Matt NeSmith

NeSmith is the son of Darren and Beth NeSmith, and he has one brother, Zachary, who is a photojournalist in New York City and has photographed celebrities on the cover of Vogue. Matthew's nickname is "Ned." He started playing golf at age 8 when his dad introduced him to the game. NeSmith grew up in a suburb of Augusta, Ga., and attended the Masters many times as a child. His father was a part-time caddie at Augusta National Golf Club.
One of NeSmith's rituals is to pray before his first tee shot. NeSmith loves movies. His junior victories include the 2012 Footjoy Invitational, 2012 Rolex Tournament of Champions, and 2012 Azalea Amateur. He also earned a sponsor's exemption into the 2012 Wyndham Championship on PGA Tour. NeSmith was named 2012 Rolex Player of the Year and won the 2012 Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Award. Before South Carolina, NeSmith attended high school in North Augusta. This was his fifth attempt to qualify for the U.S. Open and his first time making it. He has played in two U.S. Junior Amateurs (best finish: Round of 64) and two U.S. Amateurs (best finish: Round of 64).
NeSmith finished his junior season at the University of South Carolina in 2014-15. He captured the SEC individual crown in 2015 at Sea Island Golf Club, leading the Gamecocks to T-2nd as a team. His 196-stroke total at the championship set the school record for the lowest 54-hole score. He finished T-7th at the NCAA Bremerton Regional before finishing T-45th at the NCAA Championships.
He turned pro in 2016 and made two cuts in nine Mackenzie Tour tournaments. The top finish was a T-11th at the SIGA Dakota Dunes Open, a second-round 66 and a final-round 67 the highlight. He played on mini-tours in 2017. In 2018 played in three Korn Ferry Tour events, best finish T-24th at the BMW Charity and WinCo Portland Open. At the end of the year finished T-22nd at Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School.
2019 Notes: Played in 25 Korn Ferry Tour events making 15 cuts with four top-ten finishes. Won the Albertsons Boise Open and earned PGA Tour membership by finishing 1st in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals 25, entering the 2019-20 season third in the final priority ranking.
2020 Notes: Played in 23 PGA Tour events making 13 cuts with one top-ten finish, T-6th at the Puerto Rico Open. He was 100th in the FedExCup rankings, but he missed the cut in the Northern Trust.
2021 Notes: Played in 29 PGA Tour events making 16 cuts with two top-ten finishes. It was 115th in the FedExCup rankings. Was T-8th at the Shriners Hospitals and T-7th at the WM Phoenix Open. In the FedExCup playoffs missed the cut at the Northern Trust.
2022 Notes: Played in 28 PGA Tour events making 20 cuts with two top-ten finishes. It was 83rd in the FedExCup rankings. They held the outright lead after the second round of the Valspar Championship before finishing T-3rd, a shot back of the Sam Burns/Davis Riley playoff. It was his first top-five finish on the PGA Tour. He finished T-4th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Taylor Moore. In the FedExCup playoffs missed the cut at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
2023 Notes: Was T-9th at the Sanderson Farms Championship. The following week finished T-2nd at the Shriners Children's Open, his first career runner-up on Tour. Marked his fourth consecutive top-20 result at the event and carded four scores in the 60s for the fourth straight year, he was three shots back of winner Tom Kim. The following week was T-9th at the Zozo Championship. For the second year in a row, NeSmith and his partner Taylor Moore finished T-4th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.