Will MacKenzie
| Will MacKenzie | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | William Ruggles MacKenzie |
| Born | September 28, 1974 Greenville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  United States |
| Residence | Jupiter, Florida, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Alli Spencer
(m. 2007; div. 2014) |
| Children | 2 |
| Career | |
| College | Lees-McRae College |
| Turned professional | 2000 |
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Former tour(s) | Web.com Tour Canadian Tour NGA Hooters Tour Golden Bear Tour |
| Professional wins | 6 |
| Highest ranking | 84 (March 30, 2014)[1] |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 2 |
| Other | 4 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T57: 2007 |
| U.S. Open | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP |
William Ruggles MacKenzie (born September 28, 1974) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour.
Early life
[edit]MacKenzie was born and raised in Greenville, North Carolina.
After a semester at Lees-McRae College, Will took the money he earned washing dishes and selling grilled-cheese sandwiches at Grateful Dead concerts and moved out west. After a while working for Taco Bell in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, he spent the next five winters snowboarding while living out of a van in Big Sky, Montana.[2][3] At one point, he spent 30 days living in a snow cave near Valdez, Alaska without showering, and snowboarding the Chugach Mountains, before ending up with frostbite.[3]
During the warmer months, he climbed rocks, and became a class V kayaker before working as a rafting guide in Montana and its Gallatin River, West Virginia and its Gauley River, and rivers around North Carolina. He returned to Greenville, North Carolina in 1999, making enough money selling Christmas trees to embark on a three-month surfing trip to Costa Rica. Unfortunately, when he returned home and tried to make a living selling hammocks, he ended up in huge debt.
Professional career
[edit]MacKenzie observed his boyhood idol, Payne Stewart, winning the 1999 U.S. Open which rekindled his love affair with the game of golf.[2] MacKenzie decided to play professionally and turned pro in 2000.[2]
MacKenzie played on several mini-tours shortly after turning pro. He played on the Golden Bear Tour in 2003 and finished ninth on the money list. The next year (2004), he played the Hooters Tour and finished third on the money list with three wins. He also played on the Nationwide and Canadian Tours.
2005 was his rookie season on the PGA Tour. His first win came in 2006 at the Reno-Tahoe Open in his 47th career start on the PGA Tour. He won the 2008 Viking Classic in a three-way playoff on the second hole over Marc Turnesa and Brian Gay.
In 2013, MacKenzie played the entire season on the Web.com Tour, finished 40th on the money list, and regained his PGA Tour privileges through the Web.com Tour Finals. In the 2014 PGA Tour, he finished second at the Valero Texas Open and fourth at the Valspar Championship.
Personal life
[edit]MacKenzie currently resides in Jupiter, Florida.[4]
Professional wins (6)
[edit]PGA Tour wins (2)
[edit]| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 27, 2006 | Reno–Tahoe Open | −20 (63-67-67-71=268) | 1 stroke |  Bob Estes
|
| 2 | Sep 21, 2008 | Viking Classic | −19 (70-64-67-68=269) | Playoff | Brian Gay, Marc Turnesa
|
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2008 | Viking Classic | Brian Gay, Marc Turnesa
|
Won with birdie on second extra hole Gay eliminated by birdie on first hole |
| 2 | 2014 | McGladrey Classic |  Brendon de Jonge, Robert Streb
|
Streb won with birdie on second extra hole MacKenzie eliminated by par on first hole |
NGA Hooters Tour wins (3)
[edit]| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 13, 2004 | Touchstone Energy Open | −12 (73-65-72-66=276) | 1 stroke | Mike Austin, Chad Collins
|
| 2 | Aug 15, 2004 | Buffalo Run Casino Classic | −21 (69-68-65-65=267) | 3 strokes | Tee McCabe
|
| 3 | Sep 12, 2004 | Dothan Classic | −13 (71-72-70-62=275) | 3 strokes | Nick Gilliam
|
Golden Bear Tour wins (1)
[edit]| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 24, 2003 | Canon USA Classic | −16 (65-68-67=200) | Playoff | Ken Macdonald
|
Playoff record
[edit]Web.com Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2013 | Chiquita Classic | Andrew Svoboda
|
Lost to par on first extra hole |
Results in major championships
[edit]| Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||||||
| U.S. Open | ||||||||
| The Open Championship | ||||||||
| PGA Championship | T57 | CUT | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
See also
[edit]- 2004 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 2005 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates
- 2013 Web.com Tour Finals graduates
- 2016 Web.com Tour Finals graduates
References
[edit]- ^ "Week 13 2014 Ending 30 Mar 2014" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
- ^ a b c "MacKenzie gets first PGA win at Reno". The Sporting News. Associated Press. August 27, 2006. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007.
- ^ a b Sobel, Jason (January 6, 2007). "Who is Will MacKenzie?". ESPN.
- ^ "Laid-back Willy Mac is 'stoked' to be playing well again at 39". Golf.com. June 27, 2019. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
External links
[edit]- Will MacKenzie at the PGA Tour official site
- Will MacKenzie at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Outside Magazine profile
