Branden Grace

Grace comes from a golf family and is related to South African professionals Michiel Bothma and Darren Fichardt. Although he was born in Pretoria, South Africa, his amateur career blossomed at the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation. He enjoyed a sparkling amateur career, winning, among other titles, the 2006 South African Amateur Stroke Play Championship. That victory secured an invitation to the 2007 South African Airways Open, where he won the silver medal (low amateur) after finishing T40. Subsequently, he turned professional and joined the European Challenge Tour. He came close to securing his first title as a professional at the 2008 Ypsilon Golf Challenge by Alex Cejka, where he was defeated in a playoff by Seve Benson.
Between 2008 and 2012, he played mostly on the Sunshine Tour and led its Order of Merit in 2012.
In 2008, Grace played on the Challenge Tour and Sunshine Tour. He finished 35th on the Challenge Tour's Order of Merit and earned his European Tour card for 2009 through Qualifying School. Despite struggling on the tour that year, he was able to earn a T-2nd finish at the Africa Open on the Sunshine Tour. He also finished in the top-10 in seven of the nine Sunshine Tour events he played, en route to an 11th-place finish on the Order of Merit. He first won as a professional in 2010 at the Coca-Cola Charity Championship on the Sunshine Tour. He consolidated in 2011, finishing 7th on the Sunshine Tour's Order of Merit, deciding to return to Qualifying School to earn his European Tour card for 2012. He was a member of the 2013 & '13 Presidents Cup team.
2012 Notes: After earning his card at the 2011 Qualifying School Final Stage, Grace enjoyed a career season, winning four times. He made a formidable start by capturing his first title at the Joburg Open on home soil, then won the prestigious Volvo Golf Champions a week later, defeating his idols, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, in a playoff. He completed the hat-trick three months later at the Volvo China Open, winning by three shots over Nicolas Colsaerts, then landing the biggest prize of the lot by capturing the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October. He finished 6th in the Race to Dubai, compared to his first season, in 2009, when he was 148th.
2013 Notes: He earned a spot in the semifinals at the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Bulgaria. He dropped a 3 & 2 decision to eventual champion Graeme McDowell at Thracian Cliffs Golf and Beach Resort and finished T-3rd. He shot rounds of 71-65-66-69 to get into a playoff with Phil Mickelson at the Scottish Open in July but lost when Mickelson made a birdie on the first extra hole. He finished 18th in the Race to Dubai. In his first Presidents Cup appearance, he went winless in his four matches for the International squad.
2014 Notes: He started the year with a T-20th at the Nedbank, then T-6th at Nelson Mandela, followed by a 2nd place at the Volvo Golf Champions. That would be his last top-10 until 10 months later, when he earned a T-9th at the DP World Championship, Dubai. He finished 31st in the Race to Dubai rankings.
2015 Notes: Got off to a great start, winning on the European Tour at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Qatar Masters. Also won the Dimension Data Pro-Am on the Sunshine Tour in Africa, finished T-7th at the RBC Heritage, and lost in the quarterfinals at the WGC-Cadillac Match Play. In his 13th career major at the U.S. Open, he was tied for the lead with Jordan Spieth until he hit his drive out of bounds at the 16th hole at Chambers Bay and finished 4th, two shots behind Spieth. He earned enough non-member FedExCup points at the U.S. Open to accept Special Temporary Membership for the remainder of the season and joined the PGA Tour a week later. Fired an eight-under 64 in the third round of the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, and finished 3rd at the season's final major championship. Went 5-0-0 in his five Presidents Cup matches. On the European Tour, he ended the year with a 3rd-place result at the DP World Tour Championship and finished 3rd in the Race to Dubai.
2016 Notes: In his first full year on the PGA Tour, he started with a T-17th at the CIMB Classic, then finished T-5th at the WGC-HSBC Champions. On the European Tour, he had a T-8th result at the Alfred Dunhill, T-4th at the Nedbank, T-4th at the BMW South African Open, T-5th at the Abu Dhabi Championship, and then won the Qatar Masters. Got another win, his first on the PGA Tour, at the RBC Heritage, defeating Russell Knox by two shots, and, the next week, finished T-9th at the Valero Texas Open. He finished T-5th at the U.S. Open and T-10th at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Added his sixth and last top-10 on the PGA Tour for the year with a T-4th result at the PGA Championship. He finished 41st in the FedExCup race and 31st on the money list. Continued his year in Europe with a T-3rd finish at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and placed 7th in the Race to Dubai.
2017 Notes: Got his first top-10 on the European Tour with a T-9th finish at the BMW PGA Championship. His first top-10 on the PGA Tour was a T-10th at the Valero Texas Open. At the Open Championship, finished T-6th, but his third-round 62 will go down in golf history as the lowest round ever recorded in a major championship. Played in two FedExCup Playoff events and was 80th in the final FedExCup standings. After going unbeaten in the 2015 Presidents Cup, returned for a third time to the matches and had a 1-2-2 record at Liberty National. On the European Tour, won the Nedbank Golf Challenge and finished 10th in the Race to Dubai.
2018 Notes: Played in 18 PGA Tour starts making 16 cuts with two top-ten finishes. Was 88th in the FedExCup playoff standings. Also played on the European Tour with 15 starts making 14 cuts. Was in the top ten twice, and 39th in the Race to Dubai. Started his year with a 2nd-place finish at the BMW SA Open, three shots behind winner Chris Paisley. Was T-8th at the Valspar Championship, T-3rd at the AT&T Byron Nelson, and T-5th at the BMW PGA Championship. Played in two FedExCup playoff events, and missed the cut at Northern Trust and T-43rd at the Dell Technologies. Played in the fall on the European Tour in six events, his best finish was T-11th at Nedbank Golf Challenge.
2019 Notes: Played in 22 PGA Tour events making 16 cuts with two top-ten finishes. Also played in 13 European Tour events making 9 cuts with two top-ten finishes. Was T-7th at the South African Open. Earned his first PGA Tour runner-up at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, finishing 2 shots back of winner Rickie Fowler. At the WGC-Dell Match Play lost in the Round of 16 to Sergio Garcia, 1 up to finish T-9th. Played in one FedExCup playoff event finsihing T-30th at the Northern Trust, and was 77th in the FedExCup standings. Played in three fall events on the European Tour, best finish of T-39th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. Finished 113th in the Race to Dubai.
2020 Notes: Played in 16 PGA Tour events making six cuts with one top-ten finish. Finished 165th on the FedExCup points list. Played in 7 events on the European Tour making five cuts. Was 32nd on the Race to Dubai. Started his year finishing T-3rd at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, shot 73 in the final round, and finished 2 shots back of winner Pablo Larrazabal. Shot 62 in the final round to win the South African Open by three shots over Louis Oosthuizen. Was T-9th at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Ended his season with a T-8th finish at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
2021 Notes: Played in 27 PGA Tour events making 17 cuts with four top-ten finishes. Ranked 55th in the FedExCup standings. Shot a final-round 6-under 66 to win the Puerto Rico Open and first since the 2016 RBC Heritage. The victory came in his 149th career starting at the age of 32 years, 9 months, 8 days. Played the 71st and 72nd holes in 3-under (eagle-birdie). Was 4th at the Memorial, three shots back of the Cantlay/Morikawa playoff. Shot 67 in the final round to finish T-7th at the U.S. Open. Made a birdie on the 18th hole in the final round of the Wyndham Championship to advance to a six-man playoff, his first career playoff appearance on the PGA Tour, before falling to Kevin Kisner on the second extra hole. Was his second runner-up finish along with the 2019 WM Phoenix Open. In the FedExCup playoffs missed the cut at the Northern Trust and was T-52nd at the BMW Championship.
2022 Notes: Played in 19 PGA Tour events making nine cuts with two top-ten finishes. Was T-7th at the Zozo Championship. He finished T-4th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Garrick Higgo, recording his second top-10 of the season. He ended his season with a T-8th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge.
2023 Notes: Was T-4th at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, four shots back of winner Ockie Strydom. Was T-18th at the PIF Saudi International and T-30th at the International Series Oman.