Kevin Stadler (born February 5, 1980) 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 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 formerly on the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...

Early life

Stadler, the son of former Masters champion and 13-time

winner

Craig Stadler Craig Robert Stadler (born June 2, 1953) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour level, including one major championship, the 1982 Masters Tournament. Early life Stadler was bor ...

(known affectionately by pros and fans as ''The Walrus'') and Susan Barrett, was born in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. He moved with his family to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where he attended

Kent Denver School Kent Denver School is a private, co-educational, non-sectarian college preparatory high school and middle school in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. It traces its origin back to the 1922 founding of the Kent School for Girls and has existed as a c ...

, excelling on the school's golf team. He graduated from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

and turned professional in 2002.

Professional career

In 2004 Stadler won twice on the second tier Nationwide Tour, and finished 13th on the money list to win a place on the 2005 PGA Tour. In his rookie season on the elite tour he came 168th on the money list, thus losing his playing status. Early in 2006 Stadler won the

Johnnie Walker Classic The Johnnie Walker Classic was a European Tour golf tournament which was played in the Asia-Pacific region. Johnnie Walker is a brand name and the owners have a long history of tournament sponsorship. They also sponsored the Johnnie Walker Champi ...

in Australia, gaining a two-year exemption on the

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and Australasian tours. Stadler commented, "I am honestly baffled by this win.... It was my intention this year just to play the Nationwide Tour and get my PGA Tour card back but now I have no idea what I will do". His dilemma was that the European Tour, on which he became eligible to play, is much more prestigious and lucrative than the Nationwide Tour, but unlike the Nationwide Tour it did not offer a direct route to his objective of regaining his playing privileges on the PGA Tour. For the remainder of 2006 he divided his time between the two tours, winning twice on the Nationwide Tour, and finishing twelfth on the money list to regain his PGA Tour card with effect from the start of the 2007 season. During the 2009 season Stadler lost in a playoff 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 ...

to Ryan Moore. At the time Moore and Stadler were both trying to capture their first

title. On February 2, 2014, Stadler won the

Waste Management Phoenix Open The Phoenix Open (branded as the WM Phoenix Open for sponsorship reasons) is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held in late January/early February at TPC Scottsdale in Scottsdale, Arizona. The tournament was originally the Arizona ...

marking his first PGA Tour victory. Stadler won after Bubba Watson made bogey on the 18th hole. The event was Stadler's 239th PGA Tour start and would ensure him of his first Masters invitation. Craig and Kevin were the first father-son duo to play at Augusta in the same tournament. Kevin is also the first son of a Masters champion to play in that tournament. Kevin is nicknamed as "Smallrus," a play on his father's nickname of "Walrus." Kevin finished T8 in his Masters debut, ensuring him of making the 2015 field. He missed the cut in 2015. His career-best world ranking was 52nd in 2014. Stadler was one of the few golfers to employ the use of an anchor putter, which the PGA Tour banned on January 1, 2016. In preparation for the ban, Stadler started putting left-handed. A broken bone in his left hand limited Stadler to five events during the 2014−15 season. Stadler attempted a comeback on the Web.com Tour's

Digital Ally Open The AdventHealth Championship is a Korn Ferry Tour event that was played for the first time in 2009 as the Christmas in October Classic. It has been played at the Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate in Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the ...

in 2017, but he withdrew after the first round. He entered the 2017–18 season with a Major Medical Extension that required him to earn 454.420 FedEx Cup points or $717,890 in 26 starts in order to retain his PGA Tour privileges, but was unable to meet the terms.

Amateur wins (1)

*1997 Doug Sanders Junior World Championship

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

European Tour wins (1)

¹Co-sanctioned with the

Asian Tour The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour, which is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on the tour count for Wor ...

and 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 ...

Nationwide Tour wins (4)

Nationwide Tour playoff record (2–0)

Challenge Tour wins (1)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

Tour de las Américas The Tour de las Américas (TLA) was the principal men's professional golf tour throughout Latin America and the Caribbean from 2000 through to 2012 when it was superseded by PGA Tour Latinoamérica. History Top level tournament golf in Latin Ameri ...

Other wins (2)

Other playoff record (2–0)

Results in major championships

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

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
WD = withdrew
"T" = Tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stadler, Kevin American male golfers USC Trojans men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour of Australasia golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Nevada Golfers from Denver Golfers from Scottsdale, Arizona Kent Denver School alumni Sportspeople from Reno, Nevada 1980 births Living people