Chris Patton (born November 20, 1967) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

, best known for his large size and for winning the 1989

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

Early life

Patton was born in

Fountain Inn, South Carolina Fountain Inn is a city in Greenville and Laurens counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 7,799 at the 2010 census, up from 6,017 in 2000. It is part of the Greenville– Mauldin– Easley Metropolitan Statistica ...

. He played college golf at

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

where he won five events and was a three-time All-American. While at Clemson, he won the 1989

Merion Golf Club Merion Golf Club is a private golf club located in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, a township bordering Philadelphia to the northwest along the historic Main Line. The club has two courses: the East Course, and the West Course ...

. The win earned him invitations to the first three

majors Jonathan Michael Majors (born September 7, 1989)Majors in is an American actor. He rose to prominence after starring in the independent feature film ''The Last Black Man in San Francisco'' (2019). In 2020, he garnered wider notice for portraying ...

in 1990. He finished as the low amateur (T-39) at the

Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first maj ...

. He turned professional after the 1990 U.S. Amateur.

Professional career

Patton played on the

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental golf tour, tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at tha ...

from 1993 to 1995, winning once at the 1993

Nike New Mexico Charity Classic The New Mexico Charity Classic was a golf tournament on the Nike Tour. It ran from 1993 to 1994. In 1993, it was played at Valle Grande Golf Course in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico. In 1994, it was played at the University of New Mexico Championshi ...

. He also played on the

Canadian Tour PGA Tour Canada, commonly referred to as the Canadian Tour, is a men's professional golf tour headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The United States based PGA Tour took over operation of the tour on November 1, 2012, at which time it was renamed PG ...

, the

PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf Ra ...

, and the

NGA Hooters Tour SwingThought, formerly the NGA Pro Golf Tour, is the oldest developmental golf tour based in the United States. The tour was acquired by Golf Interact in 2014 and rebranded as SwingThought. The tour consists of around 25 professional golf tourna ...

, winning once on each tour. In 2012, Patton was part of the reality show ''Chasing The Dream'' on the

Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television television network, network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ...

and was featured as Robbie Biershenk's friend and caddie during the 9-episode miniseries. Patton returned to competitive golf for the first time in 14 years at the 2018

U.S. Senior Open The U.S. Senior Open is one of the five major championships in senior golf, introduced in 1980. It is administered by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and is recognized as a major championship by both the PGA Tour Champions and the Eu ...

, as he earned his exemption via the one-time exemption offered to former U.S. Amateur winners that have turned professional when they turn 50.

Amateur wins

*1989

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

Nike Tour wins (1)

Canadian Tour wins (1)

NGA Hooters Tour wins (1)

*2003 Air Medal-Match-Shoot Out

Results in major championships

LA = Low amateur
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" = tied
''Note: Patton never played in the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

.''

References

External links

*
Clemson Tigers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, Chris American male golfers Clemson Tigers men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour of Australasia golfers Golfers from South Carolina People from Fountain Inn, South Carolina 1967 births Living people