}
Richard Fletcher Pride III (born July 15, 1969) 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 ...
who plays on the
PGA Tour Champions
PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour.
History and format
The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...
. He previously played on the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
and the
Korn Ferry Tour
The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental 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 that level. Th ...
.
Early life
Pride was born in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...
. He attended
Tuscaloosa Academy
Tuscaloosa Academy (TA) is a private school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It serves 452 students and has been described as a segregation academy.
History
The school opened with grades one through seven in September 1967, the year Alabama public schools ...
and the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
, where he was a member of
the golf team. Pride was named All-Southeastern Conference his junior and senior years. At Alabama, he was a member of
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen ...
fraternity. He was a semifinalist at the 1991
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 ...
. He turned professional in 1992 and played in that season's
U.S. Open, where he missed the cut.
Professional career
Pride became a full-time PGA Tour member after his finish at the 1993 qualifying school. Pride earned his only win to date at the 1994
Federal Express St. Jude Classic
The FedEx St. Jude Classic was a professional golf tournament held in Memphis, Tennessee as a regular event on the PGA Tour. The tournament was held annually from 1958 through 2018, and was played in June at TPC Southwind (since 1989).
In 2019, ...
, his 19th PGA Tour start. He won that event with a birdie on the first extra hole of a playoff against
Hal Sutton
Hal Evan Sutton (born April 28, 1958) is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the PGA Tour Champions, who achieved 14 victories on the PGA Tour, including a major championship, the 1983 PGA Championship, and the 1983 Tournament ...
and
Gene Sauers
Gene Craig Sauers (born August 22, 1962) is an American professional golfer, currently playing on the PGA Tour Champions. He had three wins on the PGA Tour and overcame a deadly skin condition that kept him off the golf course for five years. He ...
. His best finish in a
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
was a tie for 28th at the 2003
U.S. Open.
Pride developed severe health problems in 2002 (
gall bladder
In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath the liver, althoug ...
,
pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormones. There are two main types: acute pancreatitis, and chronic pancr ...
,
plantar fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis or plantar heel pain (PHP) is a disorder of the plantar fascia, which is the connective tissue which supports the arch of the foot. It results in pain in the heel and bottom of the foot that is usually most severe with the f ...
, broken bones) which severely limited his playing time. For the next decade, he split his playing time between the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. He lives in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
, but remains an avid Crimson Tide fan.
In 2011, Pride was actively fund-raising for Alabama natives affected by the tornado that hit his hometown of Tuscaloosa. Playing in the past champion category (which is near the bottom of the PGA Tour exemption priority list), Pride started his 2012 season with two consecutive top-ten finishes, a T-5 at the
Mayakoba Golf Classic
The World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Mexico, held at Playa del Carmen, south of Cancún. It debuted in February 2007 PGA Tour, 2007 and was the first PGA Tour event in Mexico this ...
and T7 at the
Honda Classic
The Honda Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in south Florida. It was founded in 1972 as Jackie Gleason's Inverrary Classic, and prior to a schedule change in 2021 was frequently the first of the Florida events in late winter ...
. Pride had his best finish since his only PGA Tour win at the 2012
HP Byron Nelson Championship
The AT&T Byron Nelson is a golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, currently hosted by TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, northeast of Dallas. Held in May, it is one of two PGA Tour stops in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex – which until the 2020- ...
, finishing second to
Jason Dufner
Jason Christopher Dufner (born March 24, 1977) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour where he is a five-time winner. He has won one major championship, the 2013 PGA Championship. He was also runner-up in the 2011 PGA Cha ...
. He was tied for the lead on the 72nd hole, but hit his tee shot into the water hazard on the left, but saved par with a 22-foot putt after a good approach shot. Dufner holed a 25-foot birdie putt from a similar position on the green to deny Pride his first victory in almost 18 years (a win would have established a PGA Tour record for longest time between wins, beating
Robert Gamez
Robert Anthony Gamez (born July 21, 1968) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.
Gamez was born in Las Vegas, and is of Mexican descent. He attended the University of Arizona where he was a member of the golf team ...
by over two years). Overall, Pride played in 19 events, made 12 cuts, earned $1,259,712, played in three stages of the
FedEx Cup
The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. Th ...
, and finished 70th on the 2012 money list, earning a full Tour card for 2013 and entry into invitational tournaments reserved for the top 70 money earners. At age 43, 2013 marked the first time since 1999 that Pride was fully exempt on the PGA Tour.
Pride was unable to follow up on his 2012 season and spent much of 2014 and 2015 on the
Web.com Tour
The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental 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 that level. Th ...
. He nearly regained his PGA Tour card during the 2014 Web.com Tour Finals, but missed the cut in the last event and finished outside the Top 50. He won the last regular season event during the 2015 season, jumping from 40th to fifth on the money list for his first professional win in 21 years and earning a PGA Tour card for the 2015–16 season.
In May 2021, Pride won the
Mitsubishi Electric Classic
The Mitsubishi Electric Classic is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour Champions in Georgia in the greater Atlanta area. It debuted in 2013 as the "Greater Gwinnett Championship," and has been played each year at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, a northeast ...
at
TPC Sugarloaf
TPC Sugarloaf is a 27-hole private golf club in the southeastern United States, located within the gated community at Sugarloaf Country Club outside the official city limits of Duluth, Georgia, a suburb northeast of Atlanta.
The facility consists ...
near
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. This was his first win on the 50 and over
PGA Tour Champions
PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour.
History and format
The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many years ...
. Pride won the tournament by three strokes after Monday qualifying into the tournament.
Professional wins (3)
PGA Tour wins (1)
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
Web.com Tour wins (1)
PGA Tour Champions wins (1)
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (0–1)
Results in major championships
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
''Note: Pride never played in
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
.''
Results in The Players Championship
"T" = Tied
CUT = missed the halfway cut
Results in senior major championships
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
See also
*
1993 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates __NOTOC__
This is a list of the 45 players who earned 1994 PGA Tour cards through the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament
The annual PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, also known as Qualifying School or Q-School, was historically the main method by which g ...
*
1997 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
*
1998 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates __NOTOC__
This is a list of the 41 players who earned 1999 PGA Tour cards through the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament
The annual PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, also known as Qualifying School or Q-School, was historically the main method by which g ...
*
2000 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates __NOTOC__
Following is the list of 2000 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates, the 36 professional golfers who earned their 2001 PGA Tour card through Qualifying school, Q School in 2000.
*Players in yellow were 2001 PGA Tour rookies.
2001 Result ...
*
2006 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
__NOTOC__
This is a list of the 40 players who earned their 2007 PGA Tour card through Q School in 2006.
2007 Results
*PGA Tour rookie in 2007
T = Tied
Green background indicates the player retained his PGA Tour card for 2008 (finished inside ...
*
2015 Web.com Tour Finals graduates
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pride, Dicky
American male golfers
Alabama Crimson Tide men's golfers
PGA Tour golfers
PGA Tour Champions golfers
Korn Ferry Tour graduates
Golfers from Alabama
Golfers from Orlando, Florida
Sportspeople from Tuscaloosa, Alabama
1969 births
Living people