Joe Durant

Durant was born in Pensacola, Florida. He attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama, where he majored in marketing and graduated in 1987. At Huntingdon, he was a three-time NAIA All-American and won the 1987 NAIA Championship.
Durant turned professional in 1987. He has won four times on the PGA Tour, including the 2001 Humana Classic, with a 90-hole score of 324 (36 under), setting the tournament record which stands today. His best finish in a major is T-18 in the 2007 PGA Championship. In 2007 and 2008, he finished No. 129 on the PGA Tour's official money list and began playing on the Korn Ferry Tour. By 2009, he was down to No. 131st and lost his PGA Tour card; however, he rebounded in 2010, finishing 115th on the money list to earn a spot on the Tour for 2011.
After the 1991 Korn Ferry Tour season, he took six months away from golf and earned a license to sell insurance. He also worked at a golf equipment retail house, filling orders and stacking boxes. He then returned to professional golf after receiving a stern lecture from his wife, Tracey, about changing his outlook on the golf course.
He was the 1992 T.C. Jordan Tour Player of the Year.
1991 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 27; in money - 16; top-10 finishes - one; scoring average 72.46 (ranked 61st); money $16,095 (ranked 67th); best finish - T-10th at the Ft. Wayne Open.
1992 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - five; in money - four; top-10 finishes - one; scoring average 71.53; money $7,025 (ranked 122nd); best finish - T-7 at the Boise Open.
1993 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 11; in money - four; top-10 finishes - one; scoring average 72.42; money $6,398 (ranked 127th); best finish - T-8 at the Permian Basin Open.
1994 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 24; in money - 12; top-10 finishes - one; scoring average 71.65 (56th); money $20,340 (ranked 71st); best finish - T-7th at the Knoxville Open.
1995 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 27; in money - 19; top-10 finishes - seven; scoring average 70.65 (ranked 16th); money $81,697 (ranked 20th); best finish - T-2nd at the Sonoma County Open.
1996 Korn Ferry Tour Summary: Tournaments entered - 27; in money - 23; top-10 finishes - eight; scoring average 70.13 (ranked fourth); money $159,386 (ranked third); won the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic.
Played on the PGA Tour full-time in 1993 and from 1997 to 2012, playing in 446 events with four wins, four runner-ups, four thirds, and 38 top 10s with earnings of $14,181,693. Led the PGA Tour in greens in regulation (2003-2004 and 2008), Driving Accuracy (2001, 2006, 2009, and 2011), and Total Driving (1997).
He played on the Korn Ferry Tour in 1991, 1993-1996, 2001, and 2013. He played in 156 events, winning once, was runner-up twice, and had 22 top-10 finishes. He earned $455,204. His best year was 1996, when he finished third on the money list.
2014 Notes: Played on all three Tours and was among the top 10 in seven of his 13 PGA Tour Champions starts. Made eight cuts in 15 PGA Tour starts, highlighted by three top 25s with a best finish of T-11th at the Greenbrier Classic. Ranked 170th in the FedEx Cup standings. He made his first PGA Tour Champions start, finishing T-21st at the 2014 Greater Gwinnett Championship. He then finished T-9th at the Regions Tradition and T-5th in the Senior PGA Championship. The highlight of his Champions Tour season was in mid-October when he finished T-2nd at the Greater Hickory Classic. He was 29th on the money list and 16th in the Schwab Rankings for the year.
2015 Notes: Teamed with Billy Andrade for a three-stroke victory in the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf. His hole-in-one on No. 12 with a 7-iron from 166 yards was the turning point as the pair posted an impressive 9-under par 45 on the par-3 Top of the Rock Course on Sunday, cruising to victory. The win was the first for each player on the Champions Tour, and it marked the first time in that event that both players earned their first career wins on Tour. He also had a pair of fourth-place finishes at the Mississippi Gulf Resort and Insperity Invitational. His last two starts produced a T-2nd at the Principal Charity Classic, a shot back of winner Mark Calcavecchia, and a T-3rd at the Constellation Senior Players, nine shots back of winner Bernhard Langer. In the last part of the year, he finished 2nd at the SAS Championship and the Toshiba Classic for five top-three finishes. He was 5th in the money race and 5th in the Schwab rankings.
2016 Notes: Started the year, finishing T-4th at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. He was 3rd with teammate Billy Andrade in defense of their title at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf. Was T-4th at the Principal Charity Classic and Dick's Sporting Goods Open, T-7th at the Senior Open Championship. In June was a shot back of winner Bernhard Langer in the Constellation Senior Players Championship to finish T-2nd. He won the 3M Championship, beating Miguel Angel Jimenez with an eagle on the first playoff hole. He had another 4th place finish at the Nature Valley First Tee, then finished the year with 5 top-tens in his final 6 tournaments. He played in 25 events for the year, finishing 14 times in the top-25 and 9 times in the top-10. He was 3rd on the money list and 5th in Schwab Rankings.
2017 Notes: He just missed winning a $1 million in earnings for a third straight year as he won $968,542, which earned him 16th place in the money rankings. He started the year finishing 2nd to Woody Austin at the unofficial Diamond Resorts Invitational at the Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons Resort in Orlando in January. He had a total of 7 top-ten finishes, first was a T-6th at the Allianz Championship, followed by a T-10th at the Chubb Classic. Was T-3rd at the American Family Insurance Championship, 3 shots back of winner Fred Couples, T-6th at the Constellation Senior Players, Shaw Charity Classic, and Dominion Energy Charity. He was T-5th at the Pure Insurance Championship.
2018 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour Champions events, finishing in the top-ten 12 times. Durant won at the Chubb Classic by 4 shots over Steve Stricker. It was his first since the 3M Championship in 2016, breaking a streak of 37 starts without a win. Also runner-up at the Regions Tradition, T-7th at the Rapiscan Systems Classic, and T-8th at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic. At the 3M Championship, he shot 65-67 on the weekend to finish T-5th. His next start was T-8th at the Dick's Sporting Good Open. He was T-2nd at the Shaw Charity Classic, one shot back of winner Scott McCarron. He advanced to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship on PGA Tour Champions all five years. This year he finished 10th in the final standings.
2019 Notes: Played in 27 PGA Tour Champions events with seven top-ten finishes. He was 21st on the Schwab rankings. He started the season T-8th at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. In the Mitsubishi Electric Classic shot a final round 69 to finish T-2nd, 2 shots back of winner Scott McCarron. Was T-7th with partner John Daly at the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf. Was T-5th at the Shaw Charity Classic, four shots back of winner Wes Short, Jr. Was T-8th at the SAS Championship and T-10th at the Dominion Energy Charity. He finished the season with a T-4th at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, five shots back of the Maggert/Goosen playoff.
2020 & 2021 Notes: Played in 28 PGA Tour Champions events with one top-ten finish. He was 47th on the Schwab rankings. In his first event at the 2020 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai was T-12th, his best start in 2020. In 2021 only had one top-ten, but it was significant as he won for the fourth time on the PGA Tour Champions at the Ally Challenge. Set the tournament scoring record with a 17-under 199 total to finish one shot ahead of Bernhard Langer. It was his first top-10 of the season after 25 consecutive finishes outside of the top 10. After opening with rounds of 65-66, he shot 68 on Sunday, birdieing four of his first eight holes and played the last 10 holes in even-par.
2022 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour Champions events with two top-ten finishes. He was 40th in the Schwab rankings and 42nd on the money list earning $535,342. Shot a final round 62 to finish T-3rd at the Shaw Charity Classic, one shot back of the Jerry Kelly/John Huston playoff. The following week was 7th at the Boeing Classic. He was T-16th in his final event of the season at the TimberTech Championship.
2023 Notes: Best finish T-18th at the Regions Tradition.