career with the 36-hole lead/co-lead.
- Sanderson Farms Championship: Shot a final-round 63 to finish second at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Teed off 1 hour, 40 minutes before the final pairing on Sunday and held at least a share of the lead from the time he finished until Sergio Garcia birdied the 18th hole in the final pairing. 63 tied the lowest score of the week and was his first career sub-64 score on TOUR. Marked the second top-two finish of his PGA TOUR career, with the first coming when he won the Sanderson Farms Championship in 2015. Co-led the field in Par-4 Scoring Average (3.75).
Career Highlights
2021 Season
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Sony Open in Hawaii: Held a share of the lead after the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii before finishing T14. Marked his second 18-hole lead/co-lead of his career and second of the season (Bermuda Championship/T21).
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Shriners Hospitals for Children Open: Held a share of the 36-hole lead at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open en route to a T5, recording back-to-back top-fives for the first time in his career. Second-round 62 came two rounds after recording his first career score of 63 or better (63/R4/Sanderson Farms Championship). Fell to 0-for-3 in his career with the 36-hole lead/co-lead.
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Sanderson Farms Championship: Shot a final-round 63 to finish second at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Teed off 1 hour, 40 minutes before the final pairing on Sunday and held at least a share of the lead from the time he finished until Sergio Garcia birdied the 18th hole in the final pairing. 63 tied the lowest score of the week and was his first career sub-64 score on TOUR. Marked the second top-two finish of his PGA TOUR career, with the first coming when he won the Sanderson Farms Championship in 2015. Co-led the field in Par-4 Scoring Average (3.75).
2020 Season
Recorded four top-25s and finished the season No. 137 in the FedExCup standings. Made 10 cuts in 21 starts, highlighted by a T11 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
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Houston Open: Held a two-stroke second-round lead at the Houston Open before finishing T17. Marked his second career 36-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA TOUR (fell to 0-for-2).
2019 Season
Qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs for the second time in his fifth season, ending the season at No. 118 in the FedExCup standings. Made 18 cuts in 26 starts, with lone top-10 coming at Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Billy Hurley III (T9).
2018 Season
Ended the PGA TOUR season with 15 made cuts in 28 starts, finishing No. 161 in the standings. Returned to the Korn Ferry Tour and played in the four Finals events, highlighted by a runner-up at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship. Secured a return to the PGA TOUR for the 2018-19 season with a fifth-place finish on the Korn Ferry Tour Finals money list. Was eighth in the final priority-ranking order.
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DAP Championship presented by NewBrick: Finished T6 at 9-under 271 at the 2018 DAP Championship presented by NewBrick, following up his runner-up finish the week before.
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Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship: Posted a final-round 5-under 66 at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship to force a playoff with Robert Streb. Bogeyed the first playoff hole to fall short of the victory. Secured a return to the PGA TOUR with his finish.
2017 Season
Made 17 of 29 cuts, including each of his last 10 events in the 2016-17 season. Best showing was a T18 at the Barbasol Championship. Finished his season ranked 167th in the FedExCup standings.
2016 Season
Sophomore season on the PGA TOUR highlighted by his first TOUR win at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time, but season ended following a T78 at The Barclays. Concluded the season No. 104 in the FedExCup. After missing the cut at the season-opening Frys.com Open and finishing T56 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, earned his first career PGA TOUR victory in his third start of the season at the Sanderson Farms Championship and in his 22nd career PGA TOUR start at the age of 28 years, 4 months and 27 days. Made 495'7" of putts (110'1"/R1, 127'2"/R2, 132'11"/R3, 125'5"/R4) en route to winning by one stroke over David Toms and William McGirt. His previous-best finish was a T14 at the 2014 Puerto Rico Open. Became the eighth player to make the Sanderson Farms Championship his first career PGA TOUR win: Nick Taylor (2014-15), Chris Kirk (2011), D.J. Trahan (2006), Luke Donald (2002), Cameron Beckman (2001), Willie Wood (1996), Ed Dougherty (1995) and Brian Henninger (1994). Also became the fifth consecutive, first-time winner of the 2015-16 PGA TOUR season, joining Emiliano Grillo (Frys.com Open), Smylie Kaufman (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open), Justin Thomas (CIMB Classic) and Russell Knox (World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions).
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Hyundai Tournament of Champions: Closed with three rounds in the 60s to finish in a tie for sixth at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, his third (and final) top-10 finish of the 2015-16 PGA TOUR season.
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Sanderson Farms Championship: A week removed from his maiden PGA TOUR win at the Sanderson Farms Championship, finished T10 at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, his second top-25 showing in two starts in Mexico.
2015 Season
Finished the Korn Ferry Tour season with 24 starts, one win, five top-10s, 10 top-25s and 16 cuts made. Was ninth in the final priority-ranking order. Finished the Regular Season fourth on the money list to secure his 2015-16 PGA TOUR card. Was No. 3 in Putting Average (1.694) through Regular Season.
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Hotel Fitness Championship: Finished T10 at the first Korn Ferry Tour Finals event–the Hotel Fitness Championship–after posting 68-69 on the weekend in Indiana. Missed the cut in the last three Finals' events.
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Barbasol Championship: Competed on the PGA TOUR the following week, at the Barbasol Championship as a sponsor exemption. Missed the cut, shooting rounds of 70-73.
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Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco: Coming off a T16 showing at the Nova Scotia Open, traveled west to Idaho for the Albertsons Boise Open. Was four back through 36 holes after a blitzering 62 in the second round. Struggled Saturday, carding an ev.en-par 71. Was well back to start the final round. Posted 67 for a T7.
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Rust-Oleum Championship: In June, fired a 64 in the first round of the Rust-Oleum Championship. Trailed South Africa's Dawie van der Walt by two-strokes and posted a second-round 67 to take the 36-hole lead. Added a second 67 in the third round to stretch his lead to two after 54 holes. Birdied two of the first five holes in the final round before recording three consecutive bogeys. Never recovered from the 3-over stretch, parring every hole coming in. The 1-over round Sunday left him T5.
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BMW Charity Pro-Am Presented by SYNNEX Corporation: In May, teamed with actor and friend Lucas Black to win the celebrity portion of the BMW Charity Pro-Am with a 44-under-par performance.
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El Bosque Mexico Championship: In April, fired 65 in the first round of the El Bosque Mexico Championship to hold a share of the lead. A second-round 68 made him the sole leader after 36 holes. Bogeyed five of his first six holes on Saturday en route to a 75 to fall back to T6. Needed three birdies in last four holes of the final round to earn a top 10 (T8).
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Brasil Champions presented by HSBC: Earned his second career win with a four-stroke victory at the Brasil Champions in mid-March with his wife, Alicia, caddying for him. Vaulted into the second-round lead with a rain-delayed, 9-under 62 at the Sao Paulo GC. Shared the 54-hole lead with rookie Tyler Duncan at 17-under par. Bogeyed the opening hole in the final round but rebounded with four consecutive birdies, starting at No. 3. Made the turn at 20-under, a number nobody else would reach during the day. Stumbled with consecutive bogeys at Nos. 14 and 15 and was ahead by only one. Birdied his final three holes to pull away from the field and finish with a 5-under 66 that put him 22-under for the week. Collected a check for $153,000 and vaulted from No. 88 to No. 2 on the money list four weeks into the season. Led the field, with 30 birdies for the week and birdied every hole at least once except Nos. 1 and 10.
2014 Season
Rookie season on the PGA TOUR included just five made cuts in 18 starts, finishing the year No. 178 in the FedExCup standings. Made the most of his weekend appearances, with three top-25 finishes among five made cuts. Finished T14 at the Puerto Rico Open for his best outing of the year.
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Web.com Tour Championship: In his attempt to regain exempt PGA TOUR status for 2014-15, missed the cut in the first three Korn Ferry Tour Finals events before posting a T37 at the season-ending Web.com Tour Championship.
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FedEx St. Jude Classic: Was T19 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
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OHL Classic at Mayakoba: Added a 15th-place showing at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba.
2013 Season
Finished the year with 12 starts, making nine cuts. Collected four top-10s and eight top-25s in his limited appearances. Had no Korn Ferry Tour status at the start of the season. Successfully Monday-qualified at the Air Capital Classic, where he finished T15, which earned him a start in the next week's Rex Hospital Open. Went on to post a T24 in North Carolina. Earned a start at the Mylan Classic based on his money-list position, and he responded with another solid effort (T10) to gain a start at the Price Cutter Charity Championship in Springfield, Mo. Made it five-for-six in cuts made with a T14 in Springfield. Third-round 73 dropped him into a T44, but he rebounded Sunday at Highland Springs CC with a 67 that got him back into the top 25 and earned him another start at the next week's News Sentinel Open in his home state of Tennessee. His Price Cutter Charity Championship payday was enough to push his season earnings to $56,917 and earn him Special Temporary Membership.
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Chiquita Classic: Finished T8 at the Chiquita Classic near Charlotte in second Korn Ferry Tour Finals event in September. Started the final round at River Run CC just one shot off the lead but never got out of the blocks, posting a 1-over 73 that left him four shots behind the Andrew Svoboda-Will MacKenzie playoff.
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News Sentinel Open Presented by Pilot: He made the most of his new status when he won on the Korn Ferry Tour for the first time, doing so in front of a hometown crowd at the News Sentinel Open in Knoxville in mid-August. Entered the final round at Fox Den CC three strokes off the lead and promptly bogeyed his first two holes. Righted the ship with eight birdies the rest of the way, including five on his last seven holes, to defeat a quartet of players by one stroke. Sank a clutch birdie putt on the 18th hole Sunday to get to 16-under, then watched as Matt Bettencourt and Blayne Barber failed to force a playoff when their 18th-hole birdie efforts missed. Win was worth $99,000 and assured him of a PGA TOUR card for the 2013-14 season. That became official when he finished the Regular Season 18th in earnings at the Regular Season-ending Cox Classic.
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Utah Championship Presented by Utah Sports Commission: Missed the cut the next week at the Utah Championship.
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United Leasing Championship Presented by PTI: Top-25 effort there gained him another start the following week, at the United Leasing Championship, which resulted in a T9.
2012 Season
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Stadion Classic at UGA: Played in one Korn Ferry Tour event, the Stadion Classic at UGA, where he opened with a 68 then reeled off three consecutive 70s to T31 in Athens.
2011 Season
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Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational: Missed the cut in his only Korn Ferry Tour start, the Nationwide Hospital Children's Invitational.
2010 Season
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Mylan Classic presented by CONSOL Energy: Parlayed his strong finish in Knoxville into the following week's Mylan Classic outside Pittsburgh, where he missed the cut.
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Knoxville News Sentinel Open: Made his Korn Ferry Tour debut not far from his hometown of Dandridge, Tenn., and used a final-round 67 to T16 at the Knoxville News Sentinel Open. Monday-qualified to get into the event.
Amateur Highlights
- Played collegiately at the University of Missouri from 2007-10. Was an Academic All-American.