Brian Gay

A military brat, Gay was born in Fort Worth, Texas, but was raised primarily at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where his father was a U.S. Army non-commissioned officer involved in flight operations. His father was also a member of the All-Army golf team in his spare time. As an only child, Gay spent much of his youth at the Fort Rucker golf course, first at the practice area, then on the course. Encouraged by a group of military retirees he often played with, he dominated the local tournament scene as a tween.

Gay's success as a teenager led to his receiving an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Buddy Alexander's Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 1991 to 1994.^[2] During his time as a Gator golfer, the team won four consecutive Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships (1991–1994), and the 1993 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships.^[3] As a collegian, he was the SEC Freshman of the Year (1991), a five-time individual medalist, two-time SEC individual champion (1992, 1994), three-time first-team All-SEC selection (1992–1994), and two-time All-American (1992, 1993).^[2][4] Gay was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2010.^[5][6]

Gay turned pro in 1994 and mostly competed on mini-tours in the United States, winning several tournaments, before qualifying for the PGA Tour in 1999. He picked up his first win on the tour at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun in 2008 after 293 starts, with his second win coming at the Verizon Heritage in 2009.^[7] He won the event by ten strokes, finishing at 20-under par. The ten stroke victory is one of the biggest wins in the PGA Tour's history. His best position on the year-end money list was 13th in 2009. He has featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, ranking as high as 35th in 2009.^[8]

Gay was not exempt to play in the 2009 U.S. Open heading into the St. Jude Classic. He was one of seven golfers who could earn the last spot in the U.S. Open by winning the St. Jude Classic, using the "Winners of multiple PGA Tour events since the last Open" exemption.^[9] Gay went on to win by five strokes over David Toms and Bryce Molder for his second wire-to-wire win of the season.^[10]

In 2013, Gay won for the first time in four years at the Humana Challenge, the fourth victory of his PGA Tour career. He defeated Charles Howell III on the second hole of a three-man sudden-death playoff when he made birdie. Earlier, David Lingmerth had been eliminated on the first extra hole.^[11] This performance helped Gay earn the PGA Tour Player of the Month award for January.

Gay did not play during the 2014–15 season after back surgery and played the next two seasons on a Major Medical Extension. A T6 at the 2017 Valero Texas Open secured his return to the PGA Tour.

In November 2020, Gay won his fifth PGA Tour event (and first in seven years) at the Bermuda Championship when he defeated Wyndham Clark in a playoff.^[12]

Gay was mentioned frequently in Bud, Sweat and Tees: A Walk on the Wild Side of the PGA Tour by Alan Shipnuck, which profiled Rich Beem's rookie year on the PGA Tour. Steve Duplantis, who became Gay's caddy following a split with Beem, was chronicled as well in Shipnuck's book.

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Feb 24, 2008	Mayakoba Golf Classic	−16 (66-67-62-69=264)	2 strokes	Steve Marino
2	Apr 19, 2009	Verizon Heritage	−20 (67-66-67-64=264)	10 strokes	Briny Baird, Luke Donald
3	Jun 14, 2009	St. Jude Classic	−18 (64-66-66-66=262)	5 strokes	Bryce Molder, David Toms
4	Jan 21, 2013	Humana Challenge	−25 (67-66-67-63=263)	Playoff	Charles Howell III, David Lingmerth
5	Nov 1, 2020	Bermuda Championship	−15 (70-68-67-64=269)	Playoff	Wyndham Clark

PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	2008	Viking Classic	Will MacKenzie, Marc Turnesa	MacKenzie won with birdie on second extra hole Gay eliminated by birdie on first hole
2	2013	Humana Challenge	Charles Howell III, David Lingmerth	Won with birdie on second extra hole Lingmerth eliminated by birdie on first hole
3	2020	Bermuda Championship	Wyndham Clark	Won with birdie on first extra hole

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Mar 12, 1995	Hooters Auburn Classic	−10 (69-69-69-71=278)	5 strokes	Rob McKelvey

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 21, 1996	Golf Capital Magazine Tournament	−11 (69-66-70=205)	1 stroke	Adam Armagost, Gary Nicklaus
2	Sep 27, 1996	Golden Bear Tour Championship	−14 (67-69-70-68=274)	1 stroke	Ed Humenik
3	Jul 18, 1997	Canon Computer Systems Invitational	−10 (69-65-72=206)	1 stroke	Graham Davidson, Michael McNerney, Rick Price

• 1995 Timbercreek Classic (Gulf Coast Tour), Killearn tournament (Emerald Coast Tour), St. Lucie West tournament (Gold Coast Tour), Emerald Dunes tournament (Gold Coast Tour), PGA Estates tournament (South Florida Tour)

• 1996 Key Biscayne Open

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

• Most consecutive cuts made – 2 (twice)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 0

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Amateur

• Walker Cup: 1993 (winners)

• 1998 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• 1999 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• 2003 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
• List of Florida Gators men's golfers on the PGA Tour
• List of University of Florida alumni
• List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members

• Official website
• Brian Gay at the PGA Tour official site
• Brian Gay at the Official World Golf Ranking official site