Samuel Palmer Saunders (born July 30, 1987) 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 ...

and the grandson of Arnold Palmer.

Early years

Born and raised in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, Saunders parents are Roy and Amy (Palmer) Saunders; his mother Amy is the younger daughter of Arnold and Winnie Palmer. Saunders attended high school at Trinity Prep in Winter Park. As a senior, he won his second club championship at Bay Hill Club and Lodge by seventeen strokes, which earned him an invitation to the

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PGA Tour event hosted by his grandfather. He attended Clemson University in South Carolina, and skipped his senior season to turn pro.

Pro career

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, he played a total of 13 events – eight on the PGA Tour, with a best finish of 15th at Pebble Beach – and the

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental golf tour, 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 tha ...

, where he finished tenth in Panama. That same year, Saunders made it to the final stage of the tour's qualifying school, but finished tied for 109th and did not earn a PGA Tour card. Saunders finished 50th on the

2012 Web.com Tour The 2012 Web.com Tour was the 23rd Web.com Tour season. It ran from February 16 to October 28. The season consisted of 27 official money golf tournaments; four of which are played outside of the United States. The top 25 players on the year-end mo ...

season in his first full professional season. Saunders played on the Web.com Tour in

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after earning his tour card through qualifying school. He finished 13th in the

Web.com Tour Finals The Korn Ferry Tour Finals is a series of three golf tournaments that serve as a means of earning PGA Tour membership for the following season ("Tour cards"). The series, which until 2019 consisted of four tournaments, replaced the PGA Tour Qualif ...

to earn his PGA Tour card for the

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season. On September 29, 2017, he shot 59 in the first round of the

Web.com Tour Championship The Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance is the year-end golf tournament of the Korn Ferry Tour. It has been played at a variety of courses; starting in 2019 it will be played at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh ...

, including a 6 birdie finish. In the 2017–18 PGA Tour season, Saunders earned $981,936 and placed 120th in the FedEx Cup standings. In the 2018–19 PGA Tour season, Saunders earned $413,887 and placed 173rd in the FedEx Cup standings. In August 2019, Saunders suffered a compound fracture of the clavicle that was incurred in a motorized skateboard accident. Saunders stated he expected to be out for 4–6 months.

Personal life

Saunders and his wife Kelly were married in 2012 and reside in Atlantic Beach, Florida, with their sons, Cohen and Ace

Playoff record

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1) Korn Ferry Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Sam American male golfers Clemson Tigers men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Orlando, Florida Golfers from Colorado People from St. Augustine, Florida Sportspeople from Fort Collins, Colorado Trinity Preparatory School alumni 1987 births Living people