Smylie Kaufman

Smylie Kaufman
Personal information
Full nameCarter Smylie Kaufman
Born (1991-11-30) November 30, 1991 (age 32)
Birmingham, Alabama
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceBirmingham, Alabama
Career
CollegeLouisiana State University
Turned professional2014
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
(past champion status)
Korn Ferry Tour
Professional wins2
Highest ranking48 (March 20, 2016)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Korn Ferry Tour1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT29: 2016
PGA ChampionshipCUT: 2016
U.S. OpenCUT: 2014, 2016
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 2016

Carter Smylie Kaufman (born November 30, 1991) is an American professional golfer and sports commentator who played on the PGA Tour.

Early life and career

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Kaufman was born in Birmingham, Alabama.[2] He attended Vestavia Hills High School.[3] His middle name is a tribute to his grandmother's cousin, Smylie Gebhart, who was an All-American defensive end for Georgia Tech in 1971.[4] His grandfather, Alan Kaufman, was head coach of the men's golf team at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.[5]

Kaufman played college golf at Louisiana State University.[6] He turned professional after graduating in 2014; in December 2014 he tied for 67th place at the Web.com Tour Qualifying School final stage.[7]

Professional career

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Kaufman played on the Web.com Tour in 2015. After missing the cut in his first three tournaments, he finished T-4 in the next two and won the third, the United Leasing Championship to claim his first professional title.[8][9] He finished the year sixth on the money list to earn his card for the 2016 PGA Tour season.[10]

On October 25, 2015, Kaufman earned his first victory on the PGA Tour by winning the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open by a single stroke over six players. In the final round, he came from seven strokes back after a round of 61, that included eight birdies and an eagle, to claim his maiden victory. This earned him a place into the 2016 Masters Tournament and 2016 PGA Championship.[11]

At the 2016 Masters Tournament, Kaufman shot a 69 during the third round, which was the best of the day in tough scoring conditions.[12] As a result, he played in the last group during the final round, alongside defending champion Jordan Spieth. He endured a tough final round and shot a nine-over-par 81 for a T29 placing.[13][14]

Amateur wins

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  • 2011 Alabama Amateur[15]

Professional wins (2)

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PGA Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 Oct 25, 2015 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open −16 (67-72-68-61=268) 1 stroke United States Jason Bohn, Germany Alex Čejka,
United States Patton Kizzire, United States Kevin Na,
United States Brett Stegmaier, United States Cameron Tringale

Web.com Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 May 3, 2015 United Leasing Championship −10 (72-69-64-73=278) 5 strokes United States Adam Long, United States Jonathan Randolph,
United States Ryan Spears

Results in major championships

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Tournament 2014 2015 2016
Masters Tournament T29
U.S. Open CUT CUT
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship CUT
  Did not play

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

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 2016 2017
The Players Championship CUT T12

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

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Tournament 2016
Championship T8
Match Play T61
Invitational T27
Champions
  Top 10
  Did not play

"T" = Tied

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 12 2016 Ending 20 Mar 2016" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  2. ^ DiMeglio, Steve. "Smylie Kaufman keeps learning, building on rookie success". USA Today. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  3. ^ Lewis, Alec (April 5, 2016). "Vestavia Hills' Smylie Kaufman fulfills lifelong dream at The Masters this week". AL.com. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  4. ^ Prise, Kevin (April 22, 2015). "Kaufman out for revenge at Victoria National". PGA Tour.
  5. ^ Zenor, John. "Smylie Kaufman a surprise Masters contender? Not to his family". PGA of America. Associated Press. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  6. ^ "Smylie Kaufman Bio". LSU Sports. Archived from the original on November 28, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  7. ^ "Smylie Kaufman – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  8. ^ "Smylie Kaufman – Seasons". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  9. ^ "Web.com Tour rookie Smylie Kaufman wins by 5 shots to claim first title". ESPN. Associated Press. May 4, 2015.
  10. ^ Inabinett, Mark (October 26, 2015). "Birmingham's Smylie Kaufman charges to $1.1 million PGA Tour victory". AL.com. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  11. ^ "Smylie Kaufman locks up victory in Las Vegas with blistering 10-under 61". ESPN. Associated Press. October 25, 2015.
  12. ^ Murray, Scott (April 9, 2016). "The Masters 2016: third round – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  13. ^ Murray, Scott (April 10, 2016). "The Masters 2016: final round – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  14. ^ "2016 Masters prize money". Augusta.com. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  15. ^ "Vestavia Hills golfer Smylie Kaufman rallies from 5 shots back to win 95th State Amateur Championship". AL.com. June 13, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
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