Woody Austin


Albert Woody Austin II is an American professional golfer who played the majority of his career on the PGA Tour, but now plays on the PGA Tour Champions.
Austin was born in Tampa, Florida. He attended the University of Miami, where he was a member of the golf team coached by Norman C. Parsons Jr. He graduated in 1986 with a degree in Business Administration and turned professional later that year.
Austin won PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors in 1995. He has won four times on tour: the 1995 Buick Open, the 2004 Buick Championship, the 2007 Stanford St. Jude Championship shooting a final round 62, and the 2013 Sanderson Farms Championship.
During the 1997 Verizon Heritage, Austin intentionally struck his head with his putter five times. He hit his head so hard that the shaft bent.
After the second round of the 2007 PGA Championship, Austin joked that he was named after actor Woody Harrelson. He went on to finish 2nd behind Tiger Woods, his best major finish. This achievement moved Austin into the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings. Austin's career high ranking was 29th in 2008. During the 2007 Presidents Cup, Austin fell into a pond while attempting to hit a shot with one foot in the water. This incident led to Woody's nickname "Aquaman". During his singles match against 2007 U.S. Open Champion Ángel Cabrera, he wore a pair of swimming goggles.
After struggling for years with limited PGA Tour status as a past champion, Austin won the 2013 Sanderson Farms Championship, his first PGA Tour win in six years. In that season's PGA Championship, Austin was given a four-stroke penalty for having fifteen clubs in his bag; he would miss the cut by one stroke. Although Austin didn't do well enough to earn entry into the FedEx Cup, his win earned him a tour card through 2015. Despite his exemption, Austin decided to focus on the PGA Tour Champions.
In March 2016, Austin won his maiden title on the PGA Tour Champions with a one stroke victory at the Tucson Conquistadores Classic; he followed that victory up with two additional PGA Tour Champions wins in 2016. On October 21, 2018, Austin won the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. Austin closed with a three-under-par 69 on a cool day to record his fourth senior victory, but first since 2016. The tournament was held at the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
Austin was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame at its 40th Annual Banquet held February 13, 2008 at Miami's Jungle Island. He resides in Derby, Kansas.

Professional wins (10)

PGA Tour wins (4)

PGA Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
11995Buick Open Mike BriskyWon with par on second extra hole
22003MCI Heritage Davis Love IIILost to birdie on fourth extra hole
32004Buick Championship Tim HerronWon with birdie on first extra hole
42013Sanderson Farms Championship Cameron Beckman, Daniel SummerhaysWon with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (2)

PGA Tour Champions playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
12016Mitsubishi Electric Classic Wes Short Jr.Won with par on second extra hole
22016Boeing Classic Bernhard Langer, Kevin SutherlandLanger won with birdie on first extra hole
32019Hoag Classic Kirk TriplettLost to eagle on second extra hole

Other senior wins (1)

Nike Tour playoff record
No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
11998Nike Permian Basin Open Jeff Barlow, Stiles MitchellMitchell won with par on first extra hole

Results in major championships

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

Summary

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

Results in World Golf Championships

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play

"T" = tied

U.S. national team appearances