William McGirt
| William McGirt | |
|---|---|
 Photographed May 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born |
June 21, 1979 Lumberton, North Carolina |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st) |
| Nationality |
 |
| Residence | Boiling Springs, South Carolina[1] |
| Spouse | Sarah McGirt (m. 2004) |
| Children | 2 |
| Career | |
| College | Wofford College |
| Turned professional | 2004 |
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Former tour(s) | Nationwide Tour |
| Professional wins | 2 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 1 |
| Other | 1 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | T22: 2017 |
| U.S. Open | T55: 2017 |
| The Open Championship | CUT: 2016, 2017 |
| PGA Championship | T10: 2016 |
William McGirt (born June 21, 1979) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
College career
Born in Lumberton, North Carolina, McGirt grew up playing both baseball and golf, receiving scholarship offers from colleges in North Carolina and South Carolina. After being recruited by multiple colleges for both sports, McGirt decided to play college golf at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He was the 1998 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and won three collegiate events for the Terriers, including the 2001 conference championship. He graduated in 2001 and was a 2010 inductee of the Wofford College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Professional career
McGirt turned professional in 2004 and spent several years playing on mini-tours.[2] His first break came by reaching the final stage of the 2009 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament (Q-School), allowing him to play on the Nationwide Tour in 2010. He ended 2010 at 34th on that tour's money list, then finished runner-up at Q-School to earn his PGA Tour card for 2011. McGirt qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs in his rookie season, advancing as far as the Deutsche Bank Championship and finishing 83rd in the FedEx Cup standings. He finished 141st on the 2011 PGA Tour money list. Unfortunately, it was the money list that mattered at the time and McGirt had to go back to Q School to regain his Tour privileges or be relegated to the conditional category. He qualified for the tour in 2012 by finishing T13 in the 2011 Q-School.[3]
McGirt's first appearance in a major was at the PGA Championship in 2012, but he missed the cut. He had three runner-up finishes before his first win at age 36 in June 2016 at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio. It was his 165th start on the PGA Tour, and he won on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with Jon Curran.[4] It was McGirt's first professional win of any kind since his mini-tour victory nine years earlier in 2007. He earned $1.53 million for winning the Memorial, almost 100 times more than the $16,000 prize for his mini-tour win.[5] The win earned him a three-year PGA Tour exemption,[6] moved him to 44th in the Official World Golf Ranking, and qualified him for the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, and the Masters.[5] McGirt also qualified for the 2016 Open Championship based on his FedEx Cup position.
McGirt's 2018 season ended at The Northern Trust and he had surgery on his left hip that could make him miss the entire 2018–19 season.
McGirt is sponsored by Cozen O'Connor, Srixon, Cleveland Golf, TaylorMade-Adidas, Scotty Cameron Putters, and Young Adjustment Company.[7]
Amateur wins (2)
- 2003 Cardinal Amateur, North Carolina Amateur
Professional wins (2)
PGA Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 5, 2016 | Memorial Tournament | 70-68-64-71=273 | −15 | Playoff | |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016 | Memorial Tournament | |
Won with par on second extra hole |
Other wins (1)
- 2007 Cabarrus Classic (Tarheel Tour)
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T22 | |||||
| U.S. Open | CUT | T55 | ||||
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | ||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | T10 | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 3 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (2016 PGA – 2017 U.S. Open)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1
Results in World Golf Championships
| Tournament | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico Championship | T28 | |
| Match Play | R16 | |
| Bridgestone Invitational | T7 | |
| HSBC Champions |
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
FedEx Cup final standing
| Year | Rank |
|---|---|
| 2011 | 83 |
| 2012 | 50 |
| 2013 | 100 |
| 2014 | 61 |
| 2015 | 69 |
| 2016 | 24 |
| 2017 | 85 |
| 2018 | 116 |
See also
References
- ↑ Rowland, Kyle (May 31, 2017). "William McGirt made a name at Memorial last year". Retrieved June 27, 2018.
- ↑ Longest of long shots, McGirt hopeful and happy to still be alive in playoffs
- ↑ http://www.pgatour.com/2011/qschool/12/05/tour-cards/index.html
- ↑ DiMeglio, Steve (June 5, 2016). "William McGirt wins first PGA Tour title in playoff at Memorial". USA Today. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
- 1 2 Shedloski, Dave (June 5, 2016). "William McGirt wins Memorial, ending 'years of…getting nose bloodied'". Golf Digest. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
- ↑ Miceli, Alex (June 5, 2016). "William McGirt captures first PGA Tour win in playoff at Memorial". Golfweek. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
- ↑ http://williammcgirt.com/sponsors
External links
- Official website
- William McGirt at the PGA Tour official site
- William McGirt at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Wofford College Athletics Hall of Fame – William McGirt