Troy Brian Merritt (born October 25, 1985) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and the Web.com Tour. He is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, with his most recent win coming at the 2018 Barbasol Championship.
| Troy Merritt | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Troy Brian Merritt |
| Born | October 25, 1985 Osage, Iowa, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  United States |
| Residence | Boise, Idaho, U.S. |
| Spouse | Courtney Achter |
| Children | 2 |
| Career | |
| College | Winona State University Boise State University |
| Turned professional | 2008 |
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Former tour(s) | Web.com Tour |
| Professional wins | 3 |
| Highest ranking | 82 (March 20, 2016)[1] |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 2 |
| Korn Ferry Tour | 1 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | T42: 2016 |
| PGA Championship | T41: 2022 |
| U.S. Open | 58th: 2020 |
| The Open Championship | CUT: 2021 |
Early life
editMerritt was born in Osage, Iowa, but moved to Minnesota and played high school golf at Spring Lake Park. He played college golf at Winona State University until after his sophomore year, when he transferred to Boise State University.[2] He was first team All-WAC for Boise State and tied the school-record for a low round score when he posted a 62 (-9) in the second round of the District VII Shootout.[2]
Professional career
editMerritt turned professional in 2008.[3] Merritt's first win on the Nationwide Tour came on September 6, 2009 when he won a $117,000 purse at the Mexico Open, beating Australia's Adam Bland with a 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff.[4]
On December 7, 2009, Merritt became only the third golfer to medal at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament by leading after every round.[5] Despite a double-bogey on the final (108th) hole of the six round tournament he won by one stroke over veteran Jeff Maggert with a score of 22-under-par.[6] In 2010, Merritt finished 125th on the PGA Tour, earning the final spot to retain a tour card.
On April 17, 2015, Merritt tied the course record at the Heritage on Hilton Head Island with a 10-under-par 61, matching David Frost's tournament mark set in 1994. Merritt shot his 61 after Jordan Spieth, the 2015 Masters champion, recovered from an opening-round 74 to shoot 62.[7] Merritt finished the tournament behind Jim Furyk and Kevin Kisner, and earned $401,200 for finishing alone in third.[8]
Merritt recorded his first PGA Tour win at the 2015 Quicken Loans National. He set a course record at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club with a 61 in the third round and held off all challengers to win by three shots at 18-under 266.[9]
Merritt won his second PGA Tour event at the 2018 Barbasol Championship. He started with a 62 and a final round 67 gave him a one-stroke victory. The tournament was not completed until the Monday after bad weather during the tournament.[10] Eleven days after his win Merritt underwent emergency surgery to remove a blood clot that stretched from his chest into his bicep.[11]
In July 2021, Merritt shot 18-under par for 72 holes to tie with Cameron Davis and Joaquín Niemann for the lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Niemann was eliminated with a bogey on the first playoff hole. Merritt ultimately bogeyed the fifth playoff hole and Davis won with a par.[12]
Personal life
editMerritt currently resides in Boise, Idaho with his wife, Courtney Achter, and two sons.
Professional wins (3)
editPGA Tour wins (2)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 2, 2015 | Quicken Loans National | −18 (70-68-61-67=266) | 3 strokes |  Rickie Fowler
|
| 2 | Jul 23, 2018 | Barbasol Championship | −23 (62-67-69-67=265) | 1 stroke | Billy Horschel, Tom Lovelady, Richy Werenski
|
PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 | Rocket Mortgage Classic |  Cameron Davis,  Joaquín Niemann
|
Davis won with par on fifth extra hole Niemann eliminated by par on first hole |
Nationwide Tour wins (1)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 6, 2009 | Mexico Open | −15 (69-68-67-69=273) | Playoff | Adam Bland
|
Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2009 | Mexico Open | Adam Bland
|
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Results in major championships
editResults not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T42 | |||
| U.S. Open | CUT | |||
| The Open Championship | ||||
| PGA Championship | T54 | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | T41 | |
| U.S. Open | 58 | T65 | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | NT | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Results in The Players Championship
edit| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | 68 | T61 | 72 | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | C | CUT | T46 | CUT | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Results in World Golf Championships
edit| Tournament | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Championship | |
| Match Play | |
| Invitational | 77 |
| Champions |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Week 12 2016 Ending 20 Mar 2016" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
- ^ a b Boise State profile Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gaylord Sports profile
- ^ Merritt wins Mexico Open
- ^ Unlikely pipeline: Boise State shining at q-school Archived 2009-12-08 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Merritt cruises to medalist honors at q-school; Fowler earns card Archived 2009-12-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Troy Merritt Ties Course Record at RBC". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 18, 2015.
- ^ "Furyk wins RBC Heritage in playoff, Merritt finishes 3rd". KTVB. April 19, 2015.
- ^ "Troy Merritt shoots 67 to beat Rickie Fowler by 3 shots". ESPN. Associated Press. August 2, 2015.
- ^ "Troy Merritt wins rain-delayed Barbasol Championship, gains spot in PGA Championship". ESPN. Associated Press. July 23, 2018.
- ^ "Merritt has emergency surgery to remove clot". Golf Channel. August 4, 2018.
- ^ Lage, Larry (July 4, 2021). "Cam Davis wins Rocket Mortgage Classic on 5th playoff hole". Associated Press. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
External links
edit- Official website
- Troy Merritt at the PGA Tour official site
- Troy Merritt at the Official World Golf Ranking official site