For the basketball player, see Jerry Kelly (basketball). For the footballer, see Jeremiah Kelly.
Jerry Kelly
FullnameJerome Patrick Kelly
Birth dateNovember 23, 1966 (age 59)
Birth placeMadison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight165 lb (75 kg; 11.8 st)
ResidenceMadison, Wisconsin, U.S.
SpouseCarol Kelly
CollegeUniversity of Hartford
Yearpro1989
TourPGA Tour Champions
ExtourPGA Tour
Nike Tour
T. C. Jordan Tour
Prowins22
Pgawins3
Nwidewins2
Champwins13
Otherwins4
MastersT5: 2007
UsopenT7: 2007
OpenT26: 2006
PgaT26: 1999, 2011
Award 1Nike Tour
money list winner
Year 11995
Award 2Nike Tour
Player of the Year
Year 21995
Award 3PGA Tour Champions
Rookie of the Year
Year 32017

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.[1]

Kelly graduated from the University of Hartford in 1989.[2]

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.[3]

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.[4] In October 2019, he won the SAS Championship with a final round 65.[5]

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.[6]

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 [7]

Professional wins (22)

PGA Tour wins (3)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1Jan 14, 2002Sony Open in Hawaii66-65-65-70=266−141 strokeJohn Cook
2Jul 7, 2002Advil Western Open67-69-68-65=269−192 strokesDavis Love III
3Apr 26, 2009Zurich Classic of New Orleans68-66-69-71=274−141 strokeCharles Howell III, Rory Sabbatini,
Charlie Wi

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11996Greater Milwaukee OpenLoren RobertsLost to birdie on first extra hole

Nike Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Apr 30, 1995Nike Alabama Classic65-70-70-68=273−15PlayoffBuddy Gardner
2Jul 16, 1995Nike Buffalo Open70-72-67-65=274−141 strokeTim Simpson

Nike Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11995Nike Alabama ClassicBuddy GardnerWon with par on first extra hole

T. C. Jordan Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1Apr 19, 1992Super D Big Creek Classic62-68-73=203−131 strokeFranklin Langham

Other wins (3)

PGA Tour Champions wins (13)

Legend
PGA Tour Champions major championships (2)
Other PGA Tour Champions (11)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1Aug 27, 2017Boeing Classic65-66-66=197−191 strokeJerry Smith
2Sep 17, 2017Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship65-66-68=199−141 strokeLee Janzen
3Jan 20, 2018Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai64-68-66=198−181 strokeColin Montgomerie
4Jun 23, 2019American Family Insurance Championship65-70-66=201−15PlayoffRetief Goosen, Steve Stricker
5Sep 15, 2019The Ally Challenge67-65-68=200−162 strokesWoody Austin
6Oct 13, 2019SAS Championship68-67-65=200−161 strokeDavid McKenzie
7Aug 15, 2020Bridgestone Senior Players Championship68-70-70-69=277−32 strokesScott Parel
8Jun 13, 2021American Family Insurance Championship (2)67-69-66=202−141 strokeFred Couples, Miguel Ángel Jiménez
9Jun 5, 2022Principal Charity Classic65-66-67=198−18PlayoffKirk Triplett
10Jul 10, 2022Bridgestone Senior Players Championship (2)67-69-65-68=269−112 strokesSteve Stricker
11Aug 7, 2022Shaw Charity Classic68-66-67=201−9PlayoffJohn Huston
12Oct 13, 2024SAS Championship (2)67-69-67=203−131 strokePádraig Harrington
13Apr 27, 2025Mitsubishi Electric Classic62-67-67=196−201 strokeErnie Els

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (3–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
12019American Family Insurance ChampionshipRetief Goosen, Steve StrickerWon with birdie on third extra hole
22020PURE Insurance ChampionshipJim FurykLost to birdie on first extra hole
32022Principal Charity ClassicKirk TriplettWon with birdie on first extra hole
42022Shaw Charity ClassicJohn HustonWon with birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament199719981999
Masters Tournament
U.S. OpenT57
The Open ChampionshipT44
PGA ChampionshipCUTWDT26
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
Masters TournamentT2048T31T20T5CUT
U.S. OpenT37CUTCUTT4083T7CUT
The Open ChampionshipCUTT28WDT47CUTT26T49CUT
PGA ChampionshipCUTT44CUTCUTCUTT3448CUTCUTCUT
Tournament20102011201220132014
Masters TournamentT12CUT
U.S. OpenT63T41
The Open ChampionshipCUTCUT
PGA ChampionshipCUTT26T27

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

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00011486
U.S. Open000011107
The Open Championship000000115
PGA Championship000000166
Totals0001254524
  • 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

Tournament1996199719981999
The Players ChampionshipCUTCUTT31CUT
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
The Players ChampionshipT424T11CUTT6CUTCUTT28T32CUT
Tournament2010201120122013201420152016201720182019
The Players ChampionshipT39T64CUTT37CUTT17T19CUT
Tournament2020202120222023
The Players ChampionshipCCUTT54

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

Tournament200220032004200520062007200820092010
Match PlayR64QFQFR32R64
ChampionshipT4T21T16T50
Invitational77T53T19T46T11
ChampionsT54

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)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up
2020Bridgestone Senior Players Championship1 shot lead−3 (68-70-70-69=277)2 strokesScott Parel
2022Bridgestone Senior Players Championship (2)Tied for lead−11 (67-69-65-68=269)2 strokesSteve Stricker

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order

Tournament2017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Senior PGA ChampionshipT8T35NTT8T29T5913CUT
The TraditionT8T12NTT4T134T182T54
U.S. Senior OpenT12T2T2NTT8T73T16T36
Senior Players ChampionshipT50T4T24121123T21
Senior British Open ChampionshipT45T14T29NT6T20T7CUTT17

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

See also

References

  1. ^ "Biographical info on PGA Tour's official site". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on 2007-04-28.
  2. ^ "Jerry Kelly profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  3. ^ "Kelly ends long wait for victory". BBC Sport. April 26, 2009. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
  4. ^ Strege, John (September 15, 2019). "Jerry Kelly wins the Ally Challenge to close the gap on Charles Schwab Cup leader Scott McCarron". Golf Digest. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  5. ^ "Jerry Kelly rallies to win SAS Championship, closes gap in PGA Tour Champions standings". Golfweek. Associated Press. October 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "Jerry Kelly successfully defends hometown Champions title". Toronto Star. Associated Press. June 13, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  7. ^ "Jerry Kelly Wins Senior Players Championship for Second Time". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022.