Michael Jancey "Briny" Baird (born May 11, 1972) is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour and Buy.com Tour.
Early life Baird was born in Miami Beach, Florida, the son of professional golfer Butch Baird. He played varsity golf in the 7th grade at Miami Country Day.
Amateur career Baird originally attended Georgia Tech before transferring to Valdosta State University where he won the NCAA Division II individual golf championship in 1994 and 1995.
Professional career In 1995, Baird turned professional. He won the 2000 Monterrey Open on the Buy.com Tour. He currently plays on the PGA Tour, but a poor 2005 season saw him lose his card. His highest placing to date on the end of year tour money list was 22nd in 2003. In 2008, he finished 27th in FedEx Cup, automatically qualifying him for the 2009 PGA Tour season. Although he has never won a PGA Tour event, he has finished second on six occasions, most recently at the 2013 McGladrey Classic.
Baird is known for his odd putting style that worked for him when he was doing it as a drill and it just stuck. On May 19, 2009, Baird hit a 230-yard shot from the top of the Omni San Diego Hotel to a bulls-eye in the center of Petco Park in order to give everyone a free chicken wrap at P. F. Chang's China Bistro.
In 2010, Baird entered the final event of the season 125th on the PGA Tour money list. He stumbled in the final round and a number of other players had better finishes. Baird finished 127th on the Tour, two spots out of retaining full Tour status.
In 2011, Baird nearly won his first PGA Tour event, the Frys.com Open. He lost on the sixth playoff hole to Bryce Molder. Despite the loss, the finish moved Baird from 148th to 93rd on the Tour's money list, which meant avoiding Q School.
Baird still has status on the PGA Tour via a medical exemption but he has not played a tour event since 2014.
Baird had the distinction of being the richest golfer never to win a PGA Tour event, earning over $13 million during his career, but coming up short six times. Cameron Tringale now holds that status, as Baird is currently 3rd on that list behind Tringale and also British golfer Brian Davis.
Professional wins (3) Buy.com Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Mar 13, 2000Buy.com Monterrey Open−20 (66-69-67-66=268)4 strokes Mark Hensby
Golden Bear Tour wins (2) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up1Aug 21, 1998Waterford Crystal Invitational−12 (65-68-71=204)2 strokes Patrick Sheehan2Sep 11, 1998Embassy Suites Classic−15 (68-66-67-70=271)2 strokes Robert Bilbo
Playoff record PGA Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12011Frys.com Open Bryce MolderLost to birdie on sixth extra hole
Results in major championships !Tournament20012002200320042005200620072008200920102011Masters TournamentCUTCUTU.S. OpenT40CUTCUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTPGA ChampionshipT22T43T39T37T42CUT
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 5Totals 0 0 0 0 0 1 13 6 Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (2001 U.S. Open – 2003 PGA) Longest streak of top-10s – 0
Results in The Players Championship Tournament2002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014The Players ChampionshipT49T11T33T56CUT4CUTCUTWDWD
CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships Tournament200420052006200720082009Match PlayR64ChampionshipT31InvitationalChampions
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
See also 1998 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 2000 Buy.com Tour graduates
References
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