Christian Dean DiMarco (born August 23, 1968) 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 p ...

who plays on 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 ...

. DiMarco has won seven tournaments as a pro, including three

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 ...

events.

Early years

Born in

Huntington, New York The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. ...

, DiMarco moved to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

with his family at age seven.Bill Ernst,
Chris DiMarco: Seminole County's champion
," ''Seminole Magazine'' (Undated 2004). Retrieved July 16, 2011. He attended

Lake Brantley High School Lake Brantley High School (LBHS) is located in Altamonte Springs, Florida, a suburban community approximately 13 miles (20 km) north of Orlando. It is a public high school serving grade levels 9–12 in Seminole County, FL, operated by Sem ...

Altamonte Springs Altamonte Springs is a suburban city in central Florida in Seminole County, Florida, United States, which had a population of 46,231 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is in the northern suburbs of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee ...

, where he played for the Patriots golf team and began dating his future wife at the age of 17. DiMarco was raised in a sports-oriented family; both of his older brothers were athletes, and his father played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for St. John's University. DiMarco's nephew Patrick DiMarco is a professional football player.

College career

DiMarco accepted an athletic scholarship to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, where he played for coach Lynn Blevins and coach

Buddy Alexander Stewart Murray Alexander (born February 20, 1953), nicknamed Buddy Alexander, is an American former college golf coach and amateur golfer. Alexander is the former head coach of the Florida Gators men's golf team. He is best known for coaching t ...

's Gator golf teams from 1987 to 1990.
Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 28, 34, 35, 41 (2010). Retrieved July 11, 2011. He shot a three-round score of 209 to win the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) individual title in 1989, while leading the Gators to an SEC team championship. He also was a seven-time medalist, a first-team All-SEC selection in 1989 and 1990, the SEC Player of the Year in 1990, and an All-American in 1988, 1989 and 1990. DiMarco was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2002.

Professional career

DiMarco turned professional in 1990, won the Canadian Tour's Order of Merit as its money leader in 1992, and finished ninth on the second-tier Nike Tour in 1993 to earn his PGA Tour card for

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

.Laury Livsey,
DiMarco reaches out with Tee Up for Life event
," PGATour.com (November 2, 2009). Retrieved July 16, 2011. However, he was not always able to maintain his place on the PGA Tour, and he won his first professional tournament on the Nike Tour at the 1997 Nike Ozarks Open. As he moved into his 30s, he continued to improve, capturing his first trophy on the PGA Tour at the

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

SEI Pennsylvania Classic.Joe Logan,
Skipped practices making perfect
" ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' (September 11, 2002). Retrieved July 16, 2011. His second PGA Tour victory was the 2001

Buick Challenge The Southern Open was a golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 1970 to 2002. It was played at the Green Island Country Club in Columbus, Georgia, from 1970 to 1990 and at the Callaway Gardens Resort (Mountain View Course), Pine Mountain, Georgia, ...

, where he sank a

birdie Birdy or Birdie may refer to: Places in the United States * Birdie, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Birdie, Mississippi, an unincorporated community People with the name * Birdie Blye (1871–1935), American pianist * Birdy (sing ...

on the 18th hole to tie leader David Duval, and then won on the first hole of a sudden death playoff. He won his third PGA Tour event at the 2002 Phoenix Open, which featured an infamous moment—as DiMarco was addressing a pressure putt at TPC Scottsdale's 16th hole, one of the fans yelled "Noonan!" (a reference from the movie '' Caddyshack'').Clifton Brown,
Golf; An Unflappable DiMarco Turns Around a Brief Retreat
" ''The New York Times'' (January 28, 2002). Retrieved July 16, 2011. DiMarco maintained his concentration and sank the putt, then pointed at the fan and demanded that a tournament official eject him. By 2004, he had finished in the top twenty on the PGA Tour money list for five straight seasons, and had tied for second in 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. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

, losing the title to

Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( hif, विजय सिंह ; born 22 February 1963), nicknamed "The Big Fijian", is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. He has won 34 events on the PGA Tour, including three Men's major golf championships, major championsh ...

in a three-way playoff. In 2005, DiMarco lost a sudden-death playoff with

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 ...

to finish second in

The Masters The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply The Masters, or the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, the Masters is the first ma ...

.Damon Hack,
DiMarco Comes Close in Another Major
" ''The New York Times'' (April 29, 2005). Retrieved July 16, 2011. The final round pairing of Woods and DiMarco featured a famous chip from Woods which took an incredibly long time to drop into the hole for a birdie on the par three 16th, and stretch his lead to two. The Masters result moved DiMarco into the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings. DiMarco finished as the runner-up in a major for the third time at the 2006 Open Championship at

Hoylake Hoylake is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee meets the Irish Sea. Historically part of Cheshire, the Domes ...

;

beating him by two strokes.Damon Hack,
Count Woods Among the Admirers of DiMarco
" ''The New York Times'' (August 3, 2006). Retrieved July 16, 2011. DiMarco achieved his four-round score of 70-65-69-68 (272, −16) less than three weeks after the death of his mother. Arguably, DiMarco enjoyed his most consistent success from 2002 to 2006, when he was ranked in the top ten of the world rankings for 61 weeks, going as high as number six in the world in 2005. DiMarco was also a member of the U.S. national team in the 2003 and 2005

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 minus Europe. Europe competes against the United States in a similar but considerably ...

, and the

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is contested every two years with the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe. The Ryder Cup is named af ...

competitions in 2004 and 2006. DiMarco sank a putt to beat Stuart Appleby and clinch the

2005 Presidents Cup The 2005 Presidents Cup was held between September 22 and 25, 2005. It was played at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, United States. The United States team won the competition by a margin of 18–15. The honorary chairme ...

. In

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

, he disclosed that he was suffering from a chronic shoulder injury, and underwent

arthroscopic surgery Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the ...

on his left shoulder later that year. DiMarco undergoes surgery on left shoulder
" ESPN.com (September 12, 2007). Retrieved July 16, 2011. Notwithstanding the injury, DiMarco still finished among the top 25 in six tournaments and earned more than $950,000 in fewer than nine months in 2007. DiMarco has not played a full PGA Tour schedule since

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. He is a frequent contributor to ''Morning Drive'' on

Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently based out of NBC S ...

Personal life

DiMarco has known his wife Amy (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Curtis) since the seventh grade, when both attended Rock Lake Middle School in Longwood. Later, both were students at Lake Brantley High School, and attended their high school prom together. They have three children—two daughters and a son. His son, Cristian DiMarco, was a member of the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

golf team, after transferring from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. Cristian turned professional in 2018. DiMarco hosts his own annual charity golf tournament at his local course, Heathrow Country Club in

Heathrow, Florida Heathrow is a census-designated place and an unincorporated suburban community in Seminole County, Florida, United States. Heathrow is on the I-4 Corridor in Central Florida, 19 miles northeast of Orlando and 38 miles southwest of Daytona Beach. ...

. Norma DiMarco Tee Up for Life Charity Golf Tournament Raises More than $330,000
" GolfOrlandoFlorida.com (November 13, 2009). Retrieved July 16, 2011. The "Norma DiMarco Tee Up For Life Golf Tournament" is named in honor of his mother, who died from cancer in 2006. It raises funds for R.O.C.K (Reaching Out to Cancer Kids), and features celebrities and amateurs. As part of his personal participation in the event, DiMarco plays the 12th hole with every foursome in the tournament.

Amateur wins

*1988

Monroe Invitational The Monroe Invitational Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament in the United States, played since 1937 at Monroe Golf Club in Pittsford, New York, a suburb southeast of Rochester. Originally a match play event, it switched to 72-hole s ...

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 first ...

Professional wins (8)

PGA Tour wins (3)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

European Tour wins (1)

European Tour playoff record (0–2)

Nike Tour wins (1)

''*Note: The 1997 Nike Ozarks Open was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.'' Nike Tour playoff record (0–1)

Canadian Tour wins (1)

Other wins (2)

Other playoff record (1–0)

Results in major championships

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

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (2000 PGA – 2002 PGA) *Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

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

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No Tournament

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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

U.S. national team appearances

Professional *

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A ...

(tie),

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

(winners) *

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 ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge The Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge was an unofficial golf event held in November at the Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada. The tournament was a unique stroke play event, and, as the name suggests, pitted three teams, with three members per team, fr ...

(representing PGA Tour): 2007

References

External links

* * * *
Tee Up For Life Golf Tournament
– Official webpage for DiMarco's annual charity tournament.
Golf Channel
– Chris DiMarco {{DEFAULTSORT:DiMarco, Chris American male golfers Florida Gators men's golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Ryder Cup competitors for the United States Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from New York (state) Golfers from Orlando, Florida American people of Italian descent Lake Brantley High School alumni People from Huntington, New York People from Heathrow, Florida People from Altamonte Springs, Florida 1968 births Living people