Tyler Heath Slocum (born February 3, 1974) 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 currently plays 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 ...

Early years

Slocum was born in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

. He attended St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School in

Bunkie, Louisiana Bunkie is a city in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,171 at the 2010 census. History Bunkie was founded as a station terminus on the Texas and Pacific Railroad line. It was named for the daughter (whose nickname w ...

from 1986 (6th grade) until 1987 (8th grade). Slocum learned the game of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

from his father, Jack. He played on the same Milton High School golf team in

Milton, Florida Milton is a city in and the county seat of Santa Rosa County, Florida, located in the Pensacola– Ferry Pass– Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. Milton is located in the geographic center ...

as fellow PGA Tour player

Boo Weekley Thomas Brent "Boo" Weekley (born July 23, 1973) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Overview Born in Milton, Florida, Weekley turned professional in 1997 and played on mini-tours until 2002, when he qualified for the ...

, and later attended the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

. While a student there, he earned many amateur

honors including three-time All-American. He turned professional in 1996.

Professional career

Slocum began his career 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 ...

, then known as the Nike Tour. In November 1997, Slocum developed

ulcerative colitis Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a long-term condition that results in inflammation and ulcers of the colon and rectum. The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood (hematochezia). Weight loss, fever, and a ...

which caused his weight to drop from 150 pounds to 122 pounds, and left him unable to play for a year and a half. The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America named Slocum a national spokesperson, to help raise awareness of ulcerative colitis and

Crohn's disease Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that may affect any segment of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, abdominal distension ...

, another inflammatory bowel disease. After he recovered, Slocum regained his playing privileges on the Web.com Tour in 2000. In 2001, he became the second player to earn a "battlefield promotion" to the PGA Tour by winning three Web.com Tour events in the same season, and only the second player in Web.com Tour history to complete 72 holes without a bogey. Slocum would later call this the best stretch of golf in his life. Slocum joined the PGA Tour in 2001, and has four wins in his career. His first win was in 2004 at the

Chrysler Classic of Tucson The Tucson Open was a golf tournament in Arizona on the PGA Tour from 1945 to 2006, played annually in the winter in Tucson. It was last held at the Omni Tucson National Golf Resort in late February, with a $3 million purse and a $540,000 winner ...

. His second win came at the

Southern Farm Bureau Classic The Sanderson Farms Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played annually in Mississippi. It moved to the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson in autumn 2014, early in the 2015 season. The tournament has been part of the P ...

in 2005. His best finish in a major is a tie for 9th at the 2008 U.S. Open and he has featured in the top 100 of the

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

. Slocum represented the United States at the 2007 World Cup, partnered with

. The Americans finished second after losing a sudden-death playoff to Scotland. Slocum barely qualified for the 2009 FedEx Cup Playoffs; he finished 124th on the regular season points list, just ahead of

Troy Matteson Troy Jason Matteson (born November 8, 1979) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Amateur career Matteson was born in Rockledge, Florida. He played college golf at Georgia Tech and won the NCAA Individual Championship in ...

, the 125th and final entrant. At the first playoff event,

The Barclays The FedEx St. Jude Championship, founded as the Westchester Classic in 1967, is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Since 2007, it has been played as the first tournament of the playoff system for the FedEx Cup, with the field limi ...

Liberty National Golf Club Liberty National is a country club in Jersey City, New Jersey adjacent to Liberty State Park on the Upper New York Bay. Its clubhouse, guest villas, teaching center, and "Cafe 12" halfway house were designed by Lindsay Newman Architecture and Desig ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, he won the event by one stroke, holing a 21-foot putt for par on the last hole to deny

Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature (he stands ) along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victor ...

Pádraig Harrington Pádraig Peter Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three major championships: The Open Championship in 2007 and 2008 and the PGA Champ ...

Steve Stricker Steven Charles Stricker (born February 23, 1967) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has twelve victories on the PGA Tour, including the WGC-Match Play title in 2001 and two FedEx Cup play ...

, and

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

the chance of victory. Slocum's win, his third on the Tour, vaulted him 121 spots on the FedEx Cup points list, to 3rd; it also earned him $1,350,000, more than double his prior winnings in 2009. He ended up placing 8th in the FedEx Cup standings that year. In 2010, Slocum enjoyed a solid year. During the main portion of the season, he recorded four top-ten finishes, including a tie for 4th at

The Players Championship The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as The PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The P ...

. He ended up 46th in the FedEx Cup. Then he capped off his year in style during the

Fall Series The PGA Tour Fall Series was name of the events on the PGA Tour that covered the end of the calendar year from 2007 to 2012 after the Tour Championship. Beginning in 2013, these events became part of the PGA Tour season, which from that point bega ...

, winning the inaugural

McGladrey Classic The RSM Classic is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played in the autumn in Georgia. It debuted in October 2010 on St. Simons Island, Georgia at the Sea Island Golf Club. The tournament was known as the McGladrey Classic until 2015, when the ti ...

. Slocum held off

Bill Haas William Harlan Haas (born May 24, 1982) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and won the 2011 FedEx Cup. He is the son of former PGA Tour player Jay Haas. Early life Haas was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was r ...

by one stroke to earn the fourth title of his PGA Tour career. Slocum did not record any top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2011. However, he finished 12th at the

Arnold Palmer Invitational The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played each March at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge, a private golf resort owned since 1974 by Arnold Palmer in Bay Hill, a suburb southwest of Orlando, Florida ...

, 11th at the U.S. Open, 15th at the

and 20th at the

Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic The Walt Disney World Golf Classic was an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. The tournament was played on the Palm and Magnolia courses at the Walt Disney World Resort. It was played under several names, reflecting sponsorship changes. The ...

, so he retained his card. In 2012 he had only three top-25 finishes and lost his PGA Tour card. Slocum returned to 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 golfers earned PGA Tour playing privileges, commonly known as a Tour card. Beginning in 2013, Q-School grants privileg ...

but came up just short of reclaiming a Tour card. In 2013, Slocum split time between the Web.com Tour and PGA Tour, performing poorly on both. He barely qualified for the 2013 Web.com Tour Finals, where he finished 8th at the Chiquita Classic and 17th at the

Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship The Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship is a golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour. It was played for the first time in July 2007 at Ohio State University Golf Club, The Ohio State University Golf Club's Scarlet Course in Upper Arlington, ...

and Web.com Tour Championship, regaining a PGA Tour card for 2014. That season, he had a best result of fourth at the

Wyndham Championship The Wyndham Championship is a professional golf tournament in North Carolina on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in Greensboro and was originally the Greater Greensboro Open. History Founded in 1938 as the Greater Greensboro Open, it was usua ...

but only collected three top-25s, forcing him to return to the Web.com Tour Finals. Once again, though, Slocum saved his PGA Tour card, thanks to a tie for fourth at the Web.com Tour Championship. Slocum last played a full PGA Tour schedule in 2015, making six cuts in 22 events. Between 2016 and 2019, Slocum participated in a total of 19 PGA Tour events, making the cut just three times.

Professional wins (7)

PGA Tour wins (4)

Buy.com Tour wins (3)

Playoff record

Other playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2005 PGA – 2008 Open Championship) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

U.S. national team appearances

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

: 2007

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slocum, Heath American male golfers South Alabama Jaguars men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Louisiana Golfers from Georgia (U.S. state) Milton High School (Florida) alumni Sportspeople from Baton Rouge, Louisiana People from Milton, Florida Sportspeople from Fulton County, Georgia People from Alpharetta, Georgia 1974 births Living people