Kevin Sutherland

This article is about the golfer. For the comedian and comic artist, see Kev F. Sutherland. For the Inbetweeners character, see List of The Inbetweeners characters § Kevin Sutherland.

Kevin Sutherland
Personal information
Full nameKevin John Sutherland
Born (1964-07-04) July 4, 1964 (age 60)
Sacramento, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceSacramento, California, U.S.
Career
CollegeFresno State University
Turned professional1987
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins8
Highest ranking32 (February 24, 2002)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
European Tour1
PGA Tour Champions5
Other2
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT33: 2003
PGA ChampionshipT9: 2007
U.S. OpenT28: 2003
The Open ChampionshipT9: 2001

Kevin John Sutherland (born July 4, 1964) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions.

Sutherland was born in Sacramento, California and graduated from Christian Brothers High School. He attended Fresno State University and made the golf team as a walk-on freshman. Teased by his teammates for his unorthodox swing and unusual grip, he silenced his peers as he gained All-American status twice in his four years at Fresno State and became the most successful player ever to have spent time there. His younger brother David also attended Fresno while Kevin was there and followed in his brother's footsteps as an All-American golfer.

As a professional, Sutherland qualified for the PGA Tour in 1992. He won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in 2002 in his 184th start. It was his only PGA Tour win in 447 starts. He had an exceptional 2008 season that included 6 top ten finishes, including playoff losses to Vijay Singh at the 2008 Barclays and Cameron Beckman at the 2008 Frys.com Open. This runner-up finish vaulted Sutherland well inside the top thirty on the 2008 PGA Tour money list, and secured him a spot in the 2009 Masters Tournament.

He has featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings, peaking at 32nd in 2002. Back and neck injuries forced Sutherland to limit his PGA Tour career in 2011 and 2012. Sutherland returned to playing full-time in 2013. He fell short of satisfying his medical extension, but earned enough to remain on the PGA Tour with conditional status for the remainder of 2013.

On Saturday, August 16, 2014, at the second round of the Dick's Sporting Goods Open, Sutherland became the first person on the Champions Tour to shoot a 59, going −13 on the par-72 course.[2]

On November 12, 2017, Sutherland earned his first PGA Tour Champions win at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship and overcame the seven wins of Bernhard Langer to win the Charles Schwab Cup.[3]

On April 1, 2019, Sutherland won his second PGA Tour Champions tournament at the Rapiscan Systems Classic in Mississippi. Sutherland won in a seven-hole playoff over Scott Parel. The playoff was held over two days because play had to be suspended on Sunday March 31, 2019 due to darkness.[4] Sutherland and Parel faced off in a playoff again in June at the Principal Charity Classic with Sutherland winning on the second extra hole.[5]

In November 2020, Sutherland won the Charles Schwab Cup Championship for the second time. Sutherland won in a Monday finish on the ninth playoff hole over Paul Broadhurst.[6] On February 28, 2021, Sutherland won the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Arizona. He won by two strokes over Mike Weir.[7]

  1. ^ "Week 8 2002 Ending 24 Feb 2002" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  2. ^ "Kevin Sutherland sinks 12 birdies". ESPN. Associated Press. August 16, 2014.
  3. ^ "Kevin Sutherland wins Champions finale, season title". ESPN. Associated Press. November 13, 2017.
  4. ^ "Sutherland finally makes birdie to win playoff". National Post. April 1, 2019. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
  5. ^ "Sutherland rallies, outlasts Parel on senior tour". ESPN. Associated Press. June 2, 2019.
  6. ^ Kelly, Todd (November 9, 2020). "Kevin Sutherland needs nine playoff holes to win Charles Schwab Cup Championship". Golfweek. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  7. ^ Kelly, Todd (February 28, 2021). "Kevin Sutherland rallies to win Cologuard Classic on PGA Tour Champions". Golfweek. Retrieved March 1, 2021.