Brian Gay

Brian Gay
Personal information
Full name Joseph Brian Gay
Born December 14, 1971
Fort Worth, Texas
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Residence Windermere, Florida
Spouse Kimberly
Children 2
Career
College University of Florida
Turned professional 1994
Current tour(s) PGA Tour
PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s) Asian Tour
Professional wins 14
Highest ranking 35 (June 14, 2009)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 5
Other 9
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T38: 2013
PGA Championship T20: 2008
U.S. Open T20: 2018
The Open Championship CUT: 2001, 2009, 2010, 2016

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

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 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

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. 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. 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). Gay was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2010.

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

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. 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.

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 (14)

PGA Tour wins (5)

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 Steve Marino
2 Apr 19, 2009 Verizon Heritage −20 (67-66-67-64=264) 10 strokes Briny Baird, Luke Donald
3 Jun 14, 2009 St. Jude Classic −18 (64-66-66-66=262) 5 strokes Bryce Molder, David Toms
4 Jan 21, 2013 Humana Challenge −25 (67-66-67-63=263) Playoff Charles Howell III, David Lingmerth
5 Nov 1, 2020 Bermuda Championship −15 (70-68-67-64=269) Playoff Wyndham Clark

PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

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

Other wins (9)

  • 9 wins on mini tours in the U.S.

Results in major championships

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

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

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

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

Amateur

See also