Shaun Carl Micheel (born January 5, 1969) is an American professional

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping w ...

er who is best known for his surprise victory at the 2003 PGA Championship.

Career

Micheel was born in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rel ...

. He attended Christian Brothers High School in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

and

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

and turned professional in 1992. He taught himself how to play golf after his parents bought a home on a golf course in Memphis. He had a very patchy early career, during which he struggled to hold on to membership on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

. His successes included a victory in the Singapore Open in 1998 and a win on the Nike Tour (now the

Korn Ferry Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. Th ...

) in 1999. He went into the 2003 PGA Championship at

Oak Hill Country Club Oak Hill Country Club is a country club in the northeastern United States, located in Pittsford, New York, a suburb southeast of Rochester. Founded in 1901 and best known for its East golf course, the club has hosted multiple major championsh ...

ranked 169th in the

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

and making his 164th PGA Tour start, becoming one of the biggest underdogs to win a major in recent times. In the first two rounds, he shot 69-68 (−3) to take a two-shot lead over

Billy Andrade William Thomas Andrade (born January 25, 1964) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Champions Tour. He was previously a member of the PGA Tour, where he was a four-time winner. Early life Andrade was born in Bri ...

and

Mike Weir Michael Richard Weir, (born May 12, 1970) is a Canadian professional golfer. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He spent over 110 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking between 2001 and 2005. He plays golf left-handed ...

. A third round 69 put him at −4, tied for the lead with

Chad Campbell David Chad Campbell (born May 31, 1974) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour, where he has won four times. He also notably finished as a runner-up at the 2009 Masters, after losing in a sudden-death playoff. Early years ...

and three shots clear of Weir. He shot a par 70 in the final round to defeat Campbell by two strokes. That season, he finished 32nd on the money list. In 2004, he made the top 100 on the PGA Tour money list for the second time in his career, but he did not make the move up to being a regular high finisher. His career high world ranking is 34th, achieved in 2004. In August 2006, Micheel returned to prominence when he finished runner-up to

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

at the PGA Championship at

Medinah Country Club Medinah Country Club is a private country club in Medinah, Illinois, with nearly 600 members and containing three golf courses, Lake Kadijah, swimming facilities, a golf learning center, golf shop, gun club, racket center and a mosque-evoking B ...

; he followed that with T7 two weeks later at the

Deutsche Bank Championship The Dell Technologies Championship was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Norton, Massachusetts, United States, held annually in late summer over the Labor Day weekend. The 2018 edition was the last time the event was staged as th ...

. He was also runner-up at the 2006 HSBC World Match Play Championship, after defeating Woods in the first round. On the

, he ended the year with nine consecutive cuts and placed in the top 50 on the money list. Micheel is only the second golfer to make a

double eagle A double eagle is a gold coin of the United States with a denomination of $20. (Its gold content of 0.9675 troy oz (30.0926 grams) was worth $20 at the 1849 official price of $20.67/oz.) The coins are 34 mm x 2 mm and are made from ...

(albatross) in U.S. Open history. It came on the 6th hole during the final round of the 2010 U.S. Open. Micheel is one of the few golfers to have a major as his only PGA Tour win. Micheel has 397 starts through the end of the 2018–19 season, the most of any golfer whose only win was a major. He last played a full season in 2011, competing in the PGA Championship and other events through past champion status. Micheel began playing the

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, founded in 1937, was for many year ...

in 2019.

Medical issues

In April 2005, after experiencing months of fatigue, mood changes, and poor play, Micheel began treatment for low

testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteristic ...

("Low T", or

hypogonadism Hypogonadism means diminished functional activity of the gonads—the testes or the ovaries—that may result in diminished production of sex hormones. Low androgen (e.g., testosterone) levels are referred to as hypoandrogenism and low estrogen ...

). He claimed that his testosterone levels had declined to those of "a man in his mid-70s." After beginning treatment, his testosterone levels returned to normal, and he reported that his drive and energy had also returned. His condition was widely publicized during the coverage of the

2006 PGA Championship The 2006 PGA Championship was the 88th PGA Championship, played August 17–20 at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinois, a suburb northwest of Chicago. Tiger Woods won his third PGA Championship and twelfth major title, five shots ahead of ...

. On April 18, 2014, after having coped with inability to exercise without being short of breath, Micheel underwent heart surgery and had four stents inserted.

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (1)

Asian Tour wins (1)

Nike Tour wins (1)

Playoff record

Other playoff record (0–1)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 6 (2001 U.S. Open – 2004 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

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

Results in World Golf Championships

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied

Results in senior major championships

"T" indicates a tie for a place
CUT = missed the halfway cut
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Micheel, Shaun American male golfers Indiana Hoosiers men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Winners of men's major golf championships Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Orlando, Florida Golfers from Memphis, Tennessee 1969 births Living people