Grady Neal Lancaster (born September 13, 1962) 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 ...

Nationwide 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. ...

and the

PGA Tour Champions PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

. Lancaster was born, raised and makes his home in

Smithfield, North Carolina Smithfield is a town in and the county seat of Johnston County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 11,292. The town is located near North Carolina's Research Triangle and is abou ...

. He turned pro in 1985 as a completely self-taught player. Lancaster started playing on mini-tours four months in 1989, winning twice on the U.S. Golf Tour, before going to Q School. He did not take his first golf lesson until 1992. His first golf lesson was given by L.B. Floyd, father of

Raymond Floyd Raymond Loran Floyd (born September 4, 1942) is an American retired professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments on both the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour, including four majors and four senior majors. He was inducted into the World ...

. Lancaster has 28 top-10 finishes in 579

events, including a win at the 1994

GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic The Byron Nelson is a golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour, currently hosted by TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, northeast of Dallas. Held in May, it is one of two PGA Tour stops in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex – which until the 2020-21 ...

, which was shortened to 36 holes due to weather. (Prior to 1996, PGA Tour events shortened to 36 holes were considered official.) His best finish in a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

is a T-4 at the 1995 U.S. Open. Lancaster set the 9-hole record at the U.S. Open with 29 strokes at the

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

(4th round) and 1996 U.S. Opens (second round). This has been tied by

Vijay Singh Vijay Singh ( ; born 22 February 1963) is a Fijians, Fijian professional golfer. In 1982, Singh turned professional and played on the local Asia Golf Circuit. However, his early career met with controversy, as he was accused of numerous rules ...

(

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, second round),

Louis Oosthuizen Lodewicus Theodorus "Louis" Oosthuizen (; born 1982) is a South African professional golfer who won the 2010 Open Championship. He has finished runner-up in all four major championships: the 2012 Masters Tournament, the 2015 and 2021 U.S. Op ...

(

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, fourth round), and

Tom Kim Kim Joo-hyung (; born 21 June 2002), commonly known as Tom Kim, is a South Korean professional golfer. He has won three times on the PGA Tour, and twice on both the Asian Tour and the Korean Tour. Early life and amateur career Kim was born in ...

(

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, third round). In 2002, Lancaster came to the final hole of the Bell Canadian Open with a two-shot lead. He made double bogey to drop into a sudden death playoff with John Rollins and

Justin Leonard Justin Charles Garrett Leonard (born June 15, 1972) is an American professional golfer. He has 12 career wins on the PGA Tour, including one major, the 1997 Open Championship. He currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He is one of only five ...

. Rollins won on the first extra hole. Lancaster played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1990 to 2005. Lancaster placed fifth at the 2009 Q School tournament, but shoulder surgeries plagued him for years. He played in the 2012

Farmers Insurance Open The Farmers Insurance Open is an annual professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, held in San Diego, California. Founded in 1952, the tournament has been held at Torrey Pines Golf Course, a 36-hole municipal facility in La Jolla, since 1968. T ...

, his first PGA Tour start since 2009. He made the cut at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, his first since the 2009

Buick Open The Buick Open was a PGA Tour golf tournament from 1958 to 2009. In 2007, the tournament was held at the end of June, a change from its traditional spot between The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. Regardless, many prominent players use ...

. After turning 50, Lancaster played his first

Champions Tour PGA Tour Champions (formerly the Senior PGA Tour and the Champions Tour) is a men's professional senior golf tour, open to golfers age 50 and over, administered as a branch of the PGA Tour. History and format The Senior PGA Championship, f ...

event in October 2012 at the

SAS Championship The SAS Championship is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour Champions. It is played annually in the autumn in Cary, North Carolina at the Prestonwood Country Club. SAS Institute SAS Institute (or SAS, pronounced "sass") is an American multin ...

and finished T8 at the tour's Q school. After ending his career as a touring professional, Lancaster became a PGA professional, competing in events sanctioned through the Carolinas section of the PGA. In 2017, Lancaster won Carolinas PGA Senior Professional Championship.

Professional wins (6)

PGA Tour wins (1)

''*Note: The 1994 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic was shortened to 36 holes due to weather.'' PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

U.S. Golf Tour wins (2)

*1989 Pine Tree Open, Oak Forest Summer Golf Classic

Other wins (3)

*1985 Carolinas Open *1989

Utah Open The Utah Open is the Utah state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the Utah section of the PGA of America. It was first played in 1926 and has been played at a variety of courses around the stat ...

*2017 Carolinas PGA Senior Professional Championship

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

References

External links

* *
Carolinas PGA profile of Lancaster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancaster, Neal American male golfers PGA Tour golfers PGA Tour Champions golfers Golfers from North Carolina People from Smithfield, North Carolina 1962 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen