Neal Lancaster

Grady Neal Lancaster (born September 13, 1962) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and the PGA Tour Champions.

Neal Lancaster
Personal information
Full nameGrady Neal Lancaster
Born (1962-09-13) September 13, 1962
Smithfield, North Carolina
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceSmithfield, North Carolina
Career
Turned professional1985
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Nationwide Tour
Professional wins5
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentCUT: 1995, 1996
PGA ChampionshipT34: 2002
U.S. OpenT4: 1995
The Open ChampionshipT37: 2002

Lancaster was born, raised and makes his home in Smithfield, North Carolina. He turned pro in 1985 as a completely self-taught player. Lancaster started playing on mini-tours four months in 1989 before going to Q School. He did not take his first golf lesson until 1992. His first golf lesson was given by L.B. Floyd, father of Raymond Floyd.[1]

Lancaster has 28 top-10 finishes in 579 PGA Tour events, including a win at the 1994 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic, which was shortened to 36 holes due to weather. (Prior to 1996, PGA Tour events shortened to 36 holes were considered official.) His best finish in a major is a T-4 at the 1995 U.S. Open.[2]

Lancaster set the 9-hole record at the U.S. Open with 29 strokes at the 1995 (4th round) and 1996 U.S. Opens (second round). This has been tied by Vijay Singh (2003, second round), Louis Oosthuizen (2015, fourth round), and Tom Kim (2023, third round).[3]

In 2002, Lancaster came to the final hole of the Bell Canadian Open with a two-shot lead. He made double bogey to drop into a sudden death playoff with John Rollins and Justin Leonard. Rollins won on the first extra hole.[4] Lancaster played full-time on the PGA Tour from 1990 to 2005.

Lancaster placed fifth at the 2009 Q School tournament, but shoulder surgeries plagued him for years. He played in the 2012 Farmers Insurance Open, his first PGA Tour start since 2009. He made the cut at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, his first since the 2009 Buick Open.

After turning 50, Lancaster played his first Champions Tour event in October 2012 at the SAS Championship and finished T8 at the tour's Q school. After ending his career as a touring professional, Lancaster became a PGA professional, competing in events sanctioned through the Carolinas section of the PGA. In 2017, Lancaster won Carolinas PGA Senior Professional Championship.

Professional wins (5)

PGA Tour wins (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runners-up
1 May 15, 1994 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic −9 (67-65=132)* Playoff United States Tom Byrum, United States Mark Carnevale,
United States David Edwards, Japan Yoshi Mizumaki,
United States David Ogrin

*Note: The 1994 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic was shortened to 36 holes due to weather.

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 1994 GTE Byron Nelson Golf Classic United States Tom Byrum, United States Mark Carnevale,
United States David Edwards, Japan Yoshi Mizumaki,
United States David Ogrin		 Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2002 Bell Canadian Open United States Justin Leonard, United States John Rollins Rollins won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (4)

Results in major championships
Tournament 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
Masters Tournament CUT CUT
U.S. Open T4 T82 CUT
The Open Championship T37
PGA Championship T84 T44 T52 CUT T34
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

See also

References
  1. "Neal Lancaster – Bio". PGA Tour. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  2. "Neal Lancaster". Golf Major Championships. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  3. Kelly, Todd (June 17, 2023). "Tom Kim's 29 ties U.S. Open 9-hole scoring mark during Saturday's third round". Golfweek.
  4. "Rollins takes advantage of Lancaster's collapse". Manila Standard. September 10, 2002. p. A6.
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