| Matt McQuillan | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1981-06-19)19 June 1981 (age 43) Kingston, Ontario, Canada |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st) |
| Sporting nationality |  Canada |
| Career | |
| College | Oklahoma State University University of Georgia |
| Turned professional | 2003 |
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour Canada |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Professional wins | 2 |
Matt McQuillan (born 19 June 1981) is a Canadianprofessional golfer. He has played on theCanadian Tour since 2003, and won one tournament there. McQuillan earned 2011 playing privileges on thePGA Tour with a strong performance in stage three ofQ-School, on his first attempt at the finals. His best career PGA Tour finish is a tie for third in the 2011John Deere Classic.[1]
Matthew Justin McQuillan was born inKingston, Ontario. His father Mark and mother Donna are members at theGarrison Golf and Curling Club in Kingston, and introduced Matt to golf there in 1991. His father is a single-figure handicap player, and coached him for a few years. He received instruction at Garrison first in the club's junior program from pro shop manager John Holland, and then privately from assistant professional Kevin Dickey (a former Canadian Tour player).
McQuillan won the Garrison Men's Open and the Garrison Men's Club Championship in 1996 at age 15, becoming the youngest-ever winner of both events. He won the Club Championship again in 1998 (by 11 shots) and 1999 (by 20 shots, with a record score of 278, ten under par). He eventually won the Garrison Open half-a-dozen times. In 2002 he set the competitive course record at Garrison with a score of 9-under-par 63.
As McQuillan continued to improve, he earned success at higher levels, including victories in the 1999 Ontario Junior Championship at the Dalewood Golf Club inPort Hope, and in the 1999 Ontario Junior Match Play Championship. He claimed second place at the 1999 Canadian Junior Championship at the Maple City Golf Club inChatham, Ontario. He was selected as Kingston's Amateur Athlete of the Year for 1999.
McQuillan represented Canada for the first time at the 2000 World Junior Team event in Japan, finishing as third individual scorer.
McQuillan graduated fromLa Salle Secondary School in Kingston, and earned a golf scholarship toOklahoma State University, beginning in the fall of 2000, where he played for coachMike Holder. McQuillan later transferred to theUniversity of Georgia, but left college before completing his degree.
McQuillan placed second in the 2000 Ontario Men's Amateur Championship atthe National Golf Club of Canada inWoodbridge, Ontario, earning a place on the four-playerOntarioWillingdon Cup team. McQuillan represented Canada on the 2001 Four Nations' Cup team, which emerged victorious over teams from Australia,New Zealand, and Japan; this event was held at theLambton Golf Club in Toronto. The six Canadian team members also includedDavid Hearn,Jon Mills, and Lee Curry. McQuillan advanced to the semi-finals of the 2001Canadian Amateur Championship, finally ending his tournament run with a loss to heralded amateur Graham Cooke. In 2002, McQuillan was the top-ranked player in Ontario entering the Ontario Amateur, but had to withdraw, suffering frommononucleosis.
McQuillan turned professional, and finished 7th at the 2003 Spring qualifying tournament for theCanadian Tour. His most successful Canadian Tour result to date has been a victory at the 2005 Telus Edmonton Open, scoring 13-under-par 271 at the Edmonton Golf & Country Club, from 30 June to 3 July; McQuillan edged the runner-up, promising amateurGraham DeLaet, and won $24,000 (Canadian funds). McQuillan played in threeNationwide Tour events in 2005, with his best finish a tie for 25th position in the Alberta Classic.
He finished runner-up at the 2006Canadian Tour Championship. For a time in the mid-2000s, he represented theCataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston, but no longer does so. However, he still works with Dickey, now a teacher at Cataraqui. McQuillan received an honorary membership from Cataraqui on 21 December 2010, after he earned PGA Tour playing privileges for 2011.
McQuillan successfully played on the Tar Heels Tour in the Carolinas during the spring of 2008, in preparation for a return toPGA Tour qualifying in the fall of 2008.[2] He set a new competitive course record at Cataraqui in mid-July 2008, winning the Cataraqui Pro-Am tournament, with a score of 62, 8-under-par, breaking the previous mark by one stroke.[3] McQuillan played on theEGolf Professional Tour with success early in 2010, and played well at theSeaforth Country Classic on the Canadian Tour in August 2010, finishing in 4th place. He retains exempt status on the Canadian Tour for 2011. McQuillan worked as abartender in Kingston to supplement his income between stints on pro golf tours.
McQuillan enteredPGA Tour qualifying in the fall of 2010, beginning at first stage. He scored 67 in the final round at first stage to advance. He then advanced to the third and final stage of 2010PGA Tour qualifying, by placing third at the second stage qualifying event, hosted by the Bear Creek Golf Club inMurrieta, California.[4] McQuillan successfully gained PGA Tour status for the 2011 season, by finishing T16 at 11-under-par after six rounds, at final stage, hosted by the Orange County National facility nearOrlando, Florida.[5] This was his first trip to the finals.
McQuillan made his 2011 debut at theSony Open in Hawaii inHonolulu, the first PGA Tour event of his career. He survived the 36-hole cut with rounds of 68–69, then finishing on the 36-hole final day (caused by a rainout on the scheduled first round day) with 71-74 for 282 and 55th place, winning $12,705.[6] McQuillan earned last-minute entry to theBob Hope Classic inPalm Springs, shot a first-round 7-under-par 65 which included seven birdies and an eagle, but followed up with rounds of 76-73-77 to miss the fourth-round cut with a score of 3-over-par 291.[7] At theFarmers Insurance Open inSan Diego, McQuillan struggled with rounds of 74–77 to miss the halfway cut with a score of 7-over-par 151.[8] McQuillan scored 76-76-68 for 6-over-par 220 in theAT&T National Pro-Am, missing the 54-hole cut.[9] McQuillan shot rounds of 76–73 at theMayakoba Golf Classic nearCancun, Mexico, missing the 36-hole cut.[10] McQuillan scored 71–74 at the 2011Puerto Rico Open, held just east ofSan Juan, Puerto Rico, to miss the 36-hole cut by one stroke.[11]
After playing on the PGA Tour for ten weeks in 2011, making just one cut in six events, McQuillan said the course setups he had been facing were much tougher than anything he had seen before, but added that he was settling into life on the Tour, and anticipated an improvement in his performance as he gained experience.[12] McQuillan dropped down to the Nationwide Tour for his next event, the Louisiana Classic. After opening with 70–66 to move into contention, he struggled on the weekend with rounds of 76 and 73 to finish at one-over-par 285, tied for 62nd place, earning $1,463.[13] McQuillan's struggles continued at theValero Texas Open, where he missed the 36-hole cut after rounds of 82–75.[14] McQuillan shot 78–77 at theZurich Classic of New Orleans to miss the cut by 12 strokes.[15] McQuillan played the Nationwide Tour's Stadion Classic at UGA on his former home course inAthens, Georgia, but missed the 36-hole cut by three strokes with scores of 71–76.[16] His next event was theHP Byron Nelson Championship nearDallas, where his scores of 73-73 missed the 36-hole cut by three strokes.[17] McQuillan played the Nationwide Tour'sMaryland event, theMelwood Prince George's County Open, and missed the cut by two shots with scores of 72–71.[18] He shot 70–73 to miss the 36-hole cut by one stroke at the FedEx St. Jude Classic nearMemphis.[19] Although he missed another cut, by four strokes, at the Travelers Championship nearHartford with scores of 73–67, his second round was his first under 70 on the PGA Tour since Pebble Beach, four months before.[20]
McQuillan broke out of his slump at theJohn Deere Classic, inSilvis, Illinois. He opened with 64 to tie for second place, one stroke out of the lead. He made the halfway cut comfortably with a second-round 69, then played well on the weekend with rounds of 70–64, finishing with 17-under-par 267, to tie for third place, winning $261,000. His three eagles led the field.[21] His position on theOfficial World Golf Ranking jumped to #506.[22] McQuillan continued his good play at theViking Classic, nearJackson, Mississippi, where he scored 72-65-71-67, for 13-under-par 275, to tie for 34th place, winning $18,990.[23] McQuillan made his third straight cut at theRBC Canadian Open, held over theShaughnessy Golf & Country Club in Vancouver, scoring 68-73-74-70 for 5-over-par 285, tied for 31st place, and winning $33,800.[24] McQuillan saw his streak of three straight made cuts end at the 2011Greenbrier Classic, where his scores of 71-74 missed the 36-hole cut by four strokes.[25] McQuillan tied for sixth place at the 2011 Reno-Tahoe Open with scores of 71-69-71-66 for a 277 total, 11-under-par, winning $97,125.[26]McQuillan's scores of 69–70 at theWyndham Championship missed the halfway cut by two strokes, and he failed to make the top 125-point scorers for the FedEx Cup, missing the four playoff events.[27] McQuillan made seven cuts in 21 events and ended the season 137th on the money list.
In 2017, McQuillan qualified for thePGA Tour Canada.
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 Jul2005 | Telus Edmonton Open | −17 (67-68-66-66=267) | 6 strokes | Graham DeLaet (a) |