Jhonattan Vegas

One of four sons to Carlos and Maritza Vegas, Jhonattan grew up in Venezuela learning the game by hitting rocks and plastic balls with sticks, and later by playing on a nine-hole course for oil-company employees. He left his home at age 17 to live in Houston not knowing any English. Attended the University of Texas, where he earned a degree in kinesiology, then moved on to the Nationwide Tour and eventually the PGA Tour. His coach, Franci Betancourt, was a three-time World Cup participant for Venezuela in 1966, '68 and '75. His brother Julio also played for the University of Texas. Was a good third baseman as a junior baseball player. Jhonattan won the Venezuela National Amateur in 2006. Advanced to the semifinals of the 2007 U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, winning four matches before falling (4 & 3) to eventual champion Colt Knost. Turned professional in October 2008, and was the low Monday qualifier for the Valero Texas Open, where he posted four rounds in the 60s and finished T-36th, his first made PGA Tour cut. Qualified for the 2003 Shell Houston Open, but missed the cut.
2009 Web.com Summary: Tournaments Entered - 18; In Money - 10; Top-10 Finishes - 2; Stroke Average - 70.32 (Rank 29th); Money - $95,584 (Rank 63rd); Best Finish - T-4th, Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open.
2010 Web.com Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 23; In Money - 15; Top-10 Finishes - 5; Stroke Average - 69.53 (Rank 11th); Money - $336,334 (Rank 7th); Best Finish - 1st, Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open. Late in the year on the Tour de las Americas, he cruised to a six-stroke victory over Andres Romero at the Argentina Open.
2011 Notes: The first player from Venezuela to become a member of the PGA Tour, he had a great rookie season. In 25 starts, made 18 cuts, was in the top-10 three times and won the Bob Hope Classic, defeating Gary Woodland at the second playoff hole. One week later, finished T-3rd at the Farmers Insurance Open with four rounds in the 60s (69-69-69-68). With the opportunity to tie Bubba Watson and grab a share of the lead at the 72nd hole, he hit his second shot on the par 5 into the greenside water hazard and made bogey to fall out of contention. Did not crack the top-10 until 22 starts later. In his bid to win in the city that shares his last name, finished T-5th (his third top-10 of the season) at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. Shared the lead after each of the first two rounds with scores of 67-63, and with weekend rounds of 69-68, leaving him six strokes behind champion Kevin Na. Finished 54th in the FedExCup standings and 46th on the money list.
2012 Notes: Played in 25 events and made the cut 13 times. Was in the top-10 twice: T-7th at The Players Championship and T-4th at the AT&T National. Was knocked out of the FedExCup race when he missed the cut at the Wyndham Championship. Entered the event 120th, but slipped six spots, finishing 126th for the year.
2013 Notes: Missed the cut in all three of his PGA Tour starts before missing the remainder of the season with a left shoulder injury. Had surgery in South Carolina in March and missed the next six months. Returned to action at the Hotel Fitness Championship, the first event of the Web.com Tour Finals. Finished T-43rd in Indiana. Missed the cut at both the Chiquita Classic and the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational in the next two weeks.
2014 Notes: Returning to the PGA Tour after his shoulder surgery, Vegas played 23 events and made 16 cuts. Finished in the top-10 twice. His T-3rd at the John Deere Classic extended his medical extension to the end of the year. Finished T-8th at the Wyndham Championship to secure a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs. Entered the Greensboro tournament at 121st in the standings, finally finishing 115th on the list and 122 on the money list.
2015 Notes: Played in 27 events, making 18 cuts. Had just one top-25 finish, T-112th at the Farmers Insurance Open. Finished 153rd on the FedExCup points list. In the Web.com Tour Finals, recorded finishes of T-37th, T-12th, and T-39nd, which placed him on the Finals bubble spot of 25th entering the finale at TPC Sawgrass. A pair of 71s resulted in him missing the cut by two shots at the Web.com Tour Championship. Dropped nine spots to No. 34 on the Finals money list.
2016 Notes: Opened the year with a T-10th at the Frys.Com Open. He finished T-4th at the Sanderson Farms Championship and T-5th at the Zurich Classic Championship. With rounds of 65-60, held a six-shot lead at the Barbasol Championship, but faded with rounds of 72-72 over the weekend. His good play carried over to the RBC Canadian Open, where he shot 64 in the final round, birdieing his final three holes for a one-shot win over Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, and Martin Laird. The victory got him the final berth for the PGA Championship, where he finished T-22nd. For the year, he played in 27 events with five top-10s, and was ranked 29th in the FedExCup standings, 36th on the money list. Represented Venezuela at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, finishing T-50th in the 60-player field.
2017 Notes: Finished T-10th at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, and 9th at the Emirates Australian Open. At the Honda Classic, had a final-round 64 that resulted in a T-4th finish. His closing round included a hole-in-one on the 15th hole, his second career ace. He won a Honda CRV for the feat. After missing cuts in five straight events, including the U.S. Open and the British Open, he won the RBC Canadian Open, defeating Charley Hoffman in a playoff. He advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs for the fourth time, where he competed in all four events. In his first playoff event, the Northern Open finished T-3rd. Ended his season ranked a career-best 23rd in the FedExCup standings. Became the first player from Venezuela to compete in the Presidents Cup. After qualifying to represent the International team in his first Presidents Cup, Vegas posted a 1-4-0 record while playing in all five matches at Liberty National.
2018 Notes: Played in 27 PGA Tour events making 20 cuts with two, top-10 finishes. He finished 95th in the FedExCup standings. Best finishes, T-7th at the Sentry TofC, T-11th at the CareerBuilder Challenge.
2019 Notes: Was T-10th in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. After an opening-round 72 at the Players Championship, closed with three rounds in the 60s, highlighted by a 6-under 66 in the final round, one of two bogey-free final rounds (J.T. Poston) to finish T-3rd. Made the longest putt in the history of the Players Championship, a 69-foot, 7-inch gem on the 17th hole in the final round. Was T-8th at the Wells Fargo Championship.