Marco Dawson

He began playing golf at age 9 after his family moved to a house on a golf course in Coral Springs, Florida. He was a teammate of two-time U.S. Open Champion Lee Janzen and six-time PGA Tour winner Rocco Mediate at Florida Southern, graduating in 1985 before turning professional. Dawson has enjoyed a long career playing both the PGA and Korn Ferry Tours. Competed on the PGA Tour from 1991 to 1997, 2000 to 2001, 2003 to 2008, and 2012, making 413 starts. Was runner-up in the 1995 Greater Milwaukee Open, finishing three strokes behind Scott Hoch. He also posted a third-place finish in the 1996 Buick Invitational, one of 18 career top-10 performances on the PGA Tour, earning $4,321,879. He has competed in 161 Korn Ferry Tour events, winning the 2002 LaSalle Bank Open, on 29 career top-10 finishes on the developmental circuit. He finished third on the money list in 1999 and eighth in 2002. He competed in PGA Tour Champions Qualifying School in November 2013, finishing tied for 31st.
2013 Notes: Went to the PGA Tour Champions National Qualifying Tournament but did not earn exempt status for 2014 after finishing T-31 at TPC Scottsdale. He made eight of 17 cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour, posting both of his top-20 finishes within his first four starts on the Tour. He was T-13th at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open and T-19th at the Colombia Championship.
2014 Notes: He started the season as a non-exempt player but open-qualified for four events early in the season and eventually played his way into fully exempt status for 2015. Key to his season was a stretch just past the mid-point in the year when he was among the top five in four of five tournaments. He quickly earned the most he's ever made in a single season in professional golf, his $952,814 surpassing the 2003 PGA Tour season when he earned more than $600,000. It appeared he was headed for his first victory in late October when he was the 36-hole leader, ahead of Michael Allen by three strokes with four holes remaining at the AT&T Championship. However, bogeys at No. 16 and 18 derailed his chances, leaving him in second place, two shots back. Before his finish in San Antonio, he was T-3 in August at the 3M Championship after open-qualifying for the event, the fourth time he successfully played his way into the field during the season. He then finished T-4 at Dick's Sporting Goods and T-5th at the Boeing Classic. He ended the year 15th on the money list and 11th in the Schwab Rankings.
2015 Notes: Broke through for his first career win on the PGA Tour Champions with a two-shot victory at the inaugural Tucson Conquistadores Classic in March. He made a critical 18-foot birdie putt on No. 16, resulting in a two-shot lead over Bart Bryant, who eventually finished second. He posted three rounds in the 60s to end a victory drought of 12 years, 7 months, 11 days since his Korn Ferry Tour victory in 2002. Since the win, he added a pair of top 10s -- first a T-9 at the Senior PGA Championship and a T-7 at the Constellation Senior Players. He earned the signature win of his professional career in July when he won The Senior Open Championship at Sunningdale GC. Earned a career-best check of $319,090 and a berth in the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon. The following week back in the United States, he finished 5th at the 3M Championship. He was 13th on the money list and 6th in the Schwab rankings. His winnings of $1,073,227 were the best year he had ever had, including his years on the PGA Tour.
2016 Notes: Finished T-4th in defense of his title at the Tucson Conquistadores Classic. He played in his first Open Championship, finishing T-68th. The following week in defending his Senior Open Championship title at Carnoustie, was T-60th. Also was T-7th at the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship and T-6th at PowerShares QQQ. He played in 22 events and was 39th on the money list and 38th in Schwab rankings.
2017 Notes: He made it back to the Charles Schwab Cup thanks to finishing in the top-25 in his last six starts. He was 34th in the final money rankings and Schwab rankings. His best finishes were T-4th at the Regions Tradition. T-6th at the Boeing Classic, T-7th at the 3M Championship, and T-8th at the Principal Charity Classic.
2018 Notes: Played in 24 PGA Tour Champions events with five top-ten finishes. He was T-12th at the season-opening Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. He didn't get his first top-ten finish until his 14 starts when he was T-6th at the Senior Open Championship, 3 shots back of winner Miguel Angel Jimenz. Was T-3rd at the Dick's Sporting Good Open, he opened with a first-round 65 and was 3 shots back of winner Bart Bryant. Was runner-up at the Pure Insurance Championship, a shot back of winner Ken Tanigawa. Advanced to the Charles Schwab Cup Championship for the fourth time and finished T-8th in that championship to finish 22nd in the standings, his highest placing since 2015.
2019 Notes: Played in 22 PGA Tour Champions events with eight top-ten finishes. He was 19th on the Schwab rankings. His first event of the year was T-10th in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Birdied his final two holes to finish 2nd in the Oasis Championship, 5 shots back of winner Bernhard Langer. He was 4th in the Rapiscan Systems Classic after opening with a 65 in the final round and was 2 shots back of the Sutherland/Parel playoff. His next start was T-4th in the Insperity Invitational. Was T-8th in the Principal Charity Classic. He was T-9th at Dick's Sporting Goods Open and T-5th at the Pure Insurance Championship, three shots back of the Triplett/Andrade playoff. He ended his year T-8th at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, six shots back of the Maggert/Goosen playoff.
2020 & 2021 Notes: Played in 35 PGA Tour Champions events with four top-ten finishes. He was 38th on the Schwab rankings. He was T-9th at the 2020 Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, four shots back of the Jimenez/Couples/Els playoff. He was T-5th at the Chubb Classic, five shots back of winner Scott Parel. He was T-10th at the Pure Insurance Championship. Ended 2020 T-43rd at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. In 2021 was T-7th at the Pure Insurance Championship, five shots back of winner K.J. Choi. He ended the season with a T-25th finish at the TimberTech Championship.
2022 Notes: Played in 25 PGA Tour Champions events with six top-ten finishes. He was 25th in the Schwab ranking and 28th on the money list earning $755,156. After opening with 74 at the Rapiscan Systems Classic, he shot 68-66 on the weekend to finish T-8th. Shot a final round 64 at the ClubCorp Classic to finish T-7th four shots back of the Scott Parel/Steven Alker/Gene Sauers playoff. At the American Family Insurance Championship, closed with 11-under 133 over the final 36 holes, he finished T-3rd, two shots back of the winner Thongchai Jaidee. Was 10th a the Senior Players Championship and T-8th at the Shaw Charity Classic. Shot four rounds in the 60s en route to a T-8th finish at the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
2023 Notes: Was T-6th at the Cologuard Classic, five shots back of winner David Toms. Shot 66-68 at the Regions Tradition over the weekend to finish T-5th.