Woody Austin

Last updated

Woody Austin
Personal information
Full nameAlbert Woody Austin II
NicknameAquaman
Born (1964-01-27) January 27, 1964 (age 61)
Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Residence Derby, Kansas, U.S.
Career
College University of Miami
Turned professional1986
Current tour(s) PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins11
Highest ranking 29 (October 28, 2007) [1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour4
PGA Tour Champions4
Other3
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament CUT: 1996, 2008
PGA Championship 2nd: 2007
U.S. Open T23: 1996
The Open Championship T39: 2008
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour
Rookie of the Year
1995

Albert Woody Austin II (born January 27, 1964) is an American professional golfer who played the majority of his career on the PGA Tour, but now plays on the PGA Tour Champions.

Contents

Early life and education

Austin was born in Tampa, Florida and attended George D. Chamberlain High School where he graduated in 1982 and was awarded best golf player in the conference. [2] He attended the University of Miami, where he was a member of the golf team coached by Norman C. Parsons Jr. He graduated in 1986 with a degree in Business Administration and turned professional later that year.

Career

Austin won PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors in 1995. He has won four times on tour: the 1995 Buick Open, the 2004 Buick Championship, the 2007 Stanford St. Jude Championship shooting a final round 62, and the 2013 Sanderson Farms Championship (where he became the 8th oldest winner in Tour history, just younger than Raymond Floyd).

During the 1997 Verizon Heritage, Austin intentionally struck his head with his putter five times. He hit his head so hard that the shaft bent. [3]

After the second round of the 2007 PGA Championship, Austin joked that he was named after actor Woody Harrelson (Harrelson being only three years older than Austin). He went on to finish 2nd behind Tiger Woods, his best major finish. This achievement moved Austin into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings. Austin's career high ranking was 29th in 2008. During the 2007 Presidents Cup, Austin fell into a pond while attempting to hit a shot with one foot in the water. This incident led to Woody's nickname "Aquaman". [4] During his singles match against 2007 U.S. Open Champion Ángel Cabrera, he wore a pair of swimming goggles. [3]

After struggling for years with limited PGA Tour status as a past champion, Austin won the 2013 Sanderson Farms Championship, his first PGA Tour win in six years. In that season's PGA Championship, Austin was given a four-stroke penalty for having fifteen clubs in his bag; he would miss the cut by one stroke. Although Austin didn't do well enough to earn entry into the FedEx Cup (137th after making two cuts in eight events, plus the win was an alternate event only worth 300 FedEx Cup points rather than 500), his win earned him a tour card through 2015. Despite his exemption, Austin decided to focus on the PGA Tour Champions.

In March 2016, Austin won his maiden title on the PGA Tour Champions with a one stroke victory at the Tucson Conquistadores Classic; he followed that victory up with two additional PGA Tour Champions wins in 2016. On October 21, 2018, Austin won the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. Austin closed with a three-under-par 69 on a cool day to record his fourth senior victory, but first since 2016. The tournament was held at The Country Club of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. [5]

Austin was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame at its 40th Annual Banquet held February 13, 2008 at Jungle Island in Miami. He resides in Derby, Kansas.

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (4)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1Aug 6, 1995 Buick Open −18 (63-68-72-67=270)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Mike Brisky
2Aug 29, 2004 Buick Championship −10 (68-70-66-66=270)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Tim Herron
3Jun 10, 2007 Stanford St. Jude Championship −13 (72-66-67-62=267)5 strokes Flag of England.svg Brian Davis
4Jul 21, 2013 Sanderson Farms Championship −20 (69-65-67-67=268)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Cameron Beckman, Flag of the United States.svg Daniel Summerhays

PGA Tour playoff record (3–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 1995 Buick Open Flag of the United States.svg Mike Brisky Won with par on second extra hole
2 2003 MCI Heritage Flag of the United States.svg Davis Love III Lost to birdie on fourth extra hole
3 2004 Buick Championship Flag of the United States.svg Tim Herron Won with birdie on first extra hole
4 2013 Sanderson Farms Championship Flag of the United States.svg Cameron Beckman, Flag of the United States.svg Daniel Summerhays Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (2)

PGA Tour Champions wins (4)

Legend
Charles Schwab Cup playoff events (1)
Other PGA Tour Champions (3)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
1Mar 20, 2016 Tucson Conquistadores Classic −16 (65-70-65=200)1 stroke Flag of the United States.svg Jim Carter
2Apr 17, 2016 Mitsubishi Electric Classic −11 (72-69-64=205)Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Wes Short Jr.
3Apr 24, 2016 Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf
(with Flag of the United States.svg Michael Allen)
−23 (49-59-48=156)1 stroke Flag of England.svg Roger Chapman and Flag of South Africa.svg David Frost
4Oct 21, 2018 Dominion Energy Charity Classic −11 (68-68-69=205)1 stroke Flag of Germany.svg Bernhard Langer

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (1–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2016 Mitsubishi Electric Classic Flag of the United States.svg Wes Short Jr. Won with par on second extra hole
22016 Boeing Classic Flag of Germany.svg Bernhard Langer, Flag of the United States.svg Kevin Sutherland Langer won with birdie on first extra hole
3 2019 Hoag Classic Flag of the United States.svg Kirk Triplett Lost to eagle on second extra hole

Other senior wins (1)

Playoff record

Nike Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 1998 Nike Permian Basin Open Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Barlow, Flag of the United States.svg Stiles Mitchell Mitchell won with par on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament19951996199719981999
Masters Tournament CUT
U.S. Open T23
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship T23T69
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
Masters Tournament CUT
U.S. Open T37CUTT48T32CUTT71
The Open Championship T39
PGA Championship T27T62T66T162CUTT36
Tournament2010201120122013
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament 00000020
U.S. Open 00000175
The Open Championship 00000021
PGA Championship 010113108
Totals0101142114

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament1996199719981999
The Players Championship T67CUT
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
The Players Championship T61CUTCUTT16CUT73CUTT21T22
Tournament20102011201220132014
The Players Championship T56CUT
  Did not play

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

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament20052006200720082009
Match Play QF
Championship T44
Invitational T36T56T52T15
  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied

Results in senior major championships

Results not in chronological order before 2022.

Tournament20142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
The Tradition T29T47T16NTT15T45T28T75
Senior PGA Championship 3T64CUTT3311NTT11T29CUTT57
U.S. Senior Open T3T26T24CUTCUTT11NTT28CUTT57CUT
Senior Players Championship T26T25T4613T7T5T58T5T27
Senior British Open Championship T5T23T15T12T7NTT28T47
  Top 10

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

U.S. national team appearances

See also

References

  1. "Week 43 2007 Ending 28 Oct 2007" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  2. Chamberlain High School Totem Yearbook. 1982. p. 87.
  3. 1 2 "Summer of Woody: Austin becomes household name in span of weeks". PGA Tour. October 3, 2007. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009.
  4. Auclair, T.J. (September 29, 2007). "Austin takes a highlight-reel dive, then rallies his team". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on August 16, 2009.
  5. Strege, John (October 21, 2018). "Woody Austin wins Dominion Energy Charity Classic, spoils Jay Haas' bid to become oldest senior winner". Golf Digest. Retrieved October 22, 2018.