Graham DeLaet will tee off at the Augusta Golf Course on Thursday, when he competes in his first-ever Masters tournament.
Graham DeLaet will tee off at the Augusta Golf Course on Thursday, when he competes in his first-ever Masters tournament. Practice rounds for the Masters started on Tuesday morning, and the Weyburn golfer headed into Augusta after tying 19th at the Shell Houston Open.
Originally the first practice round was scheduled for Monday morning, but inclement weather forced the gates closed at the Augusta Golf Course. When the tournament starts, defending champion Adam Scott will headline a 96-man field that features 56 of the top 60 players in this week's world rankings.
During the Shell Houston Open, DeLaet tied for 19th, earning $77,568. He started on the front nine for round one, shooting bogeys on hole two and hole eight, but was able to recover during the back nine with birdies on holes 10, 13, 15 and 18. DeLaet finished 70, two-under-par for the first round.
DeLaet started on the back nine for round two, where he shot a birdie on hole 13, then back-to-back bogeys on holes 16 and 17. Then on the front nine, he had back-to-back birdies for holes one and two, a double bogey on hole five, and an eagle on hole eight. He finished the round at 71, one-under-par.
With his two round total at three-under-par, DeLaet made the cut which was set at even par. During round three, he shot a bogey on hole two, a birdie on hole eight, a birdie on hole 11 and a bogey on hole 17. He finished the hole at 72, even par.
Then in the fourth and final round, DeLaet started on the front nine where he hit a birdie on hole two, back-to-back birdies on holes four and five and a bogey on hole six. Then on the back nine, he had a bogey on hole 14 and a birdie on hole 15. His fourth round score was 70, two-under-par.
DeLaet is a top-30 ranked golfer, who started his golf career at the Weyburn Golf Course. He had an early start on the golf course, with his father, Norm DeLaet. From there, he played in the junior golf program then competed in the Saskatchewan Junior Order of Merit Tour.
From there Graham won back-to-back Saskatchewan Amateur Men's titles in 2005 and 2006, and won the Saskatchewan Men's order of Merit Tour. He played two years on the Canadian Tour, capturing multiple victories and earned the Rolex Player-of-the-Year on the Canadian Tour.
DeLaet had an outstanding rookie year in the PGA Tour in 2010, finishing 100th on the PGA Tour money list, which made him top Canadian. He took much of 2011 off, recovering from surgery on a herniated disk in his lower back. He returned to the Tour in 2012 putting together a very strong bounce back season that included topping the $1 million mark on the PGA Tour money list for the first time in his young career.
Last year, Graham had success by surpassing the $2 million mark, competing at the Players championship, the BMW championship and the Tour championship. He was also invited to play for the International Team at the President's Cup.
Earlier in the 2014 PGA Tour season, DeLaet tied second at the Farmers Insurance Open, and then followed with another tied-second finish at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Other top 10 placings during the 2014 season include tying seventh at the CIMB Classic, tying sixth at the World Golf Championships: HSBC Champions tournament, and tying eighth at the Valspar Championship.
