User:TreyCranfield/Sandbox
Trey Cranfield | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Full name | Trey Michael Cranfield |
Born | April 3, 1962 (age 57) Paoli, Indiana |
Height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) |
Nationality | United States |
Residence | Houston, Texas |
Career | |
College | George Washington University |
Turned professional | 1986 |
Current tour(s) | T-1 Golf Tour |
Professional wins | 69 |
Number of wins by tour | |
PGA Tour | 1 |
European Tour | 1 |
PGA Tour Champions | 1 |
T-1 Golf Tour | 66 (1st all time) |
Best results in major championships | |
Masters Tournament | T38: 1996 |
U.S. Open | T4: 1995, 2005 |
The Open Championship | 9th/T9: 2007, 2010 |
PGA Championship | T21: 1993 |
Best results in T-1 major championships (wins: 19) | |
T-1 Players Championship | T6: 2018 |
U.S. T-1 Open | Won: 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014 |
T-1 British Open | Won: 2010, 2012, 2014 |
T-1 Augusta Invitational | Won: 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009 |
T-1 Tour Championship | Won: 1998, 2003, 2005, 2006 |
Achievements and awards | |
T-1 Order of Merit Winner | 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2014 |
T-1 Tour leading money winner | 1986, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 |
T-1 Tour Rookie of the Year | 1985 |
T-1 Tour leading scorer | 1993, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2012 |
T-1 International Cup Champion | 2018 |
Trey Michael Cranfield is an American professional golfer who is widely considered as one of the greatest sub-tour level golfers of all time, winning 66 T-1 Golf Tour events, and 15 Order of Merit titles, which is the most all time, followed by Arnold Palmer, who has 9 titles. He also has 19 T-1 Major Championships, which are conducted by the T-1 Golf Federation (T1GF), which is second only to Arnold Palmer (21). However, without the T-1 Tour Championship, which was not considered a T-1 major championship until 2017, Cranfield has 15 championships, which is four more than Palmer, making his stature more than that of Palmer's in the eyes of the general public and media.
Cranfield received both his PGA Tour card and T-1 Tour card in 1985, after becoming the A10 golfer of the year. He retained his card status on the T-1 Tour after his win at the 1985 Phoenix Classic, winning by nearly 10 strokes. He followed that up with the T-1 Tour Rookie of the Year Award, which automatically qualifies the winners for 5 years exemption to the T-1 Tour.
From 1986 to 1991, Cranfield saw drastic success, mainly in regular T-1 events, winning most notably the 1986 T-1 National, which in the 1980s was considered to be the most prestigious T-1 golf tournament, more so than the major championships on the schedule. Following Cranfield's win, the T-1 Golf Federation considered making The National a major championship, but instead promoted the event to flagship status in 1987, and stayed until its discontinuation in 2003. Cranfield was the money leader on the tour two times in the five-year stretch (1986, 1989). He won 13 tournaments in the time span.
Background
Cranfield was born in Paoli, Indiana on April 3, 1962 to Michael and Donna Cranfield. In the early parts of his life, Cranfield sought professional golf help from local PGA Professional James Donahue, who mentored Cranfield until his early championship years in the late 1970s and early-middle 1980s. He attended George Washington University from 1983-1986 and studied political science and psychology. He balanced his busy study schedule with collegiate golf, which brought him success. In addition to working with the GWU coach, Cranfield spent most of his outside hours on the range with Donahue. In late 1984, Cranfield was the A10 Golfer of the Year, which he successfully defended in 1985, while balancing his collegiate golf with professional T-1 Tour events. He also participated in one PGA Tour event, the 1985 Western Open, where he missed the cut.
After his graduation in 1986, GWU named Cranfield the 1985-86 Athlete of the Year, and motioned his petition to be in the GWU Sports Hall of Fame, which ultimately failed after board vote. In 1987, Cranfield's schoolmate Chris Moore petitioned him to be in the GWU Alumnus Hall of Fame, which also failed. The same petition was motioned in 1988, but was not heard, and was not taken to vote.
Professional career
Mid-late 1980s
Cranfield turned professional on February 21, 1985, and played in his first professional tournament a week later, which was the 1985 T-1 Southern Open. He missed the cut by one stroke. In the summer months of 1985, he tried to focus mostly on his collegiate golf, where he finished T13 in the 1985 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships. Cranfield also participated in the 1985 Western Open, where he missed the cut going 74-79 in the first two rounds. He concluded his 1985 professional season at the tournament. Noting his success in the 1985 T-1 Tour season, he was awarded the Rookie of the Year award.
In most of the 1986 off-season, Cranfield spent time making drastic swing changes, trying to spark success with more prominent players in the PGA Tour. In January 1986, Cranfield's coach, James Donahue, informed him that he was not sufficiently practiced for PGA Tour success, in which Cranfield opted to participate mainly in the T-1 Golf Tour. To Donahue's surprise, Cranfield won the first tournament he played in, the 1986 T-1 Nike Open, by 4 strokes. In addition, Cranfield went on to win the T-1 Marlboro Open, which was two weeks after his first victory. He opted to skip out on the 1986 U.S. T-1 Open Championship, which was the first of three major championships on the schedule in the time period (U.S. T-1 Open, T-1 Augusta Invitational, T-1 British Open). T-1 Tour President Roger Scott said that he was trying to steer away from the emulation of the sponsor men's golf major championship events, introducing three completely new major championship ideas in April of 1986 (the T-1 Professional Player's Championship, the T-1 Midwest Open, and the T-1 National). The T-1 Golf Federation Board of Directors eventually shot down the idea, and Scott resigned following pressure from many players in the Tour, including Cranfield. In May of 1986, Cranfield was invited to play in the 1986 The National Tournament, which consisted of a 80-player field, the top 50 in the T-1 Golf Tour rankings, winners of all previous T-1 major championships, and special invitations by the T1GF. Cranfield was one of two special invitations, which in the official invitee transcript, was quoted to have "shown exemplary success in the 1986 T-1 Golf Tour season, winning two of the last five events, which the T-1 Golf Federation Board of Directors have taken to notice and hereby grant an invitation to The National Tournament for Trey Michael Cranfield."
Cranfield held the overnight lead in The National Tournament after both rounds one and two, shooting a 73-71 (E) to take a one shot lead over a group of seven in second place. On moving day, a large tradition at The National, Cranfield shot another 71 putting him three ahead headed into the final round over solo-second place Carson Wallberg. In the final round of the tournament, Cranfield fired a 74, and won the tournament with a score of +1, winning by one over Wallberg, who congratulated Cranfield with a hug on the 18th green after his missed putt that would've forced Cranfield into a playoff the following morning.
Cranfield continued his drastic success in the 1986 T-1 season to the T-1 CLU Open, where he won with a record score to par (-30). By the end of the season, Cranfield carried four wins and added an additional five top-10 finishes. He was the leading money winner by nearly $300,000, and soared up the world rankings to No. 31.
Cranfield continued his success in the 1987 season, winning three tournaments (the T-1 Pepsi Open, T-1 McDonald's Open, T-1 Northwest Invitational). He was invited to play in the 1987 Augusta Invitational, where he finished in a tie for 16th place. He played in the other major tournaments, but missed the cut in all.
In 1988, Cranfield picked up two more T-1 Tour Wins (the T-1 Marlboro Open and the T-1 Midwest Championship). He was the runner-up in the earnings list, and finished 3rd in points, his highest ever.
1989 brought even more success for Cranfield, and he picked up two more wins, being two of the top events on the tour, the 1989 T-1 Tournament of Champions, and the 1989 T-1 National Tournament. Cranfield went on to be the money earnings winner for the second time, winning by nearly $100,000 over Tom Kite, and finished runner-up in points to Kite. Cranfield had three top-10 finishes, marking his fourth consecutive season with three or more top-10 finishes.
Early 1990s
In 1990, Cranfield went winless, but picked up seven top-10 finishes, including two runner-up finishes, including the 1990 U.S. T-1 Open. By the end of the 1990, Cranfield's world ranking was at No. 24, the highest of his career.
1991 was the final winless season for Cranfield until 2015, making him the only person in the T-1 Tour to have more than 10 seasons with a win. He was runner-up in the 1991 T-1 National Tournament, and finished T21 in the 1991 T-1 Augusta Invitational. He opted to not play in the U.S. T-1 Open, T-1 British Open, or the T-1 Tour Championship. He also finished T9 in the 1991 T-1 Tournament of Champions.
1992 was the first year of a stretch of T-1 dominance that lasted from 1992 to 2006. In that stretch, Cranfield never finished below 6th in the Order of Merit, and maintained a top-15 world ranking. Cranfield opened up the dominance at the 1992 T-1 Tournament of Champions, where he won for the second time. He also finished solo 2nd in the 1992 T-1 National, was T2 in the 1992 U.S. T-1 Open, T7 in the 1992 T-1 Augusta Invitational, and finished 5th in the 1992 T-1 British Open. He miraculously missed the cut in the 1992 T-1 Tour Championship, which was held at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky. He finished just behind Nick Faldo in the Order of Merit, which sparked outrage by fans and fellow golfers. Faldo said that he was willing to give Cranfield his Order of Merit title, which Cranfield declined. The T1GF said in an open letter addressed to players and fans that Faldo's title was within validity of the points standings system, where he obviously played more successful golf than Cranfield based on T-1 regular events, won the Augusta Invitational, won the T-1 National, and won the U.S. T-1 Open. All three of those events carried a much more significant points weight between 1st and 2nd place. In the end, Faldo edged Cranfield by 6 points, mostly based off of his finish in the T-1 Tour Championship, where he was T28, in which Cranfield missed the cut. Before the Tour Championship, Cranfield held over a 100 point lead over Faldo. Despite the loss in the Order of Merit, Cranfield picked up his third earnings title by well over $200,000. He picked up two regular season events, the Tournament of Champions, and the T-1 Nike Open.
1993 was considered by many as Cranfield's breakout season, where he finally picked up his first T-1 major championship, the 1993 U.S. T-1 Open. In the conclusion of the event, Cranfield described his win as "something that has been in the works for a long time. We have been working, working, working, and working some more for this title. The chase [after Palmer] begins". By the time Cranfield won his first T-1 major title, Palmer had already picked up 11 major titles (not including his 10 T-1 Tour Championship wins), which was introduced as a major in 2017. Cranfield also finished T7 in the 1993 T-1 National Tournament, T3 in the 1993 T-1 Tournament of Champions, and finished in the top 10 in each of the other three major championships. He picked up seven regular season wins, and was the leading money earner for the 4th time, and won his 1st Order of Merit title by over 600 points over Phil Mickelson.
Middle to late 1990s
As the 90s continued to progress, Cranfield found major success in the T-1 Tour regular circuit, winning multiple regular season events, including The National on multiple occasions, and many T-1 major championships, easily becoming the top T-1 Tour golfer, and one of the most prominent world golfers, reaching as high as 3rd on the Official World Golf Rankings list in 1996. The only year Cranfield did not win a T-1 major championship from 1993 to 2000 was 1997, where he still showed exemplary signs of success, winning multiple regular season events.
Early 2000s
Cranfield's prominence remained at a high level into the 2000s, where he continued to win T-1 major championships and consistently ranked high on the Order of Merit, money list, and others. Cranfield's most fluked season in his era of dominance came in 2001, where he won just one T-1 Tour event, and finished third on the money list, and fourth in the Order of Merit. Scott Jamiessonn also began his rise, and became known as the Cranfield Prodigy, consistently battling with him in major championships and important events. The Jamiessonn/Cranfield rivalry's most famous moment came at the 2003 U.S. T-1 Open, where Jamiessonn defeated Cranfield in an 18-hole playoff, picking up his second major championship and surpassing Cranfield in the Order of Merit list for the first time. Jamiessonn holed a putt on 18 to clinch the victory, finishing at -3 to Cranfield's -2. Cranfield congratulated Jamiessonn by letter the following day. It is noted that Cranfield went on to win the 2003 Order of Merit title, defeating Jamiessonn by 15 points following his win in the 2003 T-1 Tour Championship.
Middle to late 2000s
Cranfield's Era of Dominance was officially ended at the 2006 T-1 McDonald's Open, where he missed the cut for three consecutive weeks. The T-1 Tour sent a letter to all important media outlets noting that Cranfield's dominance had been on a constant decline, especially since the rise of prominent 2000s T-1 Tour members such as Jamiessonn, Tiger Woods, Chris Euphoricson, and Norman Xi had been rising and winning the important championships. The letter recommended that the media kept an open mind to Cranfield's present playing and how it impacted the tour and the view of the tour. In 2007, Cranfield missed a total of seven event cuts, and finished in the top-20 only once. Depsite his lacking success, Cranfield managed to finish in 9th at the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Links, won by Padraig Harrington.
Second rise to prominence (2009-2010)
In the 2009 T-1 Tour season, Cranfield showed more signs that he was not out of the conversation despite nearly three consecutive down years on the T-1 Tour Order of Merit lists and constant stagnation in major championships. Cranfield won the 2009 U.S. T-1 Open, where he broke the T-1 Tour record for lowest score to par in a major championship, at -17, and the 2009 T-1 Augusta Invitational. He also went on to win the 2010 T-1 British Open in simple fashion.
2012
In 2012, Cranfield returned to a comfortable position in the T-1 Tour OM rankings, and money list. By the end of the season, he won both titles, and was the leading scorer for the first time since 2006. He finished every major in the top-10, and won the 2012 T-1 British Open, his second of three. Norman Xi finished second in the OM rankings by nearly 250 points.
2014
Cranfield's final season of T-1 major success was in 2014 where he won the U.S. T-1 Open for the 7th time, and the T-1 British Open for the third time. He won the Order of Merit title for the 15th time, and was the leading earner for the 18th time. He was the second leading scorer behind Jamie Otto.
2018
In 2018, Cranfield sought subtle success, finishing T6 in the newly introduced T-1 Players Championship, the first major and event of the season. He also went on to capture a top-10 in the T-1 Tour Championship at Riviera Country Club.
Professional wins (69)
T-1 Tour wins (66)
Legend |
Major championships (19) |
The National championships (5) |
Tour Championship (4)* |
Other T-1 Tour (38) |
*Later a major championship; historic results included as major status
PGA Tour wins (1)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
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1 | May 26, 1996 | Kemper Open | -22 | 2 strokes | Willie Wood |
PGA Tour playoff record (0-2)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
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1 | 1996 | Nortel Open | Mark O'Meara | O'Meara won with birdie on first extra hole |
2 | 1998 | Phoenix Open | J.P. Hayes, Joe Durant | Hayes won with birdie on first extra hole Durant and Cranfield eliminated with pars |
European Tour wins (1)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | May 20, 1994 | Portuguese Open | -18 | 1 stroke | Philip Price |
PGA Tour Champions wins (1)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | May 31, 2012 | Principal Charity Classic | -12 | 1 stroke | Mark McNulty |
T-1 major championships
Wins (19)
Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1993 | U.S. T-1 Open | 1 stroke behind | E (69-69-72-70) | 1 stroke | Payne Stewart, Jerry Platon |
1994 | T-1 Augusta Invitational | 3 strokes ahead | -10 (65-71-71-71) | 2 strokes | Mike Springer, Jerry Platon |
1995 | U.S. T-1 Open (2) | 4 strokes behind | -1 (72-71-71-65) | 1 stroke | Greg Norman, Josh Oberlahousser |
1996 | U.S. T-1 Open (3) | 2 strokes ahead | +3 (76-66-69-72) | 1 stroke | Steve Jones, Phil Mickelson, Nick Faldo, Nick Price, David Feherty, Scott Reynolds, Charles Ragsdale |
1998 | T-1 Augusta Invitational (2) | 6 strokes ahead | -10 (70-70-62-76) | 1 stroke | Tiger Woods, Mark O'Meara Frank Nobilo |
1998 | T-1 Tour Championship | Tied for the lead | -3 (70-72-72-71) | 1 stroke | Justin Leonard, Danny Tater (a) |
1999 | U.S. T-1 Open (4) | 2 strokes ahead | -1 (69-69-68-73) | Playoff | Josh Howard (a) |
1999 | T-1 Augusta Invitational (3) | 3 strokes ahead | -12 (67-68-71-70) | 2 strokes | Justin Leonard |
2000 | T-1 Augusta Invitational (4) | 3 strokes behind | -5 (70-73-73-67) | 1 stroke | Tiger Woods |
2003 | T-1 Tour Championship (2) | 2 strokes behind | -1 (71-72-75-69) | Playoff | Scott Jamiessonn |
2004 | U.S. T-1 Open (5) | 6 strokes ahead | +2 (66-72-69-75) | Playoff | Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Scott Jamiessonn |
2005 | T-1 Tour Championship (3) | 3 strokes ahead | -5 (67-72-71-73) | 1 stroke | Stan Walrich, Jeff Clydesdale, Marty Snider, Dale Turner |
2006 | T-1 Tour Championship (4) | 4 strokes behind | -8 (71-73-70-66) | 2 strokes | Chris Euphoricson, Shane Simmons, Stan Walrich |
2009 | U.S. T-1 Open (6) | 2 strokes ahead | -1 (70-71-66-72) | Playoff | Norman Xi |
2009 | T-1 Augusta Invitational (5) | 4 strokes ahead | -13 (67-67-71-70) | 1 stroke | Tiger Woods, Justin Leonard |
2010 | T-1 British Open | 14 strokes ahead | -17 (65-64-69-73) | 10 strokes | Geld Sjkens, Julien Adälson |
2012 | T-1 British Open (2) | 1 stroke behind | -11 (68-68-71-70) | 1 stroke | Tommy Fleetwood |
2014 | U.S. T-1 Open (7) | Tied for the lead | +3 (73-72-71-67) | Playoff | Jamie Otto |
2014 | T-1 British Open (3) | 2 strokes behind | -8 (66-70-72-64) | 1 stroke | Jamie Otto, Cole Carllsson, Jeff Bryant
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Results timeline
Tournament | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. T-1 Open | T67 LA | CUT | CUT | T13 | 56 |
T-1 Augusta Invitational | T16 | 24 | T4 | ||
T-1 British Open | T48 | CUT | T8 | T34 | |
T-1 Tour Championship | CUT | CUT | T16 |
Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. T-1 Open | 2 | T2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | T16 | 20 | 1 | |
T-1 Augusta Invitational | T9 | T21 | T7 | T6 | 1 | T12 | T31 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
T-1 British Open | T24 | 5 | T15 | T9 | T3 | T12 | 9 | T41 | T4 | |
T-1 Tour Championship | CUT | CUT | T23 | T44 | T7 | 3 | T15 | 1 | 2 |
Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. T-1 Open | T14 | 36 | T8 | T55 | 1 | T49 | T10 | T62 | T66 | 1 |
T-1 Augusta Invitational | 1 | T24 | T39 | T60 | 5 | T31 | 11 | T59 | 74 | 1 |
T-1 British Open | T6 | T51 | T36 | T13 | T24 | T12 | T16 | 68 | 11 | |
T-1 Tour Championship | 7 | T42 | 23 | 1 | T3 | 1 | 1 | T17 | 39 | 4 |
Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
T-1 Players Championship ^ | T6 | |||||||||
U.S. T-1 Open | T32 | 8 | T41 | T28 | 1 | T59 | CUT | 21 | CUT | |
T-1 Augusta Invitational | 51 | T62 | 22 | T30 | T5 | 60 | CUT | T47 | T69 | |
T-1 British Open | 1 | 10 | 1 | 45 | 1 | T49 | 74 | T62 | CUT | |
T-1 Tour Championship | 16 | T14 | CUT | CUT | 6 | CUT | T63 | T24 | T10 |