# Brian Gay

Joseph Brian Gay (born December 14, 1971) is an American professional golfer. During his career, he won five times on the PGA Tour. After turning 50, he played on the PGA Tour Champions.

## Early years

A military brat, Gay was born in Fort Worth, Texas, but was raised primarily at Fort Rucker, Alabama, where his father was a U.S. Army non-commissioned officer involved in flight operations. His father was also a member of the All-Army golf team in his spare time. As an only child, Gay spent much of his youth at the Fort Rucker golf course, first at the practice area, then on the course. Encouraged by a group of military retirees he often played with, he dominated the local tournament scene as a tween.

## College career

Gay's success as a teenager led to his receiving an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida, where he played for coach Buddy Alexander's Florida Gators men's golf team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 1991 to 1994. During his time as a Gator golfer, the team won four consecutive Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships (1991–1994), and the 1993 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships. As a collegian, he was the SEC Freshman of the Year (1991), a five-time individual medalist, two-time SEC individual champion (1992, 1994), three-time first-team All-SEC selection (1992–1994), and two-time All-American (1992, 1993). Gay was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2010.

## Professional career

Gay turned pro in 1994 and mostly competed on mini-tours in the United States, winning several tournaments, before qualifying for the PGA Tour in 1999. He picked up his first win on the tour at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun in 2008 after 293 starts, with his second win coming at the Verizon Heritage in 2009. He won the event by ten strokes, finishing at 20-under par. The ten stroke victory is one of the biggest wins in the PGA Tour's history. His best position on the year-end money list was 13th in 2009. He has featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, ranking as high as 35th in 2009.
Gay was not exempt to play in the 2009 U.S. Open heading into the St. Jude Classic. He was one of seven golfers who could earn the last spot in the U.S. Open by winning the St. Jude Classic, using the "Winners of multiple PGA Tour events since the last Open" exemption. Gay went on to win by five strokes over David Toms and Bryce Molder for his second wire-to-wire win of the season.
In 2013, Gay won for the first time in four years at the Humana Challenge, the fourth victory of his PGA Tour career. He defeated Charles Howell III on the second hole of a three-man sudden-death playoff when he made birdie. Earlier, David Lingmerth had been eliminated on the first extra hole. This performance helped Gay earn the PGA Tour Player of the Month award for January.
Gay did not play during the 2014–15 season after back surgery and played the next two seasons on a Major Medical Extension. A T6 at the 2017 Valero Texas Open secured his return to the PGA Tour.
In November 2020, Gay won his fifth PGA Tour event (and first in seven years) at the Bermuda Championship when he defeated Wyndham Clark in a playoff.

## Personal life

Gay was mentioned frequently in Bud, Sweat and Tees: A Walk on the Wild Side of the PGA Tour by Alan Shipnuck, which profiled Rich Beem's rookie year on the PGA Tour. Steve Duplantis, who became Gay's caddy following a split with Beem, was chronicled as well in Shipnuck's book.

## Professional wins (15)
### PGA Tour wins (5)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | Feb 24, 2008 | Mayakoba Golf Classic | −16 (66-67-62-69=264) | 2 strokes | Steve Marino |
| 2 | Apr 19, 2009 | Verizon Heritage | −20 (67-66-67-64=264) | 10 strokes | Briny Baird, Luke Donald |
| 3 | Jun 14, 2009 | St. Jude Classic | −18 (64-66-66-66=262) | 5 strokes | Bryce Molder, David Toms |
| 4 | Jan 21, 2013 | Humana Challenge | −25 (67-66-67-63=263) | Playoff | Charles Howell III, David Lingmerth |
| 5 | Nov 1, 2020 | Bermuda Championship | −15 (70-68-67-64=269) | Playoff | Wyndham Clark |
PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 2008 | Viking Classic | Will MacKenzie, Marc Turnesa | MacKenzie won with birdie on second extra hole Gay eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 2 | 2013 | Humana Challenge | Charles Howell III, David Lingmerth | Won with birdie on second extra hole Lingmerth eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 3 | 2020 | Bermuda Championship | Wyndham Clark | Won with birdie on first extra hole |

### Hooters Tour wins (1)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
| 1 | Mar 12, 1995 | Hooters Auburn Classic | −10 (69-69-69-71=278) | 5 strokes | Rob McKelvey |

### Golden Bear Tour wins (3)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | Jun 21, 1996 | Golf Capital Magazine Tournament | −11 (69-66-70=205) | 1 stroke | Adam Armagost, Gary Nicklaus |
| 2 | Sep 27, 1996 | Golden Bear Tour Championship | −14 (67-69-70-68=274) | 1 stroke | Ed Humenik |
| 3 | Jul 18, 1997 | Canon Computer Systems Invitational | −10 (69-65-72=206) | 1 stroke | Graham Davidson, Michael McNerney, Rick Price |

### Other mini-tour wins (5)

* 1995 Timbercreek Classic (Gulf Coast Tour), Killearn tournament (Emerald Coast Tour), St. Lucie West tournament (Gold Coast Tour), Emerald Dunes tournament (Gold Coast Tour), PGA Estates tournament (South Florida Tour)

### Other wins (1)

* 1996 Key Biscayne Open

## Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 1995 |
| Masters Tournament | |
| U.S. Open | CUT |
| The Open Championship | |
| PGA Championship | |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Masters Tournament | | | | | | | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | | CUT | CUT | CUT | | CUT |
| The Open Championship | | CUT | | | | | CUT |
| PGA Championship | | T22 | T53 | T51 | | T20 | CUT |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2013 | 2016 | 2018 |
| Masters Tournament | CUT | | T38 | | |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T63 | | | T20 |
| The Open Championship | CUT | | | CUT | |
| PGA Championship | T65 | CUT | CUT | | 79 |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Masters Tournament | | | CUT |
| PGA Championship | WD | | 81 |
| U.S. Open | | | |
| The Open Championship | | NT | |
CUT = missed the half-way cut WD = withdrew "T" = tied NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 7 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 2 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 10 |
* Most consecutive cuts made – 2 (twice)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 0

## Results in The Players Championship

| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| The Players Championship | T40 | T63 | CUT | | T75 | CUT | CUT | T32 | WD |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| The Players Championship | CUT | T12 | T46 | CUT | CUT | | | CUT | T72 | T56 |
| Tournament | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| The Players Championship | C | CUT | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

## Results in World Golf Championships

| Tournament | 2009 | 2010 | 2013 |
| Match Play | | R16 | |
| Championship | | T30 | T35 |
| Invitational | 79 | | T63 |
| Champions | T25 | | T46 |
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" indicates a tie for a place

## U.S. national team appearances

Amateur
* Walker Cup: 1993 (winners)