Thomas Charles Gillis (born July 16, 1968) 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 ...

Early life

Gillis was born in

Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit. Founde ...

, and graduated from

Lake Orion High School Lake Orion High School is a public secondary school located in Orion Township, Michigan, United States. It is a part of Lake Orion Community Schools. "Once a dragon, always a dragon." - Jeff Heath Athletics State Championships * 1925 - Boys' Ba ...

Lake Orion, Michigan Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of Metro Detroit in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of wh ...

. He turned professional in 1990 after playing collegiate golf at Oakland Community College and

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

Professional career

Gillis 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 ...

in 2010 after several years on the Nationwide Tour, and having previously competed on the

in 2003 and 2005, and 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 fift ...

from 1998 to 2002. He also played in several PGA and Nationwide Tour events during the 1990s. According to his profile, Gillis has played professional tournaments in 26 different countries. Gillis won his first title on the Nationwide Tour at the 2009 Nationwide Tour Players Cup. He finished 5th on the money list to earn his 2010 PGA Tour card. In 2010, Gillis finished tied for fifth at the

Deutsche Bank Championship The Dell Technologies Championship was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Norton, Massachusetts, Norton, Massachusetts, United States, held annually in late summer over the Labor Day weekend. The 2018 edition was the last time the ...

. He retained his playing rights for the 2011 season, finishing 76th on the money list. He spent 2014 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 ...

, but a strong performance in the Finals earned him a place on the PGA Tour for 2015. His best career finishes are a tie for second at the 2012

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 ...

and a playoff loss to

Jordan Spieth Jordan Alexander Spieth (born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion. Spieth's first majo ...

at the 2015 John Deere Classic. In between the time of playing on the PGA Tour, and switching to 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 ...

, Gillis spent a year coaching high school golf. He coached the varsity team at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep. In 2018, Gillis began playing on the PGA Tour Champions. In his first event, the 3M Championship, he shot 67-67-67 to finish in a tie for 3rd.

Professional wins (5)

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

Other wins (4)

* 1992 Waterloo Open Golf Classic * 1993 Jamaican Open * 1994 Michigan Open * 2008 Michigan Open

Playoff record

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" = tied
''Note: Gillis never played in 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 ...

.''

Results in The Players Championship

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

Results in senior major championships

"T" indicates a tie for a place
WD = withdrew
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 ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillis, Tom American male golfers Coastal Carolina Chanticleers men's golfers PGA Tour golfers European Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Michigan Sportspeople from Pontiac, Michigan People from Lake Orion, Michigan 1968 births Living people