Scott Rachal Verplank (born July 9, 1964) 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 has played on the

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 ...

and the PGA Tour Champions.

Early life

Born and raised in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Verplank was a leading member of the W.T. White High School golf team and a regular at Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas. He graduated from high school in 1982.

Amateur career

Verplank attended

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

in Stillwater. At OSU, he was a member of the 1983

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Championship team, finishing T3 alongside teammates Tommy Moore, Willie Wood, Andy Dillard, and Philip Walton. He went on later to win the 1984

U.S. Amateur The United States Amateur Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Amateur, is the leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers. It is organized by the United States Golf Association and is currently held each August ov ...

and 1986

individual title. Prior to his senior year at Oklahoma State, Verplank won the

Western Open The Western Open was a professional golf tournament in the United States, for most of its history an event on the PGA Tour. The tournament's founding in 1899 actually pre-dated the start of the Tour, which is generally dated from 1916, the ye ...

outside

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in August

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

; it was the first victory by an amateur on the PGA Tour in 29 years. He defeated

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...

on the second extra hole of a playoff for the win at

Butler National Golf Club Butler National Golf Club is a private golf club located in Oak Brook, Illinois. History Butler National was the creation of Paul Butler, an affluent entrepreneur, philanthropist, and sportsman who was also the founder of the village of Oak Br ...

Oak Brook, Illinois Oak Brook is a village (Illinois), village in DuPage County, Illinois, with a very small portion in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County. The population was 8,163 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Chicago, it contains th ...

Professional career

Verplank graduated and turned professional in 1986, using his two-year exemption on the PGA Tour; his first event as a pro was the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in June, his sixth tour event He earned five wins on the PGA Tour, and two

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

appearances, in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. Verplank has type 1

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and uses an

insulin pump An insulin pump is a medical device used for the administration of insulin in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, also known as continuous Subcutaneous tissue, subcutaneous insulin therapy. The device configuration may vary depending on desig ...

during play. He was awarded the 2002

Ben Hogan William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory, hi ...

Award, given by the Golf Writers Association of America to an individual who has continued to be active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness. Verplank has been featured in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Rankings, reaching as high as eleventh in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. He hit a hole-in-one in the Ryder Cup, on the 14th hole during a singles match against

Pádraig Harrington Pádraig Peter Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three men's major golf championships, major championships: The Open Championship in 2 ...

. The shot did not impact the overall result, however, as Europe had already won the trophy. Nonetheless, he was the first American player to card an ace during the Ryder Cup; his overall record in the competition is 4 wins and 1 loss. Verplank's most recent win was the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

EDS Byron Nelson Championship, in which he defeated

Luke Donald Luke Campbell Donald Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former List of World Number One male golfers, world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of ...

by one stroke. As a Dallas native, Verplank called the EDS Byron Nelson Championship "a fifth major," and also mentioned that "Byron was with me today" (the 2007 tournament was the first held after Nelson's death). His best finish in a major championship was a tie for fourth at the

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

. Verplank competed in the 2011 Arnold Palmer Invitational finishing T38 and then the following week at the Shell Houston Open in which Verplank finished T2 behind

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970) is an American professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf League. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters ...

. Verplank had held a joint 54-hole lead with Mickelson and even held the lead on his own at a number of stages during the final round, however his lack of competitive golf proved costly throughout the final few holes and he was unable to close out the victory. This was his best finish on tour in 18 months since finishing T2 at the

Deutsche Bank Championship The Dell Technologies Championship, originally the Deutsche Bank Championship, was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour that was played annually from 2003 to 2018. It was held in Norton, Massachusetts, United States, over the Labor Day ...

in 2009. Verplank has amassed over $27 million in career earnings. Verplank played the 2013 season on a Major Medical Extension after hip and wrist injuries in 2012. He started the 2014 season in a similar fashion, but was not able to satisfy the medical exemption and used his career money list exemption for the remainder of the season. Verplank turned 50 in July 2014 and made his Champions Tour debut at the at Oak Tree National, near his residence in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Awards and honors

In December 2010, Verplank was named a 2011 winner of the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, given annually to six former NCAA student-athletes for distinguished career accomplishment on the 25th anniversary of their college graduation.

Amateur wins

*1983

Porter Cup The Porter Cup is a 72-hole, medal-play elite amateur golf tournament held annually at the Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, New York. It was first played in 1959 and over the years has hosted some of the biggest names in golf. Past champion ...

*1984

, Sunnehanna Amateur *1985

Western Amateur The Western Amateur is a leading annual golf tournament in the United States for male amateur golfers. It is organized by the Western Golf Association. The Western Amateur features an international field of top-ranked amateur golfers. It was firs ...

, Sunnehanna Amateur,

*1986 NCAA individual title

Professional wins (6)

PGA Tour wins (5)

PGA Tour playoff record (2–4)

Other wins (1)

Other playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

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

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (2004 Masters – 2005 Masters) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (2003 Masters – 2003 U.S. Open)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

Walker Cup The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...

(winners) Professional *

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

(individual title),

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Presidents Cup The Presidents Cup is a series of men's golf matches between a team representing the United States and an International Team representing the rest of the world except Europe as that continent competes against the United States in a similar but ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

(winners),

(winners) * Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (representing PGA Tour): 2006 (winners)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Verplank, Scott American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Oklahoma State Cowboys golfers Golfers from Dallas Golfers from Oklahoma W. T. White High School alumni People with type 1 diabetes Sportspeople from Edmond, Oklahoma 1964 births Living people Presidents Cup competitors for the United States 20th-century American sportsmen