Braden Thornberry

William Braden Thornberry (born April 11, 1997) is an American professional golfer noted for his amateur success. He won the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship individual title and was a member of the victorious U.S. teams at the 2017 Walker Cup and the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup. He was the number one ranked amateur golfer in the world during 2018 and received the Haskins Award and the Mark H. McCormack Medal.

Braden Thornberry
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Braden Thornberry
Born (1997-04-11) April 11, 1997
Germantown, Tennessee
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceOlive Branch, Mississippi
Career
CollegeUniversity of Mississippi
Turned professional2018
Former tour(s)Korn Ferry Tour
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenCUT: 2018
The Open ChampionshipDNP
Achievements and awards
Haskins Award2017
Mark H. McCormack Medal2018

Early life and amateur career

Thornberry enjoyed success as a junior golfer, and won the 2011 Future Masters, the 2012 Mississippi Junior, and the 2013 Bubba Conlee National Junior.[1] He shot a round of 61 at TPC Southwind in a local junior event in August 2012.[2]

Thornberry enrolled at the University of Mississippi in 2015 and played with the Ole Miss Rebels men's golf team. He won two titles as a freshman and was named First-Team All-American. As a sophomore, he collected five individual wins throughout the season and at 69.57 led the nation in stroke average. He captured the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship individual title with a score of 11 under (66-71-69-71=277), and earned the Haskins Award, given to the most outstanding men's collegiate golfer.[3] He was also named to the 2017 All-Nicklaus Team.[4]

Thornberry made his PGA Tour debut at the 2017 FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis where he tied for fourth, the highest amateur finisher at the tournament since 1965 and the best amateur finish on the PGA Tour in 2017. At the U.S. Amateur, he defeated world number one Joaquín Niemann, and replaced him as number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.[5] He won the Sunnehanna Amateur in a playoff with Collin Morikawa, with a score of 13 under (68-69-65-65=267).[4]

He represented the United States at the 2017 Walker Cup at Los Angeles Country Club, alongside Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris. Thornberry secured two singles victories to contribute to a convincing 19–7 triumph over Great Britain and Ireland.[6][7]

As a junior, he collected four victories throughout the season to increase his career total to a school-record 11. He was a Ben Hogan Award finalist, Haskins Award finalist for the second consecutive season, and semi-finalist for the Jack Nicklaus Award, given to the best NCAA Division I golfer. He tied for 61st at the PGA Tour's RSM Classic where he shot a 64 in the second round, and placed 22nd at the Web.com Tour's North Mississippi Classic.[4]

Thornberry qualified for the 2018 U.S. Open where he missed the cut by one stroke, and tied for 26th at the 2018 FedEx St. Jude Classic.[8] He represented the United States in the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup at Evian Resort Golf Club, and shot a round of 64 at U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links.[5] Thornberry earned Mark H. McCormack Medal in August 2018, given to the world's highest ranked amateur after the U.S. Amateur. He turned professional in December 2018 and decided to forgo the second half of his senior season.[9] He forfeited his exemptions to the 2019 U.S. Open and 2019 Open Championship by turning professional.[10]

Professional career

Thornberry joined the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour,[11] where his best finish was a tie for 5th at the Lincoln Land Championship. During the 2020–21 season, his best finishes were a tie for 8th at the Wichita Open in 2020 and a tie for 5th at the MGM Resorts Championship in 2021. In 2022, he finished in a tie for 13th at the Live and Work in Maine Open.

He shared the lead at the halfway stage for the first time at the 2022 Lake Charles Championship after posting rounds of 66 and 67. He ultimately finished tied 35th.[12]

Amateur wins
  • 2011 Future Masters
  • 2012 Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All-Star, Mississippi Junior
  • 2013 Bubba Conlee National Junior, Under Armour-Jeff Overton Championship
  • 2014 Greg Norman Champions Golf Academy Junior Championship
  • 2015 Patriot All-America
  • 2016 FAU Slomin Autism Invite, Old Waverly Collegiate Championship, FAMC Intercollegiate, AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic, Warrior Princeville Makai Invite
  • 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship, Sunnehanna Amateur, Jones Cup Invitational, Shoal Creek Intercollegiate, FAMC Intercollegiate
  • 2018 Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate, Old Waverly Collegiate Championship

Source:[1]

Results in major championships
Tournament 2018
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut

U.S. national team appearances

References
  1. "Braden Thornberry". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  2. "Inside the course: TPC Southwind". PGA Tour. June 4, 2012. Archived from the original on June 7, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
  3. Goldberg, Rob (May 30, 2017). "Ole Miss' Braden Thornberry Wins NCAA Men's Golf Championships 2017 by 4 Strokes". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  4. "Men's Golf Roster: Braden Thornberry". Ole Miss Rebels. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  5. "Thornberry new men's number 1 on WAGR". World Amateur Golf Ranking. April 23, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  6. MacClurg, Madeline (June 12, 2023). "U.S. Open 2023: The 2017 U.S. team that rolled at L.A. Country Club was not just any Walker Cup team". Golf Digest. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  7. Cleveland, Tyler (September 15, 2017). "Braden Thornberry's performance at Walker Cup helped Team USA defeat the Brits". Mississippi Clarion Ledger. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  8. Wickham, Pete (June 5, 2018). "Braden Thornberry, Sam Burns qualify for 2018 U.S. Open". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  9. Beall, Joel (December 14, 2018). "Former No. 1 amateur, NCAA champ Braden Thornberry to turn pro". Golf Digest. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  10. Martin, Sean (December 14, 2018). "Thornberry decides to turn pro". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  11. Romine, Brentley (December 15, 2018). "Many wins and broken bones later, one-of-a-kind Thornberry ready for pro golf". Golf Channel. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  12. Parkman, Hagan (March 25, 2022). "Four players share lead after second round of Lake Charles Championship". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
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