Chris Williams (born June 21, 1991) 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 ...

noted for his amateur success. He was a member of the U.S.

2011 Walker Cup The 43rd Walker Cup Match was played on 10 and 11 September 2011 at the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom. Team Great Britain and Ireland won 14 to 12. Format On Saturday, there are four matches of foursomes in the ...

team, and the victorious U.S. teams at the

2011 Palmer Cup The 2011 Palmer Cup was held on June 9–11, 2011 at The Stanwich Club, Greenwich, Connecticut. The United States won 13 to 11. Format On Thursday, there were four matches of four-ball in the morning, followed by eight singles matches in the af ...

and

2012 Eisenhower Trophy The 2012 Eisenhower Trophy took place 4–7 October on the PGA Sultan course at Antalya Golf Club and the Faldo course at Cornelia Golf Club in Antalya, Turkey. It was the 28th World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy. The tourname ...

. He was awarded the Mickelson Award, the

Mark H. McCormack Medal The Mark H. McCormack Medal is presented annually by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews to the leading player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking after the last 'elite' event of the season. The award is named after World Golf Hall of Famer ...

and the

Ben Hogan Award The Ben Hogan Award is an annual prize given by Friends of Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America, since 1990, to the best college golf player in the United States. The award is named in memory of Ben Hogan, an American professional golf ...

, and was number one ranked amateur golfer in the world for 46 weeks in 2012 and 2013.

Early life and family

Williams grew up in

Moscow, Idaho Moscow ( ) is a city and the county seat of Latah County, Idaho. Located in the North Central Idaho, North Central region of the state along the border with Washington (state), Washington, it had a population of 25,435 at the 2020 United States ...

to parents are Linda and Varnel Williams. His two older brothers were also athletes, Jeff played hockey for the University of Idaho and Pete was a professional golfer between 2006 and 2008. Williams was a four-time Idaho High School 4A state champion and four-time North Idaho Golfer of the Year. In 2007, he was Washington Junior Golf Association State Champion, WJGA Junior Golfer of the Year and WJGA Player of the Year. In 2009, he graduated from

Moscow High School Moscow High School (MHS) is a four-year public high school in Moscow, Idaho, United States. The flagship school of the Moscow School District serves grades 9–12. Since 2013, Erik Perryman has served as principal. MHS colors are red, black, and ...

and helped his school team win the state championship.

College career

Williams played for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

between 2009 and 2013 where he was a four-time All-American. He led the Washington Huskies men's golf team in scoring between 2010 and 2013, and won six tournament and recorded 20 top-10 finishes. He finished ninth overall in the

NCAA Championship 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. ...

as a freshman, and earned the title of

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Freshman of the Year. He won the Mickelson Award as the top freshman in the nation, and appeared for the U.S. national team in the

, and in the

Palmer Cup The Palmer Cup is a 1200–1215 CE goblet from northern Syria or Jazira region, Jazira, and an example of early Islamic glass. It is sometimes described as "Ayyubid", since it corresponds to the time when the Ayyubids disputed control of areas of ...

twice. Williams made his major debut at the 2011 U.S. Open at

Congressional Country Club Congressional Country Club is a country club and golf course in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. Congressional opened in 1924 and its Blue Course has hosted five major championships, including three U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship. It was a ...

after he secured a spot with a win at the sectional qualifying event at Gold Mountain, Washington. He missed the cut by two strokes. He won the

, the World Amateur Team Championship, together with

Steven Fox Steven Fox is a Grammy-nominated American conductor of classical music. He is the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of New York's Clarion Choir & Clarion Orchestra, Music Director of Cathedral Choral Society at Washington National Ca ...

and

Justin Thomas Justin Louis Thomas (born April 29, 1993) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and is a former List of World Number One male golfers, world number one. In 2017, Thomas experienced a breakout year, winning five PGA Tour e ...

, recording the second best individual score, one stroke behind Sebastián Vázquez. As a junior, he reached number one in the

World Amateur Golf Ranking The World Amateur Golf Ranking for men was introduced by The R&A, the governing body of the sport of golf outside the United States and Mexico, on 23 January 2007. It is based on the results of over 2,600 amateur tournaments per year (and amateurs ...

, where he stayed for 46 weeks in 2012 and 2013. This achievement gave him the

, which earned him entries into the 2013 U.S. Open, where he missed the cut by a stroke, and the

2013 Open Championship The 2013 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 142nd Open Championship, held from 18 to 21 July at Muirfield Golf Links in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Phil Mickelson shot a final round 66 (−5) to win his fifth m ...

, which he forfeited by turning professional after the U.S. Open. Williams received the

as a senior, an honor the

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. ...

bestows annually to the best college golfer.

Professional career

Williams made his professional debut at the 2013

Travelers Championship The Travelers Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Cromwell, Connecticut, a suburb south of Hartford. Since 1984 the tournament has been held at TPC River Highlands. It is managed by The Greater Hartford Community Fou ...

, where he finished tied for 30th. He received three further exemptions that season and four more on the

2013–14 PGA Tour The 2013–14 PGA Tour was the 99th season of the PGA Tour, the main professional golf tour in the United States. It was also the 46th season since separating from the PGA of America, and the eighth edition of the FedEx Cup. Schedule The followi ...

, but made just two cuts, ending his chance of making enough money in those events to earn a

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 ...

card. Williams failed to advance at the

Web.com 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. T ...

qualifying school six years in a row. He played on the

PGA Tour Canada PGA Tour Canada, commonly referred to as the Canadian Tour, was a men's professional golf tour headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The United States–based PGA Tour took over operation of the tour on November 1, 2012, at which time it was renamed ...

for five seasons between 2014 and 2018, and complemented with starts on the

PGA Tour Latinoamérica PGA Tour Latinoamérica was a third level professional golf tour formed in 2012 and operated by the PGA Tour. It was formed in concert with the now also defunct Tour de las Américas. Executives from the Tour de las Américas became employees of ...

in 2017 and 2018. He recorded no wins but five top-5 finishes, including a playoff loss. He retired from tour following the 2018 season.

Coaching career

Williams served as assistant coach at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

between 2019 and 2021, and became assistant coach for the

Auburn Tigers men's golf Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia * Auburn, Tasmania *Aubu ...

team at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

in 2021.

Amateur wins

*2007 Washington Junior Golf Association (WJGA) State Championship *2008 San Diego Junior Amateur Championship *2010 Battle at the Beach *2011 The Duck Invitational,

Sahalee Players Championship The Sahalee Players Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1992 at the Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington. The event was not played from 2020 to 2022 and returned in 2023 as a collegiate event. Winn ...

Pacific Coast Amateur The Pacific Coast Amateur is an annual amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1967 and is organized by the Pacific Coast Golf Association. It is held in various locations in the United States and Canada. In December 2021, the Pacific Coa ...

, Kikkor Husky Invitational *2012 Bandon Dunes Championship, NCAA Southwest Regional, Washington State Amateur,

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 ...

Source:

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
''Note: Williams only played in the U.S. Open.''

U.S. national team appearances

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

(winners) *

(winners),

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Chris American male golfers Washington Huskies men's golfers Golfers from Idaho Sportspeople from Moscow, Idaho 1991 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen