# Jerry Kelly

Jerome Patrick Kelly (born November 23, 1966) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions.

## Early life and amateur career

Kelly was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin. Kelly was an all-city ice hockey selection in high school while playing for Madison East. However, he said his hockey background may have hurt his golf early in his career because of the aggressiveness it encourages him to bring to his game.
Kelly graduated from the University of Hartford in 1989.

## Professional career

In 1989, Kelly turned professional later that year. However, he didn't make it onto the PGA Tour until 1996. This followed a successful 1995 season on the Nike Tour when he won two tournaments. His best career year to date is 2002 when he finished fourth on the PGA Tour money list and won the Sony Open in Hawaii and Advil Western Open.
Kelly won the 2009 Zurich Classic of New Orleans with a two-foot par putt on the final hole, beating three players by one stroke (Charlie Wi, Rory Sabbatini, and Charles Howell III). It had been seven years since his previous win.
For the first time in his PGA Tour career, Kelly finished outside the valued top 125 on the tour's money list, ending the 2012 season just $1,809 out of a full Tour card. He also finished 2012 as the 25th highest earning PGA Tour golfer in history. Instead of going to Q school (where his finish would have placed him directly into the final stage), Kelly played the 2013 season using a career money list exemption, nineteen places higher on the PGA Tour priority ranking list than the 126-150 category (Priority Ranking 29). During his PGA Tour career, Kelly made 616 starts and earned almost 29 million dollars.

### Senior career

Kelly made his PGA Tour Champions debut at the Chubb Classic in February 2017 and gained his first win six months later at the Boeing Classic outside Seattle. The following year, Kelly won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai.
In 2019, Kelly won several tournaments. In June 2019, Kelly won the American Family Insurance Championship. In September 2019, he won The Ally Challenge for his fifth PGA Tour Champions title. In October 2019, he won the SAS Championship with a final round 65.
In August 2020, Kelly won his first career major championship of his career, and first senior major championship, the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship at Firestone Country Club in Ohio, the only senior golf major of the year. With the win, Kelly earned $450,000 and qualified for the 2021 Players Championship.
In June 2021, Kelly defended his hometown title at the American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wisconsin (last held in 2019). This was Kelly's eighth victory on the PGA Tour Champions.
In July 2022, Kelly won the Senior Players Championship for the second time. Kelly shot a final round of 2-under 68 and won by two strokes over defending champion Steve Stricker. The win was Kelly's second senior major championship

## Professional wins (21)
### PGA Tour wins (3)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | Jan 14, 2002 | Sony Open in Hawaii | 66-65-65-70=266 | −14 | 1 stroke | John Cook |
| 2 | Jul 7, 2002 | Advil Western Open | 67-69-68-65=269 | −19 | 2 strokes | Davis Love III |
| 3 | Apr 26, 2009 | Zurich Classic of New Orleans | 68-66-69-71=274 | −14 | 1 stroke | Charles Howell III, Rory Sabbatini, Charlie Wi |
PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 1996 | Greater Milwaukee Open | Loren Roberts | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |

### Nike Tour wins (2)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
| 1 | Apr 30, 1995 | Nike Alabama Classic | 65-70-70-68=273 | −15 | Playoff | Buddy Gardner |
| 2 | Jul 16, 1995 | Nike Buffalo Open | 70-72-67-65=274 | −14 | 1 stroke | Tim Simpson |
Nike Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 1995 | Nike Alabama Classic | Buddy Gardner | Won with par on first extra hole |

### T. C. Jordan Tour wins (1)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
| 1 | Apr 19, 1992 | Super D Big Creek Classic | 62-68-73=203 | −13 | 1 stroke | Franklin Langham |

### Other wins (3)

* 1992 Wisconsin State Open
* 2006 Merrill Lynch Shootout (with Rod Pampling)
* 2009 The Shark Shootout (with Steve Stricker)

### PGA Tour Champions wins (12)

* Legend
* PGA Tour Champions major championships (2)
* Other PGA Tour Champions (10)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | Aug 27, 2017 | Boeing Classic | 65-66-66=197 | −19 | 1 stroke | Jerry Smith |
| 2 | Sep 17, 2017 | Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship | 65-66-68=199 | −14 | 1 stroke | Lee Janzen |
| 3 | Jan 20, 2018 | Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai | 64-68-66=198 | −18 | 1 stroke | Colin Montgomerie |
| 4 | Jun 23, 2019 | American Family Insurance Championship | 65-70-66=201 | −15 | Playoff | Retief Goosen, Steve Stricker |
| 5 | Sep 15, 2019 | The Ally Challenge | 67-65-68=200 | −16 | 2 strokes | Woody Austin |
| 6 | Oct 13, 2019 | SAS Championship | 68-67-65=200 | −16 | 1 stroke | David McKenzie |
| 7 | Aug 15, 2020 | Bridgestone Senior Players Championship | 68-70-70-69=277 | −3 | 2 strokes | Scott Parel |
| 8 | Jun 13, 2021 | American Family Insurance Championship (2) | 67-69-66=202 | −14 | 1 stroke | Fred Couples, Miguel Ángel Jiménez |
| 9 | Jun 5, 2022 | Principal Charity Classic | 65-66-67=198 | −18 | Playoff | Kirk Triplett |
| 10 | Jul 10, 2022 | Bridgestone Senior Players Championship (2) | 67-69-65-68=269 | −11 | 2 strokes | Steve Stricker |
| 11 | Aug 7, 2022 | Shaw Charity Classic | 68-66-67=201 | −9 | Playoff | John Huston |
| 12 | Oct 13, 2024 | SAS Championship (2) | 67-69-67=203 | −13 | 1 stroke | Pádraig Harrington |
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (3–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 2019 | American Family Insurance Championship | Retief Goosen, Steve Stricker | Won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 2 | 2020 | PURE Insurance Championship | Jim Furyk | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 2022 | Principal Charity Classic | Kirk Triplett | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 2022 | Shaw Charity Classic | John Huston | Won with birdie on first extra hole |

## Results in major championships

| Tournament | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| Masters Tournament | | | |
| U.S. Open | | | T57 |
| The Open Championship | T44 | | |
| PGA Championship | CUT | WD | T26 |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Masters Tournament | | | T20 | 48 | T31 | T20 | | T5 | CUT | |
| U.S. Open | T37 | | CUT | CUT | T40 | 83 | | T7 | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | | CUT | T28 | WD | T47 | CUT | T26 | T49 | CUT | |
| PGA Championship | CUT | T44 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T34 | 48 | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Masters Tournament | T12 | CUT | | |
| U.S. Open | T63 | | T41 | |
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | | |
| PGA Championship | CUT | T26 | | T27 |
WD = withdrew CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 6 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 7 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 6 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 45 | 24 |
* Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2005 PGA – 2007 Open Championship)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2007 Masters – 2007 U.S. Open)

## Results in The Players Championship

| Tournament | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| The Players Championship | CUT | CUT | T31 | CUT |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| The Players Championship | T42 | 4 | T11 | CUT | T6 | CUT | CUT | T28 | T32 | CUT |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| The Players Championship | T39 | T64 | CUT | T37 | CUT | T17 | T19 | CUT | | |
| Tournament | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| The Players Championship | C | CUT | | T54 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut "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 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Match Play | R64 | QF | QF | R32 | | R64 | | |
| Championship | T4 | T21 | T16 | | | | | T50 |
| Invitational | 77 | T53 | T19 | | T46 | | T11 | |
| Champions | | | | | | | T54 | |
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = tied Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

## Senior major championships
### Wins (2)

| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
| 2020 | Bridgestone Senior Players Championship | 1 shot lead | −3 (68-70-70-69=277) | 2 strokes | Scott Parel |
| 2022 | Bridgestone Senior Players Championship (2) | Tied for lead | −11 (67-69-65-68=269) | 2 strokes | Steve Stricker |

### Results timeline

| Tournament | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| The Tradition | | T8 | T12 | NT | T4 | T13 | 4 | T18 |
| Senior PGA Championship | T8 | T3 | 5 | NT | T8 | T29 | T59 | 13 |
| U.S. Senior Open | T12 | T2 | T2 | NT | T8 | T7 | 3 | T16 |
| Senior Players Championship | T50 | T4 | T24 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 3 |
| Senior British Open Championship | T45 | T14 | T29 | NT | 6 | T20 | T7 | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

## U.S. national team appearances

Professional
* Presidents Cup: 2003 (tie)