Trevor Immelman

Last updated

Trevor Immelman
TImmelman.jpg
Personal information
Full nameTrevor John Immelman
Born (1979-12-16) 16 December 1979 (age 45)
Cape Town, South Africa
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of South Africa.svg South Africa
Residence Winter Park, Florida, U.S.
Spouse
Carminita
(m. 2003)
Children2
Career
Turned professional1999
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
European Tour
Sunshine Tour
Professional wins11
Highest ranking 12 (17 September 2006) [1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
European Tour4
Sunshine Tour5
Korn Ferry Tour1
Challenge Tour1
Other1
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters Tournament Won: 2008
PGA Championship T6: 2007
U.S. Open T21: 2006
The Open Championship T15: 2005
Achievements and awards
Sunshine Tour
Rookie of the Year
2000–01
Sunshine Tour
Order of Merit winner
2002–03
PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year
2006

Trevor John Immelman (born 16 December 1979) is a South African retired professional golfer and television commentator who has played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He won his sole major championship at the 2008 Masters Tournament. He is the chairman of the Official World Golf Ranking board.

Contents

Early life and amateur career

Immelman was born in Cape Town, South Africa. He was born into a golfing family. His father, Johan, is the former commissioner of the Sunshine Tour in South Africa, while his older brother Mark is a broadcaster, teaching pro, and collegiate golf coach. He also has an older sister by the name of Michelle Greeff. Trevor took up golf at the age of five. He attended Hottentots Holland High School.

Immelman had much success as amateur. He won the South African Amateur Championship in 1997. In 1998, he finished runner-up at the New Zealand Amateur. [2] He also won the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 1998.

Professional career

In 1999, Immelman turned professional. In 2000, he played mainly on the second tier professional tour in Europe, the Challenge Tour, and finished tenth on the Order of Merit. He became a full member of the European Tour in 2001 and has made the top twenty of the Order of Merit three times. He has four wins on the European Tour and in 2004 became the first man to successfully defend the South African Open title since Gary Player in the 1970s.

In 2003, Immelman won the WGC-World Cup for South Africa in partnership with Rory Sabbatini. In 2005 he was a member of the losing International Team at the Presidents Cup. He played with increasing frequency on the PGA Tour after receiving a 2-year PGA Tour exemption for 2006 and 2007 on account of this Presidents Cup appearance. In 2006 Immelman won his first PGA Tour event at the Cialis Western Open, a result that moved him into the top 15 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit in 2002/03.

Immelman withdrew from the 2006 Open Championship to be present for the birth of his first child. He finished 2006 in the top 10 of the PGA Tour money list, was named Rookie of the Year, and reached a career-high world ranking of twelfth. In September 2007, Trevor Immelman was picked by Gary Player to participate in the 7th Presidents Cup held at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, Canada. The International team lost 14.5 to the US team's 19.5. [3]

On 13 December 2007, Immelman withdrew from the South African Airways Open due to severe discomfort around his ribcage area and a problem breathing. He went into surgery the following Tuesday, 18 December 2007, and doctors discovered a lesion approximately the size of a golf ball on his diaphragm. (Immelman remarked in an interview on the obvious irony of the size of the lesion). [4] It was diagnosed as a calcified fibrosis tumor. After more tests they discovered that it was benign. Nevertheless, treatment and recovery caused him to miss the first eight weeks of the 2008 PGA Tour season. However, Immelman came back to win the 2008 Masters Tournament. Despite scoring a double bogey on the 70th hole, the par 3 16th, Immelman finished with a score of 8 under par, beating favourite Tiger Woods [5] by three strokes.

In June 2009, Immelman announced he would withdraw from the U.S. Open due to tendonitis in his left wrist and elbow, [6] which plagued him for much of the 2009 and 2010 seasons. As the 2013 PGA Tour neared its conclusion, Immelman's winless streak extended to five years; he was forced to play in the Web.com Tour Finals after he failed to make the FedEx Cup playoffs and his five-year exemption for winning the Masters expired. Immelman won the Hotel Fitness Championship, the first of four Web.com Tour Finals tournaments, and finished the Finals in sixth place to regain his PGA Tour card for 2014.

2018 saw a resurgence in Immelman's career. Focusing on the European Tour, he made the cut in 8 out of 13 events, with a best finish of T3 at the Scottish Open. In the event he had a chance to qualify for The Open Championship via the Open Qualifying Series, but missed an eight-foot birdie putt on the last and lost out to Jens Dantorp by world rankings. However, with the finish, Immelman moved from 1,380th in the world to 420th, his highest ranking since 2014. Immelman finished 77th on the Race to Dubai standings, regaining full status for the 2019 season.

In September 2022, Immelman captained the International team in the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. The U.S. team won 17.5–12.5. [7]

Broadcasting career

In 2017, 2018 and 2019, Turner Sports utilized Immelman as an analyst for coverage of the PGA Championship on TNT.

In December 2019, Immelman joined the PGA Tour on CBS commentating team. [8] After Nick Faldo retired from CBS in 2022, Immelman was named the new lead golf analyst for 2023.

OWGR Chairman

Immelman was announced as the chairman of the Official World Golf Ranking starting April 2025. [9]

Personal life

Immelman married his childhood sweetheart, Carminita, on 6 December 2003. He has frequently participated in his mentor Gary Player's charity golf events around the world to help raise funds for children's causes. Immelman has a residence in Winter Park, Florida that he purchased in 2016 from former professional football player Jeff Faine. [10]

Amateur wins

Professional wins (11)

PGA Tour wins (2)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
19 Jul 2006 Cialis Western Open −13 (69-66-69-67=271)2 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Tiger Woods, Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mathew Goggin
213 Apr 2008 Masters Tournament −8 (68-68-69-75=280)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Tiger Woods

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2006 Wachovia Championship Flag of the United States.svg Jim Furyk Lost to par on first extra hole
2 2008 Stanford St. Jude Championship Flag of Australia (converted).svg Robert Allenby, Flag of the United States.svg Justin Leonard Leonard won with birdie on second extra hole

European Tour wins (4)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other European Tour (3)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
112 Jan 2003 South African Airways Open 1−14 (70-71-66-67=274)Playoff Flag of South Africa.svg Tim Clark
218 Jan 2004 South African Airways Open 1 (2)−12 (71-69-69-67=276)3 strokes Flag of Scotland.svg Alastair Forsyth, Flag of England.svg Steve Webster
323 May 2004 Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe −17 (65-72-69-65=271)1 stroke Flag of Ireland.svg Pádraig Harrington
413 Apr 2008 Masters Tournament −8 (68-68-69-75=280)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Tiger Woods

1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour

European Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2003 South African Airways Open Flag of South Africa.svg Tim Clark Won with birdie on first extra hole
22003 Dunhill Championship Flag of England.svg Mark Foster, Flag of Denmark.svg Anders Hansen,
Flag of Scotland.svg Paul Lawrie, Flag of Scotland.svg Doug McGuigan,
Flag of South Africa.svg Bradford Vaughan
Foster won with eagle on second extra hole
Hansen and McGuigan eliminated by birdie on first hole
32003 Volvo PGA Championship Flag of Spain.svg Ignacio Garrido Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Sunshine Tour wins (5)

Legend
Flagship events (2)
Other Sunshine Tour (3)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
110 Dec 2000 Vodacom Players Championship −9 (67-75-68-69=279)3 strokes Flag of South Africa.svg Ernie Els, Flag of South Africa.svg Titch Moore
212 Jan 2003 South African Airways Open 1−14 (70-71-66-67=274)Playoff Flag of South Africa.svg Tim Clark
326 Jan 2003 Dimension Data Pro-Am −17 (67-68-65-71=271)1 stroke Flag of South Africa.svg Andrew McLardy, Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Vaughan
418 Jan 2004 South African Airways Open 1 (2)−12 (71-69-69-67=276)3 strokes Flag of Scotland.svg Alastair Forsyth, Flag of England.svg Steve Webster
52 Dec 2007 Nedbank Golf Challenge −16 (67-66-67-72=272)1 stroke Flag of England.svg Justin Rose

1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour

Sunshine Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2003 South African Airways Open Flag of South Africa.svg Tim Clark Won with birdie on first extra hole
22003 Dunhill Championship Flag of England.svg Mark Foster, Flag of Denmark.svg Anders Hansen,
Flag of Scotland.svg Paul Lawrie, Flag of Scotland.svg Doug McGuigan,
Flag of South Africa.svg Bradford Vaughan
Foster won with eagle on second extra hole
Hansen and McGuigan eliminated by birdie on first hole

Web.com Tour wins (1)

Legend
Finals events (1)
Other Web.com Tour (0)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
11 Sep 2013 Hotel Fitness Championship −20 (67-66-69-66=268)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Patrick Cantlay

Challenge Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
112 Mar 2000 Tusker Kenya Open −14 (67-69-67-67=270)4 strokes Flag of Sweden.svg Henrik Stenson

Other wins (1)

Legend
World Golf Championships (1)
Other wins (0)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runners-up
116 Nov 2003 WGC-World Cup
(with Flag of South Africa.svg Rory Sabbatini)
−13 (70-69-63-73=275)4 strokesFlag of England.svg EnglandPaul Casey and Justin Rose

Major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
2008 Masters Tournament 2 shot lead−8 (68-68-69-75=280)3 strokes Flag of the United States.svg Tiger Woods

Results timeline

Tournament19992000200120022003200420052006200720082009
Masters Tournament 56CUTT5CUTT55 1 T20
U.S. Open CUTT55T21CUTT65
The Open Championship T43T53T42T15T60T19
PGA Championship T48T37T17T34T6CUT
Tournament201020112012201320142015201620172018
Masters Tournament T14T1560T50CUTCUTCUTCUTCUT
U.S. Open CUTCUTCUT
The Open Championship T23T38CUT
PGA Championship CUTT12T27
Tournament2019
Masters Tournament T51
PGA Championship
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament 1002251710
PGA Championship 00001397
U.S. Open 00000183
The Open Championship 00000398
Totals10023124328

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament2003200420052006200720082009201020112012
The Players Championship CUTWDCUTCUTCUTT33T56
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament20022003200420052006200720082009
Match Play R64R32R643R32R64
Championship T27T44T23T9T35T40T70
Invitational T9T32T19T13T36T36T60
Champions
  Top 10
  Did not play

"T" indicates a tie for a place.
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References

  1. "Week 37 2006 Ending 17 Sep 2006" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  2. "New Zealand Amateur Championships". The Age. 27 April 1998.
  3. "The Presidents Cup – Past Results". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  4. "Immelman undergoes surgery to remove growth on his diaphragm". PGA Tour. 18 December 2007. Archived from the original on 20 December 2007.
  5. Dorman, Larry (14 April 2008). "Immelman Survives Pressure to Win Masters". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  6. "Immelman withdraws from U.S. Open due to injury". PGA Tour. 14 June 2009.
  7. Beall, Joel (25 September 2022). "Presidents Cup 2022: Our grades for all 24 players, from an A+ for Spieth to an F for Scheffler". Golf Digest. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  8. "ViacomCBS Press Express | GOLF ON CBS".
  9. Schlabach, Mark (7 January 2025). "Trevor Immelman to be next Official World Golf Ranking chair". ESPN.
  10. Fluker, Anjali (7 September 2016). "Former NFL player sells Winter Park luxury home for $4.55M". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved 19 October 2018.