Grant Waite

Height: 6 ft. 1 in 

Weight: 185 lbs 

Birthday: 08/11/1964

College: University of Oklahoma

Turned Pro: 1987

Birthplace: Palmerston North, New Zealand

Country: New Zealand

Sponsor: Taylor Made

The New Zealander attended the University of Oklahoma where he played on the golf team for a number of years. After graduating in 1987, he turned pro. For a number of years, Waite played on the mini tours in the United States without much success. He qualified for the PGA Tour for the first time in 1990 but lost his card after finishing 177th on the money list. He ended his rookie year with only a single top 10 finish (which came in his second event of the season, tied 6th at the Hawaiian Open) and made 11 cuts in 27 events.

For the next couple of seasons, the New Zealander only played a couple of PGA Tour events after Monday qualifying. He won his card for the 1993 season. It was the best year of his career as he captured his first and only (to date) PGA Tour title. The win came at the Kemper Open where he beat the current US Open champion at the time, Tom Kite by a single shot. This win gave Waite a two year exemption for the PGA Tour as well as $234,000. He went on to have a further three top 10 finishes that season and finished the year 35th on the money list.

Waite would have lost his card the following season if it wasn’t for the exemption he had received from winning the Kemper Open. He finished 172nd on the money list. For the next three seasons, 1995-1997, Waite had a runner-up finish in each of them. The 2000 season brought another two runner-up finishes including finishing second to Tiger Woods at the Canadian Open. He played steady golf for a number of years and held onto his card until the end of the 2002 season when he had to attend Q School to retain it. Since 2014, Waite has been playing some events on the Champions Tour.