Introduction
For the linguist, see Jonathan Kaye (linguist), and the British pizza company founder, see Jonathan Kaye (businessman)
Jonathan Andrew Kaye (born August 2, 1970) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.
Biography
Kaye was born in Denver, Colorado, and is Jewish. He graduated from the University of Colorado in 1993 and turned pro that same year. He began playing on the PGA Tour in 1995 after successfully competing in qualifying school.
Kaye has won twice on the PGA Tour, at the 2003 Buick Classic and the 2004 FBR Open, and he has over 30 top-10 finishes. He is a self-taught player who has never had a teacher. "There's nobody who could teach my swing," he has said.
Kaye has featured in the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking, though he has not played a PGA Tour event since 2011. Kaye briefly reappeared on the Web.com Tour in 2014, playing in three events and making the cut once with a T65 at the Panama Claro Championship.
2001 incident
In Kaye's early days in the tour, he was known to occasionally find himself in the center of sports media attention for his unorthodox behavior. Kaye's most well known clash with the Tour came at the 2001 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill, played less than a month after 9/11. The co-leader after the second round, Kaye was heading to the locker room. As the story goes, a security guard refused him entry without his player ID badge, which Kaye then found and clipped provocatively to his belt buckle or the zipper of his pants. The guard took offense, and PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem reportedly suspended Kaye for two months (but the PGA Tour never divulges or even acknowledges player suspensions).
Professional wins (3)
PGA Tour wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 22, 2003 | Buick Classic | −13 (70-66-68-67=271) | Playoff |  John Rollins |
| 2 | Feb 1, 2004 | FBR Open | −18 (65-68-66-67=266) | 2 strokes | Chris DiMarco |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2002 | Reno-Tahoe Open | Chris Riley | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2003 | Buick Classic | John Rollins | Won with eagle on first extra hole |
Other wins (1)
- 1996 Colorado Open
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | T43 | DNP | DNP | CUT | T43 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | DNP | DNP | T10 | CUT | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DQ | CUT | CUT | DNP |
| PGA Championship | T51 | T63 | CUT | T61 | CUT | CUT |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.