For a few years in the early to mid-2000s, Chris DiMarco was one of the greatest golfers on the planet. And part of what makes his career so interesting is that he played his best golf After earning all three PGA Tour victories on his resume.
DiMarco, like so many others, had the unenviable task of trying to beat Tiger Woods at the peak of his career. And, honestly, without Tiger, DiMarco would probably have more wins under his belt, maybe even a few major championships. But such is the life of a golfer in the days of the Woods.
Nonetheless, the Florida native still had a solid career and earned a lot of money. So what is Chris DiMarco up to these days?
Chris DiMarco has somehow only won three times on the PGA Tour
After a stellar career at the University of Florida, Chris DiMarco turned pro in 1990 and first made a name for himself on the Canadian Tour, winning the Order of Merit in 1992. He joined the Nike Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour) the following years and finished ninth in the standings, earning his PGA Tour card for the 1994 campaign.
He bounced between the two tours over the next few years and eventually broke through on the PGA Tour with a win at the 2000 SEI Pennsylvania Classic, a win that propelled him into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time. . time.
In 2001 he beat David Duval in the playoffs to win the Buick Challenge. And a few months later, he won the 2002 Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. And, sort of, it was DiMarco’s last PGA Tour victory.
But it’s not like he’s irrelevant over the next few years. He was a member of two Ryder Cup teams and two Presidents Cup teams and even made the winning putt for USA in the 2005 Presidents Cup.
And he was certainly stellar in major championships, almost winning several of them.
He twice finished runners-up to Tiger Woods in majors and had three runners-up overall
From 1998 to 2003, DiMarco played in 16 major championships and only finished in the top 10 once, that is, a T10 at the 2001 Masters, where Tiger Woods completed his historic “Tiger Slam “.
In 2004, however, DiMarco cracked the top 10 at three of the four majors. After finishing sixth at the Masters, he finished ninth at the US Open at Shinnecock Hills. He struggled at The Open Championship at Royal Troon, tied for 63rd, but bounced back to the PGA Championship.
After 72 holes at Whistling Straits, DiMarco found himself tied with Vijay Singh and Justin Leonard, who sent things to a three-hole overall playoff, which Singh won.
At the next major championship, the 2005 Masters, DiMarco was in on the action again and played in the final group on Sunday alongside Tiger Woods. Woods, of course, hit one of the most famous shots in Masters history that day, sinking a miraculous chip on the par-3 16th. But what many don’t remember is that DiMarco nearly won the tournament with his own chip-in on the 18th. Tiger eventually won in the playoffs.
Despite the loss, DiMarco’s second-place finish boosted him to 7th in the world rankings. He would reach his career high point, No. 6, about a month later.
At the 2006 edition of The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, DiMarco again put himself in contention. But again he finished second behind Tiger.
DiMarco struggled in the years that followed as a chronic shoulder injury hampered his career. At the end of 2008, the last year he competed in a major championship, he was outside the top 200 in the world rankings. And at the end of 2012, the last year he attempted a full-time season on the PGA Tour, he was outside the top 400.
The last PGA Tour event he played in was the 2016 Zurich Classic in New Orleans, where he shot 74-77 and missed the cut. But, again, Chris DiMarco certainly had an outstanding career, in which he pocketed over $22 million.
What is Chris DiMarco doing now?
With his days on the PGA Tour behind him, DiMarco has become a constant contributor to the Morning drive program on Golf Channel while also co-hosting on Sirius XM dogmatic.
He is also focusing on his son’s golf career. Cristian DiMarco, his only son with longtime wife Amy (they also have two daughters, Amanda and Abigale), turned pro in 2018 and has played events on the PGA Tour Canada and PGA Tour Latinoamerica.
As for Chris DiMarco, he is now in his 50s and has started playing more and more Champions Tour events over the past few years. Although he has yet to win a tournament, he has recorded four top-10 finishes.