Carter Smylie Kaufman (born November 30, 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 ...

and sports commentator who 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 ...

Early life and career

Kaufman was born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. He attended

Vestavia Hills High School Vestavia Hills High School (VHHS), founded in 1970, is a public high school in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Vestavia Hills City Schools. A number of teachers in the school are Nation ...

. His middle name is a tribute to his grandmother's cousin, Smylie Gebhart, who was an All-American defensive end for

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

in 1971. His grandfather, Alan Kaufman, was head coach of the men's golf team at the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

. Kaufman played college golf at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. He turned professional after graduating in 2014; in December 2014 he tied for 67th place at the Web.com Tour Qualifying School final stage.

Professional career

Kaufman played 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 ...

in 2015. After missing the cut in his first three tournaments, he finished T-4 in the next two and won the third, the

United Leasing Championship The United Leasing & Finance Championship was a golf tournament on the Web.com Tour. It was organized and run by the Evansville Sports Corporation and played at the Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Indiana. It was first held in 2012 from Ju ...

to claim his first professional title. He finished the year sixth on the money list to earn his card for the 2016 PGA Tour season. On October 25, 2015, Kaufman earned his first victory on the PGA Tour by winning the

Shriners Hospitals for Children Open The Shriners Children's Open is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Nevada. Founded in 1983, it is the fourth event of the Tour's 2019–20 wrap-around season and is played annually in October in Las Vegas. It is currently held at the TPC Su ...

by a single stroke over six players. In the final round, he came from seven strokes back after a round of 61, that included eight birdies and an eagle, to claim his maiden victory. This earned him a place into the

2016 Masters Tournament The 2016 Masters Tournament was the 80th edition of the Masters Tournament, held April 7–10 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Danny Willett won his first Men's major golf championships, major championship, three strokes ahead ...

and 2016 PGA Championship. At the

, Kaufman shot a 69 during the third round, which was the best of the day in tough scoring conditions. As a result, he played in the last group during the final round, alongside defending champion

Jordan Spieth Jordan Alexander Spieth (; born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion. Spieth's first m ...

. He endured a tough final round and shot a nine-over-par 81 for a T29 placing.

Amateur wins

*2011 Alabama Amateur

Professional wins (2)

PGA Tour wins (1)

Web.com Tour wins (1)

Results in major championships

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

Results in World Golf Championships

"T" = Tied

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaufman, Smylie American male golfers LSU Tigers golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Birmingham, Alabama 1991 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen