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Graham DeLaet
Canadian Professional Golfer
Graham grew up in Weyburn, Saskatchewan with his parents, Norm and Marilyn, and sister, Erin.
Being Canadian, it was only natural that Graham's first love was hockey - a sport he loved to watch, and loved to play even more. But injuries to his back and the realization that he might not be big enough (or GOOD enough) for a career in hockey lead Graham to focus on golf.
The opposite of a golf-hotbed, Weyburn is a small, blue-collar town in rural Saskatchewan. The local golf club, Weyburn Golf Club, is where Graham developed his game and his passion for the sport, and is where he first began to dream of a life on the largest golf stage in the world - the PGA Tour.
As an amateur golfer, Graham enjoyed great success both in college and as a member of the Canadian National Golf Team. In addition to his 10 wins in college, Graham was named WAC Freshman of the Year, 2006 WAC (Western Athletic Conference) Player of the Year, and was a three-time First Team All WAC player. Moreover, in 2005 he was the 2nd ranked amateur in Canada, finishing 2nd at the Canadian Tour's Telus Edmonton Open, and in 2006 was selected as the Saskatchewan Male Athlete of the Year. And finally, Graham topped off his amateur resume with a semi-finalist finish at the 2006 Canadian Men's Amateur Championship.
After a strong amateur career, Graham decided to turn professional in the fall of 2006, earning status on the Canadian Tour through qualifying school. 2007 was a strong rookie year on the Canadian Tour as Graham amassed 7 top-ten finishes and finished up 13th on the Canadian Tour's order of merit, not to mention an appearance in his first PGA Tour event, the 2007 Canadian Open.
The early part of 2008, however, was not as kind to Graham as he found himself struggling to make cuts for the first time in his young career. And with each missed cut, the financial pressures also mounted and Graham found himself falling into the trap of playing to make cuts, as opposed to playing each week to win. The timing was right for a short break; a break which included marrying his college sweetheart, Ruby. After some much needed downtime and a reassessment of his approach to professional golf, Graham returned to the Canadian Tour refocused and energized and ready to win. And that's exactly what he did, winning the Canadian Tour's Montreal event and following that up with two 2nd place finishes. Graham had regained his confidence in turning around his 2008 season and capped off the year with a trip to the Mission Hills World Cup where Graham, and partner Wes Heffernan, represented Canada.
Graham's incredible 2009 season was one for the ages as he won money on six different golf tours around the world; a true rarity in the sport. But, what truly made the year an incredible success was Graham's run through PGA Tour qualifying school. Having won the Canadian Tour's order of merit that year, Graham was granted an exemption directly into second stage of q school, bypassing first stage altogether. After getting through second stage, Graham went on to have a very strong showing at final stage finishing 8th and earning fulltime PGA Tour playing privileges for 2010.
Graham had an outstanding rookie season on the PGA Tour, finishing 100th on the PGA Tour money list, which made him top Canadian. The season had its share of ups and downs, but despite a back injury that plagued him for the better part of the season, Graham had several strong finishes, including a tied-3rd at the Shell Houston Open.
That back injury, however, was not going away and Graham elected to have surgery on January 3, 2011 to repair a herniated disk in his lower back.
The road to recovery was long and difficult, as Graham only played two PGA Tour events in 2011 while rehabbing his back. But hard work and patience paid off and Graham 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.
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