Jerry Kelly

All-city hockey selection in high school. He went to the University of Hartford on a hockey scholarship but found a golf career not long after when the college discontinued hockey. He has played on the PGA Tour since 1996, only falling out of the top 105 of the money list once in 2013. Best year was 2002, when he ranked sixth with two victories. His only other PGA Tour victory came in 2009. His brother-in-law, Jim Schuman, also has qualified for the 2019 U.S. Senior Open.
Member of the 2003 Presidents Cup team.
1993 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 28; in money - 15; Top-10 finishes - 3; money $61,074 (ranked 25th); best finish, T-2, Nike Greater Cleveland Open.
1994 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 26; in money - 19; Top-10 finishes - 8; money $60,928 (ranked 26th); best finish, 5th, Nike Huntsville Open and T-5 Nike Utah Classic.
1995 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 28; in money - 22; Top-10 finishes - 15; money $188,878 (ranked 1st); Winner, Alabama Classic and Buffalo Open. Set the Korn Ferry Tour record for single-season earnings of $188,878 in 1995.
2011 Notes: Finished 61st on the money list and inside the top-125 on the money list all 16 seasons on the PGA Tour. Best finish 3rd The Honda Classic.
2012 Notes: Made 26 PGA Tour starts, with a top showing in his last event of the season with a T-9th at the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic. With that finish was 126th on the money list and 122nd in the FedEx Cup.
2013 Notes: Made it to the FedExCup Playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, thanks to five top-25 finishes in 15 made cuts. Among them were two top-5 finishes, 5th at RBC Heritage and T-4th at John Deere Classic.
2014 Notes: Made 17 of 23 cuts, with four top-10s, including two third-place finishes at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the John Deere Classic. Has advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs for all eight years of their existence. He finished 62nd in the final FedExCup standings, his best effort since the 2011 season.
2015 Notes: Played 24 events and had four top-tens, 5th at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, T-6th at the Sony Open in Hawaii, T-10th at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, and T-9th at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He finished 72nd in the FedExCup race and 79th on the money list.
2016 Notes: He played in 23 events, and in his 20th start at the Travelers Championship, he finished runner-up. He made it to the FedExCup Playoffs for the 10th consecutive season, making him one of 16 players to qualify for all ten seasons of the FedExCup Playoffs. He finished 72nd in the FedExCup rankings and 79th on the money list. He ended the year finishing 2nd with teammate Steve Stricker at the Franklin Templeton Shootout.
2017 Notes: Selected as PGA Tour Champions Rookie of the Year. He had an impressive showing in his first season on Tour, winning twice, posting 10 top-10 finishes in 20 starts, and setting a new record with 16 consecutive rounds in the 60s, breaking Hale Irwin's 18-year mark. He won $1,461,077, which placed him 6th on the money list. He started the year playing on the PGA Tour, and his best finish was T-14th with partner Steve Stricker at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In his first Champions Tour event was T-3rd at the Chubb Classic. He had three top-tens in a row, starting with a T-8th at the Bass Pro Shops Urgent, T-8th at the Senior PGA Championship, and T-10th at the Principal Charity Classic. He won at the Boeing Classic, holding off Jerry Smith for the one-shot victory. Next started finished T-6th at the Shaw Charity Classic, then won again at the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship, beating Lee Janzen by a shot. Next week was 2nd at the Pure Insurance Championship, finishing 3 back of winner Bernhard Langer. He was 6th at the SAS Championship, had a back issue, and had to withdraw from the Dominion Energy Charity Classic in the second round. He finished the year T-8th at the PowerShares QQQ and T-22nd at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2018 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events with 11 top-ten finishes. Won for the third time in six starts at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, beating Colin Montgomerie by a shot. Kelly shot a final-round 65 to improve 21 spots and finish T-2nd at the Cologuard Classic. Playing at home in Madison, Wisconsin, Kelly shot a final round 65 in the American Family Insurance Championship to finish 2nd, a shot back of winner Scott McCarron. He was teamed up with Steve Stricker to finish T-5th at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf. In the final round, Kelly went eagle-birdie-birdie-birdie on Nos. 9-12 en route to a final-round 65 and T-3rd finish at the Senior PGA Championship. Kelly finished T-6th at 10-under par at the weather-shortened Principal Charity Classic, his 5th top-10 in his last six starts. He was 2nd in the American Family Insurance, 1 shot back of winner Scott McCarron. He had his second runner-up in a row at the U.S. Senior Open, 1 shot back of winner David Toms. His next start was T-4th at the Constellations Senior Players, shot 67-64 over the weekend to finish 3 back of winner Vijay Singh. He was 3rd at the SAS Championship. He led the Charles Schwab Cup for 9 weeks, the most of any player in 2018. Advanced to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship at 6th in the standings and finished 6th in the final standings.
2019 Notes: Played in 23 PGA Tour Champions events with 14 top-ten. He was 2nd on the Schwab rankings. Began his year with a T-3rd at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, 3 shots back of winner Tom Lehman. He was T-2nd at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, 2 shots back of winner Scott McCarron. Was T-7th at the Insperity Invitational. At the Senior PGA Championship shot a final round 69 to finish 5th. At the Principal Charity Classic, he shot 66 to finish 3rd, a shot back of the Sutherland/Parel playoff. Shot a final-round 66 and beat Retief Goosen and Steve Stricker in a playoff to win the American Family Insurance Championship. He was 2nd at the U.S. Senior Open Championship, six shots back of winner Steve Stricker. He was T-3rd at the Boeing Classic, six shots back of winner Brandt Jobe. Won the Ally Challenge by two shots over Woody Austin and won the SAS Championship by a shot over David McKenzie. In the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship, was T-10th.
2020/2021 Notes: Played in 36 PGA Tour Champions events with 15 top-ten. He was 5th on the Schwab rankings. He was T-7th at the Ally Challenge, four shots back of winner Jim Furyk. He won at the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship by two shots over Scott Parel. He was T-6th at the Sanford International, four shots back of winner Miguel Angel Jimenez. At the Pure Insurance Championship, he lost a playoff to Jim Furyk, who made a birdie on the first extra hole. He was 3rd at the 2021 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, four shots back of winner Darren Clarke. He was T-6th at the 2021 Cologuard Classic. He was T-5th at the 2021 Insperity Invitational, four shots back of winner Mike Weir. Was T-4th at the Regions Tradition and T-8th at the 2021 Mitsubishi Electric Classic. After opening with 75, he carded scores of 66-69-70 to finish T-8th at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, 8 shots back of winner Alex Cejka. The Madison, Wisconsin, native captured his eighth win on the PGA Tour Champions after defending his title at the 2021 American Family Insurance Championship. He finished 14-under 202 for a one-shot victory over Fred Couples and Miguel Angel Jimenez. At the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship, Kelly bogeyed the last three holes and finished 2nd, six shots back of winner Steve Stricker. He had rounds of 71-72-69-69 to finish T-8th at the 2021 U.S. Senior Open. He marked his 13th top-10 finish in his first 26 starts of the season. He finished 6th at the 2021 Senior Open Championship for his 4th consecutive top-10 finish of the season. Was the only player on PGA Tour Champions to earn top-10 finishes in all six majors of the 2020-21 wrap-around season. He was 5th at the Ascension Charity Classic, two shots back of the David Toms/Dicky Pride playoff. Ended his season with a T-24th finish at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2022 Notes: Played in 26 PGA Tour Champions events with 12 top-ten finishes. Was 3rd in the Schwab rankings and 4th on the money list with earnings of $2,364,329. One three times at the Shaw Charity Classic (beating John Huston in a playoff), Senior Players Championship, and Principle Charity Classic ((beating Kirk Triplett in a playoff). Was 3rd, three times at the American Family Insurance, SAS Championship, and Dominion Energy Charity. In the season-ending was T-17th Charles Schwab Cup Championship was T-17th. He earned over two million for the third straight season on the PGA Tour Champions. Between 2018 and 2022, has earned $9,257,600.
2023 Notes: He played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events with 11 top-ten finishes. Was 8th in the Schwab rankings and 8th on the money list with earnings of $ 1,665,367. Finished 4th, three times at the Chubb Classic, Invited Celebrity Classic, and Regions Tradition. The Principal Charity Classic defending champion earned his fourth top-5 of the season with a T2 finish in 2023. Posted 66-69-65 to finish one shot behind champion Stephen Ames. Finished 3rd at the U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld in his home state of Wisconsin. Shot 71-70-68-71 to finish three shots behind champion Bernhard Langer. He was his fifth top-4 in his first 11 starts of the 2023 season on the PGA Tour Champions. At The Senior Open at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club (Porthcawl, Wales), he entered the final round two shots behind solo 54-hole leader Alex Cejka, but a 79 (+8) on Sunday saw him finish T-7th. The Shaw Charity Classic defending champion closed with a 5-under 65 to finish T-9th. Bookended an even-par 72 in round two with first- and final-round 4-under 68s to finish T-7th. Finished T-4th, three shots back of winner Brett Quigley at the Constellation Furyk & Friends for his sixth top-5 of the 2023 season. He opened with 67-68 before closing with 73. At 8-under 208, he finished T-7th in his sixth career Dominion Energy Charity Classic start. In the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship finished T-8th.
2024 Notes: Played in 20 PGA Tour Champions events with six top-ten finishes. Was 10th on the Schwab money list with earnings of $1,425,587. The 2018 champion of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai closed with 66 to finish T-8th. He finished T-10th at the Chubb Classic after shooting 70-68 in the weather-shortened 36-hole event. He finished T-2nd, two shots back of winner Joe Durant, for his second runner-up finish at the Cologuard Classic (2018). He was T-5th at the Hoag Classic, six shots back of winner Retief Goosen. Finished T-6th at Invited Celebrity Classic after closing with an even-par 71 in the weathered-shortened 36-hole event, five shots back of winner Paul Broadhurst. The two-time winner of the Kaulig Companies Championship (2020, 2022) finished 3rd with rounds of 66-67-69. Was T-7th at the Sanford International. Won the SAS Championship by a shot over Shane Bertsch.
2025 Notes: Won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic by a shot over Ernie Els. It was his 13th Champions Tour win, and he has won every year (except for 2023) since joining the tour in 2017. Finished 2nd at the Regions Tradition, one shot back of the winner Angel Cabrera who shot a final round 64.