Kevin Coulter Tway (born July 23, 1988) is an American professional golfer who has played on the Web.com Tour and the PGA Tour. He won numerous junior tournaments, and most notably, the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur.[2] Tway is the son of Bob Tway, an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the PGA Championship in 1986. Following Kevin's maiden PGA Tour win at the Safeway Open in October 2018, they are one of only ten father-son pairs to have won PGA Tour events.

Kevin Tway
Tway at the 2008 U.S. Open
Personal information
Full nameKevin Coulter Tway
Born (1988-07-23) July 23, 1988 (age 36)
Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S.
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceEdmond, Oklahoma
Career
CollegeOklahoma State
Turned professional2011
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
Former tour(s)Web.com Tour
Professional wins3
Highest ranking81 (October 14, 2018)[1]
(as of November 17, 2024)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
Korn Ferry Tour1
Other1
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT36: 2019
PGA Championship77th: 2019
U.S. OpenT60: 2014
The Open ChampionshipDNP

Amateur career

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Born in Edmond, Oklahoma, Tway attended Edmond North High School where he was named The Oklahoman's All-City Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007. He was a first-team American Junior Golf Association All-American in 2006 and was a second-team pick in 2005. He won the Oklahoma Class 6A individual title in 2006 and 2007. Tway won the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur[2][3] and advanced to the semifinals the following year.

Tway played college golf at Oklahoma State. In his freshman year, he won the NCAA Central Regional and was named honorable mention All-American, first-team All-Big 12 and was selected to the All-Central Region squad.[4]

Tway qualified for the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines but he failed to make the cut by four strokes after posting rounds of 75 and 78. Tway lost in the round of 16 at the 2008 U.S. Amateur to Derek Fathauer.

Professional career

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Tway turned professional in 2011 after graduating from Oklahoma State. He made his professional debut at the 2011 Travelers Championship, with his father caddying for him.[5] He played on the Web.com Tour in 2013 and picked up his first win in July at the Albertsons Boise Open, defeating Spencer Levin on the first playoff hole with a birdie.[6] Both had shot a tournament record 261 (–23). Tway finished 5th on the regular season money list to earn his PGA Tour card for 2014.[7]

During the 2014 season, Tway made only eight cuts in 23 events with no top-10 finishes. His best finish was a tie for 26th at the 2014 Travelers Championship, and he finished the season 177th in FedEx Cup points, losing his PGA Tour card.[8] Back on the Web.com Tour in 2015, Tway carded two top-10s, with a runner-up finish at the Mexico Championship,[9] but he finished 28th on the money list; three spots shy of regaining his PGA Tour card.[10]

In 2016, Tway returned to the Web.com Tour and his results improved from the previous season. He scored four top-10s in 20 starts, including a solo third at the Price Cutter Charity Championship, but he still finished the regular season money list a few spots shy of automatically earning his card in 27th.[11] However, during the 2016 Web.com Tour Finals, Tway performed well, including a tie for third at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship, which earned him back his PGA Tour card for 2017.

In 2017, Tway's season began with a slow start without having a top-30 finish in his first eleven starts, but in April, Tway knocked off three consecutive top-5s, finishing T3 at the Valero Texas Open, solo 3rd at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (partnering with Kelly Kraft), and T5 at the Wells Fargo Championship. Tway also moved from 175th in the FedEx Cup to 55th in those events, virtually locking up his Tour card for the next season. He made the playoffs for the first time and finished the season 69th in points, easily retaining his card for 2018.[12]

Tway had a solid 2018 season, making 26 of 33 cuts and scoring three top-10s. Again, Kevin had a great spring with T9 at the AT&T Byron Nelson, top-5 at the Fort Worth Invitational, and T6 at the Travelers Championship. He made the playoffs for a second consecutive year and finished 87th in points, again easily retaining his PGA Tour card for the next season.[13]

On October 7, 2018 (beginning of 2019 season), Tway won the Safeway Open, for his first career PGA Tour victory, in a playoff over Brandt Snedeker and Ryan Moore. Tway birdied the last two holes in regulation to join a three-man playoff. Tway and Moore both birdied the first playoff hole, however Snedeker made par, eliminating him from the playoff. The next hole, Tway and Moore both birdied, forcing a third playoff hole. On the third playoff hole, Tway won with a 10 foot birdie putt.[14]

On December 15, 2019, Tway won the QBE Shootout with partner Rory Sabbatini.[15]

Amateur wins

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Professional wins (3)

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PGA Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 Oct 7, 2018 Safeway Open 68-67-68-71=274 −14 Playoff   Ryan Moore,   Brandt Snedeker

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2018 Safeway Open   Ryan Moore,   Brandt Snedeker Won with birdie on third extra hole
Snedeker eliminated by par on first hole

Web.com Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 Jul 28, 2013 Albertsons Boise Open 65-69-63-64=261 −23 Playoff   Spencer Levin

Web.com Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2013 Albertsons Boise Open   Spencer Levin Won with birdie on first extra hole

Other wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 15 Dec 2019 QBE Shootout
(with   Rory Sabbatini)
58-67-60=185 −31 2 strokes   Jason Kokrak and   J. T. Poston

Results in major championships

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Tournament 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open CUT T60 CUT
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament 2019
Masters Tournament T36
PGA Championship 77
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = Tied

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
The Players Championship T46 CUT C CUT CUT
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships

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Tournament 2019
Championship
Match Play
Invitational 63
Champions T60
  Did not play

"T" = Tied

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 41 2018 Ending 14 Oct 2018" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "2005 U.S. Junior Amateur – Kevin Tway Celebrates His 17th Birthday With U.S. Junior Amateur Title". USGA.
  3. ^ Kilgore, Adam (July 24, 2005). "Tway grabs title and a name for himself". The Boston Globe.
  4. ^ "Kevin Tway – Profile". Oklahoma State Athletics. Archived from the original on September 1, 2009.
  5. ^ Boyer, Zac (June 24, 2011). "Travelers Notebook: Bob Tway Carrying Son Kevin Tway's Bag". Hartford Courant.
  6. ^ "Kevin Tway wins Boise Open". ESPN. Associated Press. July 28, 2013.
  7. ^ "2013 Web.com Regular Season Money List". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  8. ^ "2014 FedEx Cup Standings". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  9. ^ "Kevin Tway Web.com Player Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  10. ^ "2015 Web.com Regular Season Money List". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  11. ^ "2016 Web.com Regular Season Money List". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  12. ^ "2017 FedEx Cup Standings". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  13. ^ "2018 FedEx Cup Standings". PGA Tour. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  14. ^ "Kevin Tway wins Safeway Open on 3rd hole of playoff". ESPN. Associated Press. October 7, 2018.
  15. ^ "Rory Sabbatini and Kevin Tway win QBE Shootout". Associated Press News. December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
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