James Driscoll (born October 9, 1977) 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 has 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 ...

Amateur career

Driscoll was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, the youngest of seven children. He grew up in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

, outside Boston. He started golf at a young age and won the club championship at his home club of Charles River at age 15. A year later, he won the Massachusetts Junior Championship. He then went on to win the

Massachusetts State Amateur Championship The Massachusetts State Amateur Championship or Massachusetts Amateur is a golf championship held in Massachusetts for the state's top amateur golfers. The tournament is run by the Massachusetts Golf Association (MGA) in mid-July each year. The ama ...

in 1996 at the age of 18, becoming the youngest-ever winner of the tournament, and again in 1998. By the summer of 1996 Driscoll was the second-ranked junior in the country, and made the final of the U.S. Junior, losing to Scott Hailes. Driscoll attended Brookline High School, Brookline, Massachusetts and then attended

The Taft School The Taft School is a private, coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. It teaches students in 9th through 12th grades and post-graduates. About three-quarters of Taft's roughly 600 students live on the school's ...

in Watertown, Connecticut, for a postgraduate year and went on to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

where he was a three-time All-American, won the 1998 Golf Digest Invitational, and tied the school record for career top-10 finishes (23). He reached the final of the 2000

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 ...

Baltusrol Golf Club The Baltusrol Golf Club is a private 36-hole golf club in the eastern United States, located in Springfield, New Jersey, about west of New York City. It was founded in 1895 by Louis Keller. In 1985, Baltusrol became the first club to have ho ...

by upsetting

Luke Donald Luke Campbell Donald MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of the European Tour. Donald had an outstanding year in 2011, winnin ...

in the semifinals. In the final against

Jeff Quinney Jeffrey Michael Quinney (born November 17, 1978) is an American professional golfer. Early life Quinney was born in Eugene, Oregon. Amateur career Quinney had a successful amateur career, winning the U.S. Amateur in 2000, and represented ...

, he came back from three down with three to play to force extra holes, but lost on the 39th hole. His runner-up finish gave him an invitation to the

2001 Masters Tournament The 2001 Masters Tournament was the 65th Masters Tournament, held April 5–8 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Tiger Woods won his second Masters and sixth major championship, two strokes ahead of runner-up David Duval. This ch ...

. At the Masters Driscoll fired a 68 in the first round, marking the best opening round by an amateur since

Ken Venturi Kenneth Paul Venturi (May 15, 1931May 17, 2013) was an American professional golfer and golf broadcaster. In a career shortened by injuries, he won 14 events on the PGA Tour including a major, the U.S. Open in 1964. Shortly before his death in ...

's 66 in 1956. His playing partner Tom Watson said, "This was the best round I've seen here by an amateur." Driscoll shot 78 in the second round to miss the cut by one stroke. He was a member of the

2001 Walker Cup The 2001 Walker Cup, the 38th Walker Cup Match, was played on August 11 and 12, 2001, at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Georgia. The event was won by Great Britain and Ireland 15 to 9, marking the first time that Great Britain & Ireland re ...

team.

Professional career

Driscoll turned professional in 2001. He won his first professional title at the 2004

Virginia Beach Open The Virginia Beach Open was a regular golf tournament on the Nationwide Tour. It was played annually until 2006 at The TPC of Virginia Beach golf course in Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southe ...

on the Nationwide Tour. This propelled him to a seventh-place finish on the money list, giving him a

card for 2005. Aided by a playoff loss to

Tim Petrovic Tim Petrovic (born August 16, 1966) is an American professional golfer. He won one PGA Tour event, and has finished runner-up in four senior major golf championships. Early life Petrovic was born in Northampton, Massachusetts. He played colleg ...

at the

Zurich Classic of New Orleans The Zurich Classic of New Orleans is a professional golf tournament in Louisiana on the PGA Tour, currently held at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, a suburb southwest of New Orleans. Beginning in 1938 and held annually since 1958, it is commonly pla ...

, in which he missed a birdie putt on the final green of regulation for the win, he finished 100th on the PGA Tour money list in his rookie season, thereby retaining his card for 2006, but he lost his card after his second season. In 2007 he finished 24th on the Nationwide Tour money list to again earn promotion. He had his second runner-up finish at the 2009

Valero Texas Open The Texas Open, known as the Valero Texas Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played near San Antonio, Texas. It dates back years to 1922, when it was first called the Texas Open; San Antonio-based Val ...

, where he lost to

Zach Johnson Zachary Harris Johnson (born February 24, 1976) is an American professional golfer who has 12 victories on the PGA Tour, including two major championships, the 2007 Masters and the 2015 Open Championship. In 2023, Johnson will captain the U ...

in a playoff. He retained status through the end of the 2014 season, after which he returned to the second tier, by then known as the Web.com Tour. After finishing outside the top 100 on the Web.com Tour money list in 2015, he expected to have to go to Q School, but was informed by the PGA Tour that he was eligible for a one-time exemption on the Web.com Tour available to players who had been exempt on the PGA Tour for five consecutive years in either of the first two seasons after losing fully exempt status. Playing on this exemption for the 2016 season, he won his second career Web.com Tour title at the

Nashville Golf Open The Simmons Bank Open is a golf tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour. It was first played in June 2016 at the Nashville Golf & Athletic Club in Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Da ...

Amateur wins (9)

*1993 Massachusetts Junior Amateur *1994 Hornblower Memorial Tournament *1995 New England Amateur,

Western Junior The Western Junior is the oldest national junior golf tournament in the United States. It was founded in 1914 and is organized by the Western Golf Association. It is played at a different course each year, primarily in the midwest. From 1914 to 1 ...

*1996

Massachusetts Amateur The Massachusetts State Amateur Championship or Massachusetts Amateur is a golf championship held in Massachusetts for the state's top amateur golfers. The tournament is run by the Massachusetts Golf Association (MGA) in mid-July each year. The amat ...

*1998

, Golf Digest Invitational *1999

North and South Amateur The North and South Men's Amateur Golf Championship, commonly known as the North and South Amateur, is an annual golf tournament held since 1901 at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA. An invitational tournament, participants are ...

, Hornblower Memorial Tournament

Professional wins (3)

Web.com Tour wins (2)

Web.com Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other wins (1)

*2015 New England Open

Playoff record

PGA Tour playoff record (0–2)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup Match (not "Matches" as in Ryder Cup Matches). It is ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Driscoll, James American male golfers Virginia Cavaliers men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Massachusetts Taft School alumni Brookline High School alumni Sportspeople from Boston Sportspeople from Brookline, Massachusetts 1977 births Living people