Jimmy Walker (golfer)

Jimmy Walker
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name James William Walker
Born (1979-01-16) January 16, 1979
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Nationality  United States
Residence Boerne, Texas
Spouse Erin (née Stiegemeier)
Children 2
Career
College Baylor University
Turned professional 2001
Current tour(s) PGA Tour
Former tour(s) Nationwide Tour
Professional wins 10
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 6
Web.com Tour 3
Other 1
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters Tournament T8: 2014
U.S. Open T9: 2014
The Open Championship T26: 2014
PGA Championship Won: 2016
Achievements and awards
Nationwide Tour
leading money winner		 2004
Nationwide Tour
Player of the Year		 2004

James William Walker (born January 16, 1979) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. After playing in 187 events without a win on the PGA Tour, Walker won three times in the first eight events of the 2014 season. He is a six-time winner on the PGA Tour, and in 2016 won his first major title at the PGA Championship.

Early life

Born in Oklahoma City, Walker and his family later moved to Texas to the San Antonio area, and he graduated from Canyon High School in New Braunfels in 1997. He played college golf at Baylor University in Waco and turned professional at age 22 in 2001.[1]

Professional career

2003–04: Nationwide Tour

Walker played on the Nationwide Tour full-time in 2003 and 2004. In 2004 he won the first two professional events of his career at the BellSouth Panama Championship and the Chitimacha Louisiana Open. Walker ended the 2004 season as the Nationwide Tour's leading money winner and won Player of the Year honors, while in the process earning his PGA Tour card for the first time.

2005–13: Early PGA Tour career

Walker only played in nine PGA Tour events in 2005 due to injury, making three cuts and a best finish of 17th at the MCI Heritage. He played his first full season on the PGA Tour in 2006, where he played in 21 events. He did not enjoy a very successful season, making nine cuts and recording only one top-25 finish. He ended the season 202nd on the money list, which was not enough to retain his playing rights. Walker went back to the Nationwide Tour in 2007, where he added a third title to his name at the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic and finished in 25th place on the Nationwide Tour's money list, which qualified him for a PGA Tour card for the 2008 season. Again, Walker endured a difficult season, making 13 cuts in 24 events, with three top-25 finishes. He ended the year 192nd on the FedEx Cup Standings and entered the year end Q-school to try and regain his card. He finished in a tie for 11th, which was enough to regain his card for the 2009 season.

Walker fared better in 2009, where he recorded his first two top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour, including a T5 at the Turning Stone Resort Championship. Walker finished the 2009 season ranked 125th on the money list, securing the last available tour card for the next season. In 2010, Walker made less than half of the cuts he played in, but had a T3 and T4 finish to boost his season's placing. He finished 2010 ranked 103rd on the money list. In 2011, Walker enjoyed his best season to that point, helped by three 4th/T4 finishes throughout the season. He was 68th in the FedEx Cup standings and qualified for the third FedEx Cup playoff event, the BMW Championship, for the first time. Walker followed up a solid 2011 season with another good year in 2012. He finished the year 43rd in the FedEx Cup standings, with six top-10 finishes. Walker started to develop a consistent game on the PGA Tour, evidenced when he made 25 consecutive cuts from the 2012 John Deere Classic to the 2013 Memorial Tournament. During this run, Walker had finishes of T2, T3, and T4 as he finished the 2013 season with over $2 million in tour earnings.

2014–present: PGA Tour victories and success

The 2014 season was the first to begin with six events in the fall of 2013. In the first of these, Walker won his first PGA Tour event at the 2013 Frys.com Open, after nine years and 188 PGA Tour starts. He won by two strokes over Vijay Singh after shooting 62-66 over the weekend. The win gave him an exemption into the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, and earned him his first trip to the Masters Tournament and a PGA Tour card until the end of 2016. Walker also entered the world's top 50 for the first time.[2]

Walker opened up 2014 finishing T21 at his first visit to the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. The following week, he earned his second PGA Tour win at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He birdied four of the final six holes and shot a final round 63 to win by one stroke over Chris Kirk.[3]

Five weeks later, in early February 2014, Walker won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am by one stroke over Dustin Johnson and Jim Renner. He had a six-stroke advantage going into the final round, but shot a two-over-par 74 on Sunday and needed to hole a five-foot par putt on the 18th for the victory.[4] This was his third victory of the 2014 season in just eight starts, after previously going 187 events without a victory. With his win, Walker became the leader on the 2014 money list, FedExCup standings, and Ryder Cup points standings. He also raised his Official World Golf Ranking to 24th.[5][6] A T8 finish at the 2014 Masters Tournament raised his ranking to 19th, and ensured him an invitation into the 2015 tournament. He went on to post top-ten finishes at two other majors, a T9 at the 2014 U.S. Open, and a T7 the 2014 PGA Championship.[7] His highly successful season earned him a spot on the 2014 Ryder Cup, another personal first.[8] Walker went as high as 17th in the OWGR during the 2014 season.

In January 2015, Walker lost in a sudden-death playoff at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii to Patrick Reed. After finishing at 21-under-par in regulation play, Walker was beaten by a Reed birdie on the first extra hole. The following week on tour, Walker defended his Sony Open in Hawaii title with a nine-stroke victory after a final round 63. It was Walker's fourth career PGA Tour victory and it moved him 13th in the OWGR. In March 2015, Walker earned his fifth PGA Tour win and second of the season at the Valero Texas Open with a four-stroke victory over Jordan Spieth. Residing in San Antonio, this meant Walker had claimed victory in his hometown event. The win moved Walker into the world's top 10 for the first time and took him to the top of the FedEx Cup standings. In May 2015, Walker tied for second place at the AT&T Byron Nelson. For the season, Walker had two victories and two second-place finishes, putting him in the top-10 on the PGA Tour money list for the second year in a row.

At the 2016 PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club, Walker shot a 65 in the first round to hold the lead by one stroke. This represented the first time that he had ever led a major in his career. He followed this with a 66 in the second round for a 9-under total and share of the halfway lead with Robert Streb. After a washout on Saturday, Walker shot a third round 68 on Sunday morning, finishing with a birdie on the 18th hole to take the 54-hole lead by one stroke. Sunday evening saw Walker shoot a bogey-free round of 67 to capture his first major championship, winning by one stroke over Jason Day, who after eagleing the 18th hole forced Walker to make par for the championship. Walker, in his third shot, played a safe approach from the rough to the green, taking two putts to make par and maintain his 1-shot lead for his first major title.[9]

Personal

Walker is married to the former Erin Stiegemeier, whom he met while she served as a volunteer at a 2004 Nationwide Tour event.[10] His wife is a nationally ranked show jumper,[11] and they have two sons. Walker is also an avid astrophotographer; his photos have been featured on Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD).[12] His home golf course is Cordillera Ranch Golf Club in Boerne, Texas.

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (6)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour events (5)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 Oct 13, 2013 Frys.com Open 70-69-62-66=267 −17 2 strokes Fiji Vijay Singh
2 Jan 12, 2014 Sony Open in Hawaii 66-67-67-63=263 −17 1 stroke United States Chris Kirk
3 Feb 9, 2014 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am 66-69-67-74=276 −11 1 stroke United States Dustin Johnson, United States Jim Renner
4 Jan 18, 2015 Sony Open in Hawaii (2) 66-66-62-63=257 −23 9 strokes United States Scott Piercy
5 Mar 29, 2015 Valero Texas Open 71-67-69-70=277 −11 4 strokes United States Jordan Spieth
6 Jul 31, 2016 PGA Championship 65-66-68-67=266 −14 1 stroke Australia Jason Day

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2015 Hyundai Tournament of Champions United States Patrick Reed Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Nationwide Tour wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 Feb 8, 2004 BellSouth Panama Championship 65-69-70-69=273 −7 5 strokes United States Tom Scherrer
2 Mar 28, 2004 Chitimacha Louisiana Open 69-64-74-65=272 −16 1 stroke United States Rick Price
3 Aug 26, 2007 National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic 68-70-68-67=273 −15 1 stroke United States Justin Hicks, Australia Matt Jones

Other wins

Major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
2016 PGA Championship 1 shot lead −14 (65-66-68-67=266) 1 stroke Australia Jason Day

Results timeline

Tournament 200120022003200420052006200720082009
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open T52 CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 2010201120122013201420152016
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP T8 T38 T29
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP T9 T58 CUT
The Open Championship DNP DNP DNP CUT T26 T30 CUT
PGA Championship CUT DNP T21 CUT T7 CUT 1

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 3
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 3
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2
PGA Championship 1 0 0 1 2 3 6 3
Totals 1 0 0 1 4 5 18 11

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament 2013 2014 2015 2016
Cadillac Championship DNP T25 T31 6
Dell Match Play DNP R32 T52 T38
Bridgestone Invitational DNP T26 T53 T16
HSBC Champions T46 T35 DNP T77

DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
Yellow background for top-10.

PGA Tour career summary

Season Starts Cuts
made 		Wins
(majors) 		2nd 3rd Top-10 Top-25 Earnings
($) 		Money
list rank
2001 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 13,164 n/a
2002 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a
2003 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a
2004 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a
2005 9 3 0 0 0 0 2 155,850 207
2006 21 9 0 0 0 0 1 153,950 202
2007 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n/a
2008 24 13 0 0 0 0 3 282,249 185
2009 24 15 0 0 0 2 5 662,683 125
2010 27 13 0 0 1 2 6 937,987 103
2011 24 16 0 0 0 4 7 1,336,556 67
2012 28 23 0 0 0 6 9 1,638,419 48
2013 24 18 0 1 1 5 10 2,117,570 30
2014 27 23 3 0 0 10 19 5,787,016 4
2015 24 21 2 2 0 6 9 4,521,350 10
2016 25 18 1 (1) 0 1 5 12 4,148,546 10[14]
Career* 263 173 6 (1) 3 3 40 83 21,755,342 49[15]

* As of 2016 season

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Jimmy Walker – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Jimmy Walker takes Frys.com title". ESPN. Associated Press. October 13, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Jimmy Walker's final-round 63 wins Sony Open". USA Today. Associated Press. January 13, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  4. ↑ McEwan, Michael (February 10, 2014). "Walker wins third title of the season". Bunkered. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Jimmy Walker wins at Pebble Beach". ESPN. Associated Press. February 10, 2014.
  6. ↑ Lavner, Ryan (February 10, 2014). "Walker cracks top 25 after third win of season". Golf Channel.
  7. ↑ "Jimmy Walker Tournament Results – 2014". ESPN. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  8. ↑ "2014 Ryder Cup – Team USA Points Standings". Ryder Cup. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  9. ↑ Murray, Ewan (August 1, 2016). "Jimmy Walker holds off Jason Day to claim stunning US PGA win". The Guardian. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Jimmy Walker biography". Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  11. ↑ Van Sickle, Gary (July 3, 2013). "Jimmy Walker, the Tour's cut-making machine, is rocketing up the world rankings". Golf.com.
  12. ↑ Nemiroff, R.; Bonnell, J., eds. (19 December 2014). "Reflections on the 1970s". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Jimmy Walker – 2002". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Money Leaders". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Career Money Leaders". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
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