William McGirt

Last updated
William McGirt
William McGirt.jpg
McGirt in May 2017
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Curtis McGirt III
NicknameDirt McGirt [1]
Born (1979-06-21) June 21, 1979 (age 44)
Lumberton, North Carolina
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight195 lb (88 kg; 13.9 st)
Sporting nationalityFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Residence Boiling Springs, South Carolina [2]
Spouse
Sarah McGirt
(m. 2004)
Children2
Career
College Wofford College
Turned professional2004
Current tour(s) PGA Tour
Former tour(s) Nationwide Tour
Tarheel Tour
Professional wins2
Highest ranking 38 (July 31, 2016) [3]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Other1
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament T22: 2017
PGA Championship T10: 2016
U.S. Open T55: 2017
The Open Championship CUT: 2016, 2017

William Curtis McGirt III (born June 21, 1979) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.

Contents

College career

Born in Lumberton, North Carolina, McGirt grew up playing both baseball and golf, receiving scholarship offers from colleges in North Carolina and South Carolina. After being recruited by multiple colleges for both sports, McGirt decided to play college golf at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He was the 1998 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and won three collegiate events for the Terriers, including the 2001 conference championship. He graduated in 2001 and was a 2010 inductee of the Wofford College Athletic Hall of Fame. He is a fan of Wofford sports and is married to a Wofford alumna.

Professional career

McGirt turned professional in 2004 and spent several years playing on mini-tours. [4] His first break came by reaching the final stage of the 2009 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament (Q-School), allowing him to play on the Nationwide Tour in 2010. He ended 2010 at 34th on that tour's money list, then finished runner-up at Q-School to earn his PGA Tour card for 2011. McGirt qualified for the FedEx Cup Playoffs in his rookie season, advancing as far as the Deutsche Bank Championship and finishing 83rd in the FedEx Cup standings. He finished 141st on the 2011 PGA Tour money list. Unfortunately, it was the money list that mattered at the time and McGirt had to go back to Q School to regain his Tour privileges or be relegated to the conditional category. He qualified for the tour in 2012 by finishing T13 in the 2011 Q-School. [5]

McGirt's first appearance in a major was at the PGA Championship in 2012, where he missed the cut. He had three runner-up finishes before his first win at age 36 in June 2016 at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio. He won on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with Jon Curran. [6] It was McGirt's first professional win since his mini-tour victory nine years earlier in 2007. He earned $1.53 million for winning the Memorial, almost 100 times more than the $16,000 prize for his mini-tour win. [7] The win earned him a three-year PGA Tour exemption, [8] moved him to 44th in the Official World Golf Ranking, and qualified him for the U.S. Open, PGA Championship, and the Masters. [7] McGirt also qualified for the 2016 Open Championship based on his FedEx Cup position. His career high world ranking is 38th, after a T10 at the 2016 PGA Championship.

McGirt's 2018 season ended at The Northern Trust. He had surgery on his left hip and did not play the 2018–19 season. He entered the 2019–20 season with 29 starts and 375.582 points to meet the terms of his medical extension, but could not meet the requirements. McGirt failed to regain his PGA Tour card for 2022, but was one of five players who were not already exempt (26-75th Korn Ferry Tour standings or 126-150th FedEx Cup) to earn a "Floor of Five" exemption and full Korn Ferry Tour privileges for 2023.

As of 2022, William has more than 50 top 25 finishes and has earned more than eleven million dollars.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (2)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner-up
1Jun 5, 2016 Memorial Tournament 70-68-64-71=273−15Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Jon Curran

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2016 Memorial Tournament Flag of the United States.svg Jon Curran Won with par on second extra hole

Tarheel Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner-up
1May 4, 2007 Cabarrus Classic67-68-71=206−10Playoff Flag of the United States.svg Rohan Allwood

Results in major championships

Tournament201220132014201520162017
Masters Tournament T22
U.S. Open CUTT55
The Open Championship CUTCUT
PGA Championship CUTT10CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament 00000111
U.S. Open 00000021
The Open Championship 00000020
PGA Championship 00001131
Totals00001283

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament201320142015201620172018
The Players Championship T43CUTCUTT43T22CUT

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

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament20162017
Championship T28
Match Play R16
Invitational T7
Champions
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

FedEx Cup final standing

YearRank
201183
201250
2013100
201461
201569
201624
201785
2018116
2020247

See also

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References

  1. "Stiles: McGirt's step back a refreshing move in today's golf climate". Robesonian. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  2. Rowland, Kyle (May 31, 2017). "William McGirt made a name at Memorial last year" . Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  3. "Week 31 2016 Ending 31 Jul 2016" (pdf). OWGR . Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  4. Longest of long shots, McGirt hopeful and happy to still be alive in playoffs
  5. "Q School". www.pgatour.com. Archived from the original on 2011-12-08.
  6. DiMeglio, Steve (June 5, 2016). "William McGirt wins first PGA Tour title in playoff at Memorial". USA Today. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Shedloski, Dave (June 5, 2016). "William McGirt wins Memorial, ending 'years of…getting nose bloodied'". Golf Digest. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  8. Miceli, Alex (June 5, 2016). "William McGirt captures first PGA Tour win in playoff at Memorial". Golfweek. Retrieved June 14, 2016.