Troy Merritt

Troy Merritt
Personal information
Full nameTroy Brian Merritt
Born (1985-10-25) October 25, 1985 (age 39)
Osage, Iowa, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight160 lb (73 kg; 11 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceBoise, Idaho, U.S.
SpouseCourtney Achter
Children2
Career
CollegeWinona State University
Boise State University
Turned professional2008
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
Former tour(s)Web.com Tour
Professional wins3
Highest ranking82 (March 20, 2016)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
Korn Ferry Tour1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT42: 2016
PGA ChampionshipT41: 2022
U.S. Open58th: 2020
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 2021

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.

Early life

Merritt 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

Merritt 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

Merritt currently resides in Boise, Idaho with his wife, Courtney Achter, and two sons.

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (2)

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 United States Rickie Fowler
2 Jul 23, 2018 Barbasol Championship −23 (62-67-69-67=265) 1 stroke United States Billy Horschel, United States Tom Lovelady,
United States Richy Werenski

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic Australia Cameron Davis, Chile Joaquín Niemann Davis won with par on fifth extra hole
Niemann eliminated by par on first hole

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 Sep 6, 2009 Mexico Open −15 (69-68-67-69=273) Playoff Australia Adam Bland

Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2009 Mexico Open Australia Adam Bland Won with birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Results 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
  Did not play

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

Results in The Players Championship

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
  Did not play

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

Tournament 2015
Championship
Match Play
Invitational 77
Champions
  Did not play

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 12 2016 Ending 20 Mar 2016" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Boise State profile Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Gaylord Sports profile
  4. ^ Merritt wins Mexico Open
  5. ^ Unlikely pipeline: Boise State shining at q-school Archived 2009-12-08 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ Merritt cruises to medalist honors at q-school; Fowler earns card Archived 2009-12-13 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Troy Merritt Ties Course Record at RBC". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 18, 2015.
  8. ^ "Furyk wins RBC Heritage in playoff, Merritt finishes 3rd". KTVB. April 19, 2015.
  9. ^ "Troy Merritt shoots 67 to beat Rickie Fowler by 3 shots". ESPN. Associated Press. August 2, 2015.
  10. ^ "Troy Merritt wins rain-delayed Barbasol Championship, gains spot in PGA Championship". ESPN. Associated Press. July 23, 2018.
  11. ^ "Merritt has emergency surgery to remove clot". Golf Channel. August 4, 2018.
  12. ^ Lage, Larry (July 4, 2021). "Cam Davis wins Rocket Mortgage Classic on 5th playoff hole". Associated Press. Retrieved July 6, 2021.