Derek Ernst

Ernst was born in Woodland, Calif., and attended Clovis East High School. He played college golf at UNLV, where he was a four-time All-American and was twice named Mountain West Conference Player of the Year.
While attempting to make his mother a gift when he was in the second grade, he sliced his right eye with a shard of PVC pipe. The injury required 10 stitches to fix. As the eye healed, scar tissue developed, causing cloudy vision and poor depth perception.
He was runner-up at the 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links championship, losing the final on the 37th hole to Clemson's Corbin Mills. Ernst represented the U.S. at the 2012 Palmer Cup, and he turned pro following the 2012 U.S. Amateur.
Ernst made his professional debut at the 2012 Frys.com Open, where he finished T-41st. Started his professional career on the PGA Tour with a bang, opening with a 6-under-par 65, and was T-2nd after the first round. He earned a 2013 PGA Tour card through qualifying school, surviving all four stages and finishing T-17th.
2013 Notes: In his first event with his PGA Tour card, Ernst finished T-59th at the Sony Open, but he missed his next five cuts before finishing T-47th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. After that, he was planning on playing the Web.Com Tour's Stadion Classic, but he received a last-minute call to play in the Wells Fargo Championship. He was 1,207th in the world rankings at the start of the week, and 196th in the FedExCup standings. It was worth the drive from Georgia to North Carolina, as he birdied the 72nd hole to join David Lynn in a playoff. He won with a par on the first extra hole. With the title, he climbed to 32nd in the FedExCup standings and skyrocketed to 123rd in the world rankings. He also became the first alternate to win a PGA Tour event since Wes Short Jr.'s victory at the 2005 Michelin Championship at Las Vegas. Finished the year 93rd in the FedExCup race and 665th on the money list.