Billy Andrade

He began playing at age 5 with his grandmother. While he played multiple sports as a youth, his passion in high school was basketball. Though he was named all-state in basketball, he knew he was not tall enough to play the sport in college, so he started concentrating on golf. He won four collegiate events at Wake Forest University and led the Demon Deacons to the 1986 NCAA Championship. He was a three-time All-American and played on the victorious 1987 USA Walker Cup Team.
When he joined the PGA Tour in 1988, he improved every year until 1992, going from 134th place in the money race in his rookie year to 69th in 1989, 64th in 1990, and 14th in 1991. He broke through with his first win at the 1991 Kemper Open and picked up his second seven days later at the Buick Classic. It was over seven years before he won again when he captured the Canadian Open in a playoff over Bob Friend. He captured his fourth and final PGA Tour win at the 2000 Invensys Classic in Las Vegas. He had an 18-year streak between 1989 and 2006 in which he finished in the top-125 of the money list, finishing in the top-100 16 of those 18 years. His last full year on the PGA Tour was 2009, when he finished 245th in the FedEx Cup playoff race and 242nd on the money list after making just two cuts in 17 starts. After that, he joined Golf Channel as a part-time on-course reporter.
2014 Notes: Turned 50 in January and joined PGA Tour Champions, finished T-46th in his PGA Tour Champions debut at the Allianz Championship in Boca Raton. He earned his first top-10 the following week, finishing T-8th at the ACE Group Classic. Finished second at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, just two shots behind winner Jeff Maggert. He had his second runner-up at the Shaw Charity Classic, losing a playoff to Fred Couples. He was 27th in the Schwab rankings.
2015 Notes: He and teammate Joe Durant used a blistering 9-under-par 45 on the par-3 Top of the Rock Course at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf, and the pair had a three-stroke victory. It was the first PGA Tour Champions victory for both players. He also had top-10s at the U.S. Senior Open (T-5th), Mississippi Gulf Resort (T-7th), Constellation Senior Players (T-7th), and T-10th at the Principal Charity Classic. He won for the second time at the Boeing Classic and ended his year with a victory at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, defeating Bernhard Langer in a one-hole playoff. The win helped him finish 4th in both the money list and the Schwab rankings. He earned $1,533,919 for the season, his best career year on both the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions.
2016 Notes: Lost in a playoff to Esteban Toledo at the Allianz Championship. Two missed putts proved costly. He missed a 4-footer at the 54th hole, which would have given him the win, and then saw his 6-foot par putt lip out on the third playoff hole. He finished third with teammate Joe Durant in defense of their title at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf. The pair was among the leaders in the final round before a critical bogey at No. 14 proved costly. He was T-5th at the Insperity Invitational after a closing-round 66, which included a double-bogey at No. 17 and nine birdies. Also, T-5th at the Senior PGA Championship. The following week finished T-2nd at the Principal Charity Classic, one back of Scott McCarron, who birdied his final three holes. They also had a T-4th at the American Family Insurance Championship and T-9th at the Senior Open Championship. His last top-10 was a T-3rd at the Toshiba Classic. For the year was 11th on the money list and 18th in the Schwab rankings.
2017 Notes: Slipped from 11th to 24th on the final money list but still earned a spot in the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship for the fourth consecutive year. He was T-3rd at the Senior PGA Championship and the Senior Open Championship in Wales. Also, T-4th at the Tucson Conquistadores and T-5th at the PowerShares QQQ.
2018 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events with eight top-ten finishes. They had five birdies in the final round of the Rapiscan Systems Classic to finish 2nd, 3 shots back of winner Steve Stricker. The finish marked his second runner-up effort in the event (2014). Andrade had rounds of 70-69-71 to finish at 9-under and T-9th at the Cologuard Classic. Also, T-10th at the Boca Raton Championship and Bass Pro Shops Legends with partner Joe Durant. I was T-8th at the Boeing Classic and the Ally Challenge. Advanced to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship for the fifth consecutive year finishing. 28th in the standings, one place better than the previous year.
2019 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour Champions with ten top-ten finishes. He was 13th on the Schwab Cup points list. He was 3rd at the Rapiscan Systems Classic, a shot back of the Sutherland/Parel playoff. He made a bogey on the 16th and 18th holes on Sunday. T-7th at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf with partner Michael Allen. Was T-2nd in the Regions Tradition. Also was T-2nd at the Mastercard Japan Championship, 3 shots back of winner Scott McCarron and 7th at the American Family Insurance Championship, 3 shots back of the Kelly/Goosen/Stricker playoff. Was T-5th at the Shaw Charity Classic, four shots back of winner Wes Short, Jr. At the Pure Insurance Championship bogeyed two of his final five holes before falling to a Kirk Triplett birdie on the first playoff hole. He was T-5th at the Invesco QQQ Championship, three shots back of the Colin Montgomerie/Bernhard Langer playoff.
2020 & 2021 Notes: Played in 32 PGA Tour Champions with three top-ten finishes. He was 50th on the Schwab Cup points list. It has been his most frustrating season since joining the PGA Tour Champions in 2014. A perfect example was the Ally Challenge, which opened with 64 to lead but shot 74-77 to finish T-62nd. In the events played in 2020, his best finish was T-24th at the Morocco Champions. In 2021 found his game at the Regions Tradition, shot rounds of 69-67 over the weekend to finish T-10th. His next week at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, he was a shot out of the lead going into the final round but shot 72 to finish T-5th, four shots back of winner Dicky Pride. Shot a final-round 64 at the Shaw Charity Classic to finish T-3rd five shots back of winner Doug Barron.
2022 Notes: Played in 22 PGA Tour Champions events with two top-ten finishes. He was 48th in the Schwab Rankings and 49th on the money list with $445,555 in earnings. Shot a final-round 66 at the ClubCorp Classic to finish 5th, two shots out of the Scott Parel/Steven Alker/Gene Sauers playoff. He was T-3rd at the Boeing Classic, co-led entering the final round but shot 71 in the final round to finish four shots back of winner Miguel Angel Jimenez. He was T16th in his final event at the TimberTech Championship.
2023 Notes: Best finish T-13th at the Hoag Classic.
Along with Brad Faxon, he runs Billy Andrade/Brad Faxon Charities for Children, Inc., which has raised more than $21 million for children in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, largely through the CVS Caremark Charity Classic, which the duo co-hosts at Rhode Island Country Club each summer. Along with Keegan Bradley and Brooke Henderson won the 2017 CVS Health Charity Classic.