Ronald Whittaker (born August 12, 1971) 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 ...

Early life

Whittaker was born in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

. He was a semi-finalist in the 1988 U.S. Junior Amateur. He played college golf at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

where he won once.

Professional career

In 1995, Whittaker turned professional. He played on the

Sunshine Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the Southern Africa Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the F ...

in 1995, winning the FNB Players Championship and finishing 11th on the Order of Merit. He 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 ...

and

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. ...

from 1996 to 1998 and again from 2006 to 2012. On the PGA Tour (1996, 2006, 2008), his best finish was T-9 at the 2006 Frys.com Open. On the Nationwide Tour (1997–98, 2007, 2009–12), he won the 2007 Chattanooga Classic. He played on mini-tours, including the Gateway Tour and Tight Lies Tour between his stints on the PGA/Nationwide Tours, winning several events.

Personal life

Whittaker is the nephew of PGA Tour golfer

Lanny Wadkins Jerry Lanston "Lanny" Wadkins Jr. (born December 5, 1949) is an American professional golfer. He won 21 tournaments on the PGA Tour, including one Men's major golf championships, major, the 1977 PGA Championship. He ranked in the top 10 of the Of ...

Professional wins (2)

Southern Africa Tour wins (1)

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

Nationwide Tour playoff record (0–1)

References

External links

* American male golfers Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Raleigh, North Carolina Golfers from Arkansas Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas 1971 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-golf-bio-stub