Troy Brian Merritt (born October 25, 1985) 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 ...

and 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 ...

. He is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, with his most recent win coming at the 2018

Barbasol Championship The ISCO Championship is a professional golf tournament in Kentucky on the PGA Tour; it debuted in 2015 as the Barbasol Championship, an alternate event to the Genesis Scottish Open in July. The first three editions of the tournament were played ...

Early life

Merritt was born in

Osage, Iowa Osage is a city and the county seat of Mitchell County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,627 at the time of the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. Climate ...

, but moved to Minnesota and played high school golf at Spring Lake Park. He played college golf at

Winona State University Winona State University is a public university in Winona, Minnesota, United States. It was founded as First State Normal School of Minnesota in 1858 and is the oldest member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. It was the fi ...

until after his sophomore year, when he transferred to

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

.Boise State profile
He was first team All-WAC for Boise State and tied the school-record for a low round score when he posted a 62 (-9) in the second round of the District VII Shootout.

Professional career

Merritt turned professional in 2008. Merritt's first win on the

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. ...

came on September 6, 2009 when he won a $117,000 purse at the Mexico Open, beating Australia's Adam Bland with a 20-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff. On December 7, 2009, Merritt became only the third golfer to medal at the

PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament The annual PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, also known as Qualifying School or Q-School, was historically the main method by which golfers earned PGA Tour playing privileges, commonly known as a Tour card. From 2013 to 2022, Q-School granted privil ...

by leading after every round. Despite a double-bogey on the final (108th) hole of the six round tournament he won by one stroke over veteran

Jeff Maggert Jeffrey Allan Maggert (born February 20, 1964) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Early life and amateur career Maggert was born in Columbia, Missouri. He was raised on a golf course in The Woodlands, Texa ...

with a score of 22-under-par. In 2010, Merritt finished 125th on the PGA Tour, earning the final spot to retain a tour card. On April 17, 2015, Merritt tied the course record at the

Heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

on Hilton Head Island with a 10-under-par 61, matching

David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was an English television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ...

's tournament mark set in 1994. Merritt shot his 61 after

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 ...

, the 2015 Masters champion, recovered from an opening-round 74 to shoot 62. Merritt finished the tournament behind Jim Furyk and Kevin Kisner, and earned $401,200 for finishing alone in third. Merritt recorded his first

win at the 2015

Quicken Loans National The National, originally titled for sponsorship reasons as the AT&T National and later as the Quicken Loans National, was a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour from 2007 to 2018. It was hosted by Tiger Woods and benefited the Tiger Woods ...

. He set a course record at

Robert Trent Jones Golf Club Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (RTJ) is a private golf club located in Gainesville, Virginia, a suburb southwest of Washington D.C. Opened for play in 1991, the par 72 course plays between . Founding and premises RTJ was founded by the legendar ...

with a 61 in the third round and held off all challengers to win by three shots at 18-under 266. Merritt won his second PGA Tour event at the 2018

. He started with a 62 and a final round 67 gave him a one-stroke victory. The tournament was not completed until the Monday after bad weather during the tournament. Eleven days after his win Merritt underwent emergency surgery to remove a blood clot that stretched from his chest into his bicep. In July 2021, Merritt shot 18-under par for 72 holes to tie with Cameron Davis and

Joaquín Niemann Joaquín Niemann Zenteno (born 7 November 1998) is a Chilean professional golfer who plays on the LIV Golf League. He won twice on the PGA Tour, before joining LIV Golf in 2022. Prior to turning professional, he held the number one position in t ...

for the lead at the

Rocket Mortgage Classic The Rocket Classic is a professional golf tournament in Michigan on the PGA Tour at Detroit Golf Club. It debuted in 2019, replacing the Quicken Loans National on the PGA Tour schedule, and is the first PGA Tour event to be held completely within ...

. Niemann was eliminated with a bogey on the first playoff hole. Merritt ultimately bogeyed the fifth playoff hole and Davis won with a par.

Personal life

Merritt currently resides in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

with his wife, Courtney Achter, and two sons.

Professional wins (3)

PGA Tour wins (2)

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

Nationwide Tour wins (1)

Nationwide Tour playoff record (1–0)

Results in major championships

''Results not in chronological order in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the

Results in World Golf Championships

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, Troy American male golfers Boise State Broncos men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates Golfers from Iowa Golfers from Minnesota Winona State University alumni People from Osage, Iowa Sportspeople from Boise, Idaho 1985 births Living people