James Christopher Perry (born September 27, 1961) 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 ...

. He has been featured in the top 50 of 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 ...

Amateur career

Perry was born in

Edenton, North Carolina Edenton is a town in, and the county seat of, Chowan County, North Carolina, United States, on Albemarle Sound. The population was 4,397 at the 2020 census. Edenton is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. In recent years Edenton has ...

. He was the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

high school golf champion in 1978, 1979 and 1980. Perry attended the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...

, where he was a three-time All-America selection. He finished runner-up in the 1983 U.S. Amateur. Perry was named Collegiate Player of the Year in 1984. He also captured the 1983

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Championship. He won the 1982 and 1983

Minnesota State Amateur The Minnesota Amateur Golf Championship is an annual golf tournament in the American state of Minnesota. Winners Source: 1 Rain shortened the event to 36 holes 2 Won playoff 3 Defeated Steinfeldt at sudden-death playoff to win runner-up 4 Def ...

and 1984

Minnesota State Open The Minnesota State Open is the Minnesota state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Minnesota section of the PGA of America. It was first played in 1917 and has been played at a variety of co ...

Professional career

Perry turned pro in 1984. He played 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 ...

from 1985 to 1992. He split time between the PGA Tour and the

Nike Tour Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

in 1993, and played on the Nike Tour full-time in 1994. In 1994 he was named the Nike Tour Player of the Year and also led the money list. He won the Nike Utah Classic on the Nike Tour in 1994 and the 1994 Mexican Open. He then played on the PGA Tour from 1995 to 2001. He won the B.C. Open in 1998, his only PGA Tour victory. 1999 was Perry's best year on tour; he earned $2,145,707 and finished fifth on the money list. He recorded two runner-up finishes, and his 14 top-10 finishes were second only 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 ...

' 16. He cracked the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings due to his successful year. Perry suffered left hand and wrist injuries at the

2001 Open Championship The 2001 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 130th Open Championship, held from 19 to 22 July at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in Lytham St Annes, England. David Duval won his only major championship, three strokes ...

, causing him to play in only a few events in 2002. He was granted a major medical extension for 2003 but was still too injured to play on tour regularly. He received a second major medical extension for 2004 but only played in one event. He had surgery for a pinched nerve in his elbow in February 2004 and was told by his doctor that it would take 18 months to two years to fully recover. He has been granted medical extensions every year since 2003 but has played in very few events due to the injuries. He has not played in a PGA Tour event since 2006.

Personal life

Perry also played baseball and hockey while growing up. He was captain of the Edina-West High School hockey team during the 1979–80 season. Perry's father, Jim, pitched in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

and won 215 games and was the 1970 American League Cy Young Award winner. His uncle

Gaylord Perry Gaylord Jackson Perry (September 15, 1938 – December 1, 2022) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for eight different teams from 1962 to 1983. During a 22-year ba ...

also pitched in MLB, was a winner of 315 games and is a member of the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball ...

. Perry was inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame in 1993.

Amateur wins

''this list may be incomplete'' *1982 Northeast Amateur *1982

*1983

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (1)

Nike Tour wins (1)

Nike Tour playoff record (0–1)

Other wins (2)

*1984

(as an amateur) *1994 Mexican Open

Results in major championships

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

Summary

*Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1997 PGA – 2000 U.S. Open) *Longest streak of top-10s – 1

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Chris American male golfers Ohio State Buckeyes men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from North Carolina Golfers from Minnesota Golfers from Ohio People from Edenton, North Carolina People from Powell, Ohio 1961 births Living people