Davis Riley

Riley started playing golf at age 5 when his father introduced him to the game. Riley is the son of David and Kim Riley and has one sister, Caroline. They have strong SEC ties - David graduated from Ole Miss, Kim graduated from Alabama, Caroline attends Alabama, and Davis will start at Alabama in the fall of 2015. He signed his national letter of intent with the Crimson Tide on Nov. 17, 2014. Riley played baseball for several years growing up but decided to focus on golf. His hobbies include fishing and hunting. He attended Presbyterian Christian High School in Hattiesburg, Miss. Riley has played in five USGA championships. He is a two-time U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up. In 2013, he fell to Scottie Scheffler in the finals, 3 and 2, at Martis Camp Club. In 2014, he lost to William Zalatoris, 5 and 3, in the finals at The Club at Carlton Woods. Riley was a member of the 2014 USA Junior Ryder Cup Team. Riley is a five-time MAIS 3A state champion. He won the 2014 Terra Cotta Amateur and finished runner-up in 2015. He finished T-5th at the 2015 Jones Cup Invitational.
Riley qualified for the 2015 U.S. Open as an amateur but missed the 36-hole cut at Chambers Bay. Riley is a two-time U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up, losing to Scottie Scheffler in 2013 at Martis Camp in Truckee, Calif., and Will Zalatoris in 2014 at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. He also was a standout at the University of Alabama, where he was a three-time All-American and represented the USA in the Palmer Cup. In the 2018 NCAA National Championship, Riley helped guide the Crimson Tide as they reached the final match and came up short against Oklahoma State. At the end of the year, Riley decided to skip his senior spring season to turn professional.
2019 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 18; Rounds Played - 61; In Money - 13; Top-10 Finishes - 1; Scoring Average - 69.95 (Rank 18th); Regular Season Money - $83,152 (Rank 76th); Priority Rank - 76th; Best Finish - T-3rd, T-7th in the Rex Hospital Open. He began the season without status but successfully Monday qualified into four events (Country Club de Bogota Championship, LECOM Suncoast Classic, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship, REX Hospital Open), top-25'd into two others (The Panama Championship, BMW Charity Pro-Am), and received a sponsor exemption (Evans Scholars Invitational) en route to Special Temporary Membership, which he secured with a T-15th at the BMW Charity Pro-Am.
2020/21 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments Entered - 36; Rounds Played - 125; In Money - 27; Top-10 Finishes - 7; Scoring Average - 69.40 (Rank t-15th); Regular Season Money - $448,235 (Rank 8th); Priority Rank - 17th. He played again on the Korn Ferry Tour and, in his first start of the season in 2020, was 8th at the Bahamas Great Exuma. Two weeks later won Panama Championship by a shot over Roberto Diaz. After the break was T-6th at the King & Bear Classic, five shots back of winner Chris Kirk. He earned his second Korn Ferry Tour title at TPC San Antonio Championship at the Oaks, beating Paul Barjon and Taylor Pendrith by two shots. He finished T-9th at the Price Cutter Charity.
After that finished 2nd on the Korn Ferry Tour points list to earn his second start at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, he missed the cut. In 2021 he was 5th at the Huntsville Championship, two shots back of the Barjon/Pereira/Kennerly playoff. He was also T-6th at the AdventHealth Championship, shooting 66 in the final round. He earned his first PGA Tour card as he finished the 2020-21 combined season at No. 9 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List (after he finished the regular season at No. 7). He also played in seven PGA Tour events, with a best finish at T-39th at the Puerto Rico Open.
2022 Notes: Played in 29 PGA Tour events making 10 cuts with six top-ten finishes. It was 36th in the FedExCup rankings. He was T-7th at the Bermuda Championship, four shots back of winner Lucas Herbert. He held a two-shot lead entering the final round of the Valspar Championship before shooting 72 and lost to Sam Burns in a playoff, earning the first runner-up and second top-10 of his PGA Tour career. He finished T-4th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Will Zalatoris, his second top-five in a four-start stretch. He was 5th at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, two shots back of winner Jon Rahm. Riley continued his top-ten finishes to three in a row and 4 out of five starts finishing T-9th at the AT&T Byron Nelson. He finished T-4th at the Charles Schwab Challenge, two shots back of the Sam Burns/Scottie Scheffler playoff, his fourth top-five finish of the season. In the FedExCup playoffs was T-31st at the FedEx St. Jude Championship and T-54th at the BMW Championship.
2023 Notes: Was T-8th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Nick Hardy, with both players earning their first PGA Tour title. At 30-under 258, they became the first duo since the team format started in 2017 to finish with a 72-hole total of 30-under or better.