Kelly Kraft
Kelly Kraft (born October 5, 1988) is an American professional golfer.
Kelly Kraft | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Born | Denton, Texas | October 5, 1988
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Nationality | United States |
Residence | Dallas, Texas[1] |
Career | |
College | Southern Methodist University |
Turned professional | 2012 |
Current tour(s) | PGA Tour |
Former tour(s) | Web.com Tour |
Professional wins | 1 |
Number of wins by tour | |
Korn Ferry Tour | 1 |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | 62nd: 2012 |
PGA Championship | T48: 2019 |
U.S. Open | DNP |
The Open Championship | CUT: 2018 |
Amateur career
Kraft was born in Denton, Texas. During his final year at Billy Ryan High School, 2006–07, Kraft served as team captain while earning All-District honors.
While attending Southern Methodist University (SMU), he played college golf for the SMU Mustangs.
Kraft won the 2011 Trans-Mississippi Amateur in July. He then won the 2011 U.S. Amateur in August, beating world-number-one Patrick Cantlay in the final, 2 up. The win earned Kraft a spot in the Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, and British Open in 2012.[2][3] In September 2011, Kraft played on the 2011 Walker Cup team. In November 2011, Kraft finished as top amateur at the Emirates Australian Open, finishing in a tie for 19th.
Professional career
Kraft turned professional after competing in the 2012 Masters Tournament. In doing so, he forfeited his invitations to the 2012 U.S. Open and 2012 Open Championship.[1] Kraft played in eight tournaments on the PGA Tour in 2012 through sponsor exemptions. He played on the Web.com Tour from 2013–2015 with a best finish of second at the 2013 Mylan Classic until his first win on March 15, 2015 at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open.
Kraft has three solo second place finishes on the PGA Tour: one in February 2017 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, finishing at –15, four strokes behind the winner Jordan Spieth, the next in July 2018 at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier finishing at −14, five strokes behind Kevin Na and the last in July 2019 at the Barbasol Championship finishing at −25, one stroke behind Jim Herman.
Kraft is currently recovering from a routine hip scope surgery he underwent in September 2019.
Personal life
In April 2013, Kraft and Tia Gannon were married in Sea Island, Georgia.
Amateur wins
- 2008 Texas Amateur[4]
- 2011 Texas Amateur,[4] Trans-Mississippi Amateur, U.S. Amateur, South Beach International Amateur
Professional wins (1)
Web.com Tour wins (1)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mar 29, 2015 | Chitimacha Louisiana Open | 67-70-68-65=270 | −14 | 1 stroke | Lee Dong-hwan |
Results in major championships
Tournament | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 62 | ||||||
U.S. Open | |||||||
The Open Championship | CUT | ||||||
PGA Championship | T58 | CUT |
Tournament | 2019 |
---|---|
Masters Tournament | |
PGA Championship | T48 |
U.S. Open | |
The Open Championship |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied for place
Results in The Players Championship
Tournament | 2018 | 2019 |
---|---|---|
The Players Championship | CUT | T47 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
U.S. national team appearances
References
- Garrity, John; Stricklin, Art (April 23, 2012). "Pro Move: U.S. Amateur champ Kelly Kraft had a blast at the Masters, but he gave up exemptions to the U.S. and British Opens to make a run at a Tour card, a tactic that could become common". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- "Kelly Kraft beats Patrick Cantlay to win U.S. Amateur golf title". Los Angeles Times. August 28, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- Kelly Kraft captures U.S. Amateur Championship earning Open and Walker Cup spots Archived 2012-06-04 at Archive.today
- "US Walker Cup Team 2011". The R&A. Archived from the original on December 14, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
External links
- Kelly Kraft at the PGA Tour official site
- Kelly Kraft at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Profile on Southern Methodist's official athletic site