"PGA Champion" Scott Verplank Hand Signed 3X5 Card Todd Mueller COA

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"PGA Champion" Scott Verplank Hand Signed 3X5 Card.
This item is certified authentic by Todd Mueller Autographs and comes with their Certificate of Authenticity.
ES-2486
Scott Rachal Verplank
(born July 9, 1964) is an American
professional golfer
, who has played on the
PGA Tour
and the
PGA Tour Champions
. Born and raised in
Dallas
,
Texas
, Verplank was a leading member of the
W.T. White High School
golf team and a regular at Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas. He graduated from high school in 1982 and attended
Oklahoma State University
in
Stillwater
. At OSU, he was a member of the 1983
NCAA
Championship team, finishing T3 alongside teammates
Tommy Moore
,
Willie Wood
,
Andy Dillard
, and
Philip Walton
. He went on later to win the 1984
U.S. Amateur
at the
Oak Tree Golf Club
, and in 1986, win the
NCAA
individual title. Prior to his senior year at Oklahoma State, Verplank won the
Western Open
outside
Chicago
in August
1985
; it was the first victory by an amateur on the PGA Tour in 29 years (
Doug Sanders
, 1956
Canadian Open
). He defeated
Jim Thorpe
on the second extra hole of a playoff for the win at
Butler National Golf Club
in
Oak Brook, Illinois
. Verplank graduated and turned professional in
1986
, using his two-year exemption on the PGA Tour; his first event as a pro was the
U.S. Open
at
Shinnecock Hills
in June, his sixth tour event that year.
He earned five wins on the PGA Tour, and two
Ryder Cup
appearances, in
2002
and
2006
. Verplank has
type 1
diabetes
and uses an
insulin pump
during play.
He was awarded the 2002
Ben Hogan
Award, given by the Golf Writers Association of America to an individual who has continued to be active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness.
Verplank has been featured in the top 20 of the
Official World Golf Rankings
, reaching as high as eleventh in
2001
. He hit a
hole-in-one
in the Ryder Cup, on the 14th hole during a singles match against
Pádraig Harrington
in
2006
. The shot did not impact the overall result, however, as Europe had already won the trophy. Nonetheless, he was the first American player to card an ace during the Ryder Cup; his overall record in the competition is 4 wins and 1 loss. Verplank's most recent win was the
2007
EDS Byron Nelson Championship
, in which he defeated
Luke Donald
by one stroke. As a Dallas native, Verplank called the EDS Byron Nelson Championship "a fifth major," and also mentioned that "Byron was with me today" (the 2007 tournament was the first held after Nelson's death). His best finish in a
major championship
was a tie for fourth at the
PGA Championship
in
2011
. In December 2010, Verplank was named a 2011 winner of the
NCAA Silver Anniversary Award
, given annually to six former NCAA student-athletes for distinguished career accomplishment on the 25th anniversary of their college graduation.
Verplank competed in the 2011
Arnold Palmer Invitational
finishing T38 and then the following week at the
Shell Houston Open
in which Verplank finished T2 behind
Phil Mickelson
. Verplank had held a joint 54-hole lead with Mickelson and even held the lead on his own at a number of stages during the final round, however his lack of competitive golf proved costly throughout the final few holes and he was unable to close out the victory. This was his best finish on tour in 18 months since finishing T2 at the
Deutsche Bank Championship
in 2009. Verplank has amassed over million in career earnings. Verplank played the 2013 season on a Major Medical Extension after hip and wrist injuries in 2012. He started the 2014 season in a similar fashion, but was not able to satisfy the medical exemption and used his career money list exemption for the remainder of the season. Verplank turned 50 in July 2014 and made his
Champions Tour
debut at the
U.S. Senior Open
at
Oak Tree National
, near his residence in Edmond, Oklahoma.