Timothy Andrea O'Neal (born August 3, 1972) 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

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

. His career also includes stops on

PGA Tour Latinoamérica PGA Tour Latinoamérica was a third level professional golf tour formed in 2012 and operated by the PGA Tour. It was formed in concert with the now also defunct Tour de las Américas. Executives from the Tour de las Américas became employees of ...

and

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. T ...

. He has won seven professional events on four continents: North America, Europe, Africa and South America. He is also known for his heartbreaking failures at PGA Tour Q School, where he missed earning a PGA Tour card by a single stroke on two occasions.

Amateur career

Prior to turning professional, O'Neal had a distinguished amateur career winning 16 college tournaments during his time at

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...

. He also won the Georgia Amateur Championship in 1997.

Professional career

For a very brief period early in his professional career,

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

sponsored O'Neal. O'Neal mainly played on U.S. mini-tours until receiving his

Buy.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. T ...

card for the 2001 season (now named the Korn Ferry Tour), having missed out on a

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

card at

qualifying school In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

by a single stroke following a double bogey on the final hole. O'Neal had a tough first season on the tour recording only two top-10 finishes ending 59th on the money list. In the following season, O'Neal only played three events on the Buy.com Tour and lost his tour card for the 2003 season. In 2004, O'Neal once again missed out on a

card at qualifying school by a single stroke but in doing so regained his playing rights for the

Nationwide 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. ...

for the 2005 season. The return to the Nationwide Tour proved more successful and during the 2005 season O'Neal recorded his best finish to date, a second place at the 2005 Northeast Pennsylvania Classic. O'Neal maintained his good form throughout 2005 and 2006 finishing 44th and 36th on the tour money lists respectively. However his form dropped in 2007 and 2008 and he was unable to retain his card following the 2008 season. O'Neal's career started to falter after losing his Nationwide Tour privileges. He also played on the

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

, eGolf Professional Tour, the EPD Tour, and the Morocco-based Atlas Pro Tour. In 2011, O'Neal was asked to take over the Jackson State golf program, but he declined. He has yet to become a swing instructor. In 2013, O'Neal took up playing rights on

and had instant success winning the Arturo Calle Colombian Open and the

Abierto de Chile The Chile Open, or the Abierto de Chile, is a men's professional golf tournament that was first played in 1927. From 2013 through 2015 it was an event on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica. It moved to the PGA Tour Latinoamérica Developmental Series in ...

in his first season on the tour. These wins together assisted O'Neal to a third-place finish on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica Order of Merit which was sufficient for him to regain his tour card for the 2014 Web.com Tour. At age 42, O'Neal finally played his first PGA Tour event after qualifying for the 2015 U.S. Open, where he missed the cut. O'Neal also played on the Advocates Pro Golf Tour, a professional golf tour that aims to open more playing opportunities for minorities. In 2022, O'Neal was one of five golfers to earn a

card through Q School. O'Neal won the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in October 2024, his first PGA Tour Champions victory. His victory earned him $350,000 and secured his card for the

2025 PGA Tour Champions season The 2025 PGA Tour Champions season is the 45th season of PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour), the main professional golf tour in the United States for men aged 50 and over. Schedule The following table list ...

Amateur wins

* 1997 Georgia Amateur Championship

Professional wins (9)

PGA Tour Latinoamérica wins (3)

Alps Tour wins (1)

EPD Tour wins (2)

Golden Bear Tour wins (1)

''*Note: The 2003 John O' Challenge was shortened to 36 holes due to weather.''

Other wins (1)

*2018 Georgia Open

PGA Tour Champions wins (1)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:ONeal, Timothy American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Latinoamérica golfers African-American golfers Golfers from Savannah, Georgia Jackson State Tigers and Lady Tigers athletes Living people 1972 births 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Jackson State University alumni