Professional career
In 2002, Stadler turned pro. In 2004, Stadler won twice on the second-tier Nationwide Tour, and finished 13th on the money list to win a place on the 2005 PGA Tour. In his rookie season on the elite tour he came 168th on the money list, thus losing his playing status.
Early in 2006 Stadler won the Johnnie Walker Classic in Australia, gaining a two-year exemption on the European, Asian, and Australasian tours. Stadler commented, "I am honestly baffled by this win.... It was my intention this year just to play the Nationwide Tour and get my PGA Tour card back but now I have no idea what I will do". [2] His dilemma was that the European Tour, on which he became eligible to play, is much more prestigious and lucrative than the Nationwide Tour, but unlike the Nationwide Tour it did not offer a direct route to his objective of regaining his playing privileges on the PGA Tour. For the remainder of 2006 he divided his time between the two tours, winning twice on the Nationwide Tour, and finishing twelfth on the money list to regain his PGA Tour card with effect from the start of the 2007 season.
During the 2009 season Stadler lost in a playoff at the Wyndham Championship to Ryan Moore. At the time Moore and Stadler were both trying to capture their first PGA Tour title.
On February 2, 2014, Stadler won the Waste Management Phoenix Open marking his first PGA Tour victory. [3] Stadler won after Bubba Watson made bogey on the 18th hole. The event was Stadler's 239th PGA Tour start and would ensure him of his first Masters invitation. Craig and Kevin were the first father-son duo to play at Augusta in the same tournament. [4] Kevin is also the first son of a Masters champion to play in that tournament. Kevin is nicknamed as "Smallrus," a play on his father's nickname of "Walrus." Kevin finished T8 in his Masters debut, ensuring him of making the 2015 field. He missed the cut in 2015. His career-best world ranking was 52nd in 2014.
Stadler was one of the few golfers to employ the use of an anchor putter, which the PGA Tour banned on January 1, 2016. In preparation for the ban, Stadler started putting left-handed.
A broken bone in his left hand limited Stadler to five events during the 2014−15 season. Stadler attempted a comeback on the Web.com Tour's Digital Ally Open in 2017, but he withdrew after the first round. He entered the 2017–18 season with a Major Medical Extension that required him to earn 454.420 FedEx Cup points or $717,890 in 26 starts in order to retain his PGA Tour privileges, but was unable to meet the terms.
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