Hardly a household name despite six PGA Tour victories and career prize money of US$23m, a diagnosis of Lyme’s Disease limited his starts in 2017; missing much of the early part of the season, missing the halfway cut at the U.S. Open, one solitary top-10, ninth at the SBS Tournament of Champions before his illness took hold.
He is well outside a guaranteed place in the FedEx Finals but still comfortably within the top-50 on the OWGR. But the Texan resident, born in Oklahoma City and who will turn 40 in 18-months-time is just happy to be back playing golf.
“The golf game, we’re just going to have to see where that’s at,” Walker said, adding, “I haven’t been able to do a lot because I couldn’t really be out in the sun, which is why I’ve taken some time off [but] ‘the want’ is getting back [and] as of right now, I feel pretty good,” said Walker at a recent pre-PGA Championship press event at the venue, Quail Hollow.
Defending champion Walker is far from your archetypical PGA Tour professional. His road to the top most certainly not that trodden by the typical, modern ‘Major,’ champion.
Walker didn’t play his first full season on the PGA Tour until 2006 at age 27, and it was hardly an auspicious start to a career now blossoming; in 21 starts in his rookie year, he made the cut just nine times and finished inside the top 25 once. Hardly an indication of a ‘Major’ champion in waiting.
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