Robert Douglas Damron (born October 27, 1972) 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 ...

. He is a studio analyst for the

Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply "Golf" or "NBC 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 ba ...

Early life

Damron was born in

Pikeville, Kentucky Pikeville () is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Pike County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 7,754 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. Pikeville serves as a regional eco ...

and raised there and later in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

after his father, a wealthy Kentucky coal

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

, moved the family to Bay Hill. Damron had the benefit of some early advice about golf from Bay Hill neighbor

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

. He attended Orlando's Dr. Phillips High School graduating in 1990.

Amateur career

Damron later attended the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

in Orlando from 1991 to 1994, where he was a distinguished member of the golf team, earning

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors three times. He won five collegiate events while at UCF. Damron was inducted into the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002.

Professional career

Damron turned pro in 1994. He has won one PGA Tour event, the 2001 Verizon Byron Nelson Classic. He finished in a three-way tie for first in the same tournament in 2004 (it was called the EDS Byron Nelson Championship that year), which he and

Dudley Hart Howard Dudley Hart (born August 4, 1968) is an American professional golfer with two PGA Tour wins in an injury-riddled career. Early life Hart was born in Rochester, New York. He attended Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School in Miami, Flor ...

lost in a playoff to

Sergio García Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He turned professional in 1999 and played on the European Tour and PGA Tour prior to joining LIV Golf in 2022. García has won 36 international tournaments as ...

. 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-20 at the 2003 U.S. Open. After turning 35, Damron played mostly on 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 ...

Personal life

Damron's brother, Patrick, is also a professional golfer. He lives in Orlando.

Awards and honors

In 2002, Damron was inducted into the

's Athletics Hall of Fame

Professional wins (2)

PGA Tour wins (1)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0)

Results in major championships

''Note: Damron never played in the

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

.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Results in The Players Championship

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Damron, Robert American male golfers UCF Knights men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Golfers from Kentucky Golfers from Orlando, Florida Dr. Phillips High School alumni People from Pikeville, Kentucky 1972 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen