Will MacKenzie

For the television director, see Will Mackenzie. For The Inbetweeners character, see Will McKenzie.
Will MacKenzie
Personal information
Full name William Ruggles MacKenzie
Born September 28, 1974
Greenville, North Carolina
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality United States
Residence Jupiter, Florida
Spouse Alli Spencer (2007–2014)
Children Maverick, Nash
Career
College Lees-McRae College
Turned professional 2000
Current tour(s) PGA Tour
Former tour(s) Web.com Tour
Canadian Tour
Professional wins 2
Highest ranking 84 (March 30, 2014)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 2
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
PGA Championship T57: 2007
U.S. Open DNP
The Open Championship DNP

William Ruggles MacKenzie (born September 28, 1974) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour.

Early life

MacKenzie was born and raised in Greenville, North Carolina.

After a semester at Lees-McRae College, Will took the money he earned washing dishes and selling grilled-cheese sandwiches at Grateful Dead concerts and moved out west. After a while working for Taco Bell in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he spent the next five winters snowboarding while living out of a van in Big Sky, Montana. At one point, he spent 30 days living in a snow cave near Valdez, Alaska without showering, and snowboarding the Chugach Mountains, before ending up with frostbite.

During the warmer months, he climbed rocks, and became a class V kayaker before working as a rafting guide in Montana and its Gallatin River, West Virginia and its Gauley River, and rivers around North Carolina. He returned to Greenville, North Carolina in 1999, making enough money selling Christmas trees to embark on a three-month surfing trip to Costa Rica. Unfortunately, when he returned home and tried to make a living selling hammocks, he ended up in huge debt.

Professional career

MacKenzie observed his boyhood idol, Payne Stewart, winning the 1999 U.S. Open which rekindled his love affair with the game of golf. MacKenzie decided to play professionally and turned pro in 2000.

MacKenzie played on several mini-tours shortly after turning pro. He played on the Golden Bear Tour in 2003 and finished ninth on the money list. The next year (2004), he played the Hooters Tour and finished third on the money list with three wins. He also played on the Nationwide and Canadian Tours.

2005 was his rookie season on the PGA Tour. His first win came in 2006 at the Reno-Tahoe Open in his 47th career start on the PGA Tour. He won the 2008 Viking Classic in a three-way playoff on the second hole over Marc Turnesa and Brian Gay.

In 2013, MacKenzie played the entire season on the Web.com Tour, finished 40th on the money list, and regained his PGA Tour privileges through the Web.com Tour Finals. In the 2014 PGA Tour, he finished second at the Valero Texas Open and fourth at the Valspar Championship.

Personal life

MacKenzie currently resides in Jupiter, Florida.

Professional wins (2)

PGA Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 Aug 27, 2006 Reno–Tahoe Open −20 (63-67-67-71=268) 1 stroke Bob Estes
2 Sep 21, 2008 Viking Classic −19 (70-64-67-68=269) Playoff Brian Gay, Marc Turnesa

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2008 Viking Classic Brian Gay, Marc Turnesa Won with birdie on second extra hole
Gay eliminated by birdie on first hole
2 2014 McGladrey Classic Brendon de Jonge, Robert Streb Streb won with birdie on second extra hole
MacKenzie eliminated by par on first hole

Playoff record

Web.com Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2013 Chiquita Classic Andrew Svoboda Lost to par on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship T57 CUT CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

See also