Geoffrey Sisk (born March 11, 1965) is an American professional golfer. Sisk had a "sterling" amateur career at Temple University, earning All-American honors and winning eight tournaments, a Temple record. He had difficulties getting on to the PGA Tour, however, with repeated failures at PGA Tour Qualifying school. In the interim, he played local events in New England with incredible success, ultimately winning the Massachusetts Open six times. Sisk finally earned PGA Tour membership before the 1999 season but was unable to maintain his card. For most of the remainder of his career, he played on the local minitours, especially the New England Pro Golf Tour, with much success, winning over a dozen tournaments.
Early life Sisk was born in Arlington, Massachusetts. He grew up in Billerica, Massachusetts. Around the age of 15, however, his family moved to Marshfield, Massachusetts. Sisk attended Marshfield High School. In his early teens, he won the Marshfield Country Club junior championship. As a sophomore at Marshfield High, he earned the top spot on his high school's golf team. He also finished in fourth place at the Massachusetts State Junior Championship. Late in the academic year, Sisk first received notable media coverage in The Boston Globe. The newspaper referred to him as part of the 1981 Golf All-Scholastics team.
In the summer of 1982, Sisk's play at the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) Intermediate Tournament was reported by The Boston Globe. Sisk won the CYO defeating Ted Wheeler in the finals 3 & 2. During his senior year, Sisk maintained top-notch play for Marshfield High School. "He has been around par or under par all year," his coach Dennis Zicko said. Late in the academic year, Sisk played the Cape Area sectional title at Pocasset Golf Club in Bourne, Massachusetts. Sisk won the event, scoring four birdies against three bogeys, finishing with a one-under-par 71.
Amateur career In the spring of 1983, Sisk was recruited to attend Temple University on a "partial golf scholarship." It was the only college to offer him an athletic scholarship. In the fall of 1983, Sisk began attending Temple. During the academic year, he won the Big 5 Invitational, his first win college win. In March 1984, Sisk received media attention for his play at the Iron Duke Classic. At the elite event, he finished in joint second place among individuals, one shot behind champion Webb Heintzelman. In the summer he returned to Massachusetts. He was the low amateur at the Massachusetts Open. In July, Sisk played the Massachusetts Amateur. Sisk won his first four matches and was slated to play Jim McDermott, the 1980 champ, in the finals. The finals were 36 holes long. Sisk was behind for most of the match and was 2 down with two to play. With his back against the wall, Sisk hit his tee shot on the par-3 35th hole to 5 feet threatening to take it to a 36th hole. However, McDermott holed his 12-foot birdie putt to secure the match, winning 2 & 1. Though he lost, Sisk ultimately won the Massachusetts Golf Association Player of the Year. He was the youngest person ever to win the award. He continued to have success at Temple. As of November 1985, Sisk had won five college tournaments, including the ACC Tournament and two Big Five titles. During this era, Sisk was the "No. 1 man" for Temple's golf team.
In 1986, however, according to The Boston Globe, Sisk's season was only "so-so." "My game was just deteriorating," Sisk later said. "I couldn't understand it was happening to my game. It was frustrating." In June, Sisk met up with former PGA Tour pro Bruce Douglass who gave him advice. Sisk's game slowly started to improve. In September, Sisk was the individual champion at the Yale Invitational and "[l]ed" Temple to second-place finish in the team portion of the event. In October, Sisk was joint medalist at the Big 5 Invitational and Temple won the event for the fifth consecutive year. Late in the 1986–87 academic year, Sisk won the Eastern Invitational, the final tournament of the season. "For the first time in two years I really felt like I was hitting the ball," Sisk told The Boston Globe after the event. Sisk was also an All-American at Temple. In December 1987, Sisk graduated from Temple with a degree in finance. Sisk ultimately won eight tournaments for Temple, the most ever at the time. He is currently tied with Brandon Matthews for the most ever. Despite his success as an amateur, Sisk did not intend to turn professional.
In the late 1980s, Sisk continued to have success at local New England amateur events. In 1988, Sisk won the John Cronin Memorial Four-ball with partner Mark Greenhaigh. Later in the spring, he was low amateur at the Massachusetts Open again. In the summer of 1988, Sisk recorded "a grueling one-stroke victory" at the Rockland Open. A few days later he attempted to qualify for the U.S. Amateur. In final round, he shot a "spectacular" 69 to earn medalist honors and qualify for the event. Sisk ultimately qualified for the match play portion of the event. He reached the Round of 16 and received "national media attention" for his performance. In July 1989, Sisk shot a 69, the only under-par score, to earn medalist honors at the Massachusetts Amateur. The following month, he qualified for the U.S. Amateur again. During this era, Sisk was regarded as one of the top amateurs in the state by the Massachusetts Golf Association (MGA).
Professional career In late 1989, Sisk turned professional. He was originally ambivalent about turning pro but later stated "over the winter I thought about it and figured if I don't try to become a professional golfer and see how good I can be, 20 years from now I would regret it." During the winter of 1989–90 he moved to Florida to have the opportunity to practice more. He played the minitours where he finished in the money in nine of his 11 events. In June 1990, Sisk played the Massachusetts Open. He was in the joint lead after the first two rounds. On the par-3 17th hole of the final round, Sisk was one shot back and nearly holed his tee shot. He tied playing partner Fran Quinn for the lead. However, on the final hole, influenced by Quinn's good positioning, Sisk played his approach shot too aggressively and it went into a bunker. He made bogey and finished third. During the year, he started playing some events on the Ben Hogan Tour, the PGA Tour's developmental tour. He recorded a top ten at the Ben Hogan New England Classic. In November, Sisk began making attempts to qualify for the PGA Tour at the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. At sectionals, playing Jacaranda Country Club at Plantation, Florida, Sisk shot 284 to move on. At the final stage, Sisk failed to earn PGA Tour membership, however. During this era, Sisk started working with famed instructor Peter Kostis.
In 1991, Sisk continued playing on the Ben Hogan Tour. However he had tenuous status. Sisk said, "I am a regular Hogan Tour alternate, but unless the field fails to fill up with regular commitments, I have to try to qualify each week in order to play." Sisk made the cut in his first five events with two top-25s. In May, he stated, "The week-after-week tournaments are having a good effect. It makes you tournament tough." However, Sisk then started "struggling" on the Hogan Tour, missing several cuts in a row. "I missed five cuts; I was getting very disgusted," he told The Boston Globe. He ultimately missed seven cuts in a row. Sisk claimed that too much "tinkering" with his swing was undermining his game. In the middle of the season, Sisk had some success. In July, he began play at the Ben Hogan Wichita Charity Classic held at Reflection Ridge Golf Course in Wichita, Kansas. Sisk shot a 64 in the practice round breaking the course record. At the event proper, he shot in the 60s every day to finish one outside of the top ten. Two weeks later, at the Ben Hogan Tulsa Open, Sisk finished T-4. However, for the remainder of the year Sisk struggled, missing his last six cuts.
In the mid-1990s, Sisk did not play on the Ben Hogan Tour but rather focused on playing smaller events around New England, Florida, and South Africa. In late July 1992, he began play at the Greater Bangor Open. In the final round, Sisk recorded the day's best round, a 65, to tie Jeff Julian at the end of regulation. They entered a sudden-death playoff. Both players parred the first two holes. On the third playoff hole, played on the 7th hole, Julian made a 35-foot birdie. Sisk was unable to match him with his 15-foot putt. Sisk later said, "I just went out and tried to play a solid round of golf. I really couldn't have scored any better." Sisk earned $4,200. In the winter of 1992–93, Sisk played the Southern African Tour. At the ICL International, Sisk opened with rounds of 68 and 65 to take the lead. Nick Price outplayed him on the weekend to win but Sisk still finished in the top ten. In July, Sisk played the Greater Bangor Open at Bangor Municipal Golf Course again. In the second round, Sisk shot a 63 (−6) to tie the course record. He finished in the top ten. In December, he began playing the Gold Coast Pro Tour, a minitour in Florida. At an event at Wycliffe Country Club, Sisk finished solo runner-up. In June 1994, Sisk won the Cape Cod Open. It was "his first victory as a professional." In November, he began playing the Gold Coast Tour again. At an event in West Palm Beach, Florida, Sisk shot rounds of 70 and 72 to finish joint second. He won $1,150. In December, at an event at Emerald Dunes Golf Club in West Palm Beach, he finished in a tie for fourth, six back of champion Bob Friend. At this stage he was in the top ten on the money list for the tour. It was described that he was "hitting the ball better than he ever had." In June 1995, Sisk played a sectional qualifier for the U.S. Open at Century and Old Oaks Country Club in Purchase, New York. Sisk shot rounds of 66 and 72 to finish in joint second and qualify for the 1995 U.S. Open. It was his first U.S. Open. The week after he played the U.S. Open he played the Massachusetts Open again. The event was at Wollaston Golf Club in Milton, Massachusetts. He entered the final round one back of leader Tim Angis. During the "windy" final round, however, Angis self-destructed while Sisk executed a "careful" even-par performance to secure the victory. Sisk earned the Golfer of the Year title from Paul Harber of The Boston Globe.
For the remainder of 1995 and much of 1996, however, Sisk struggled. He did not play the Florida minitours that winter but rather decided to focus on practice in an effort to improve his game. In the spring of 1996, Sisk started playing on the Nike Tour, the PGA Tour's developmental tour, once again. However, Sisk did not have full-time exempt status. Early in the season, Sisk played in six events and made the cut in four of them with one top-25. In May, Sisk attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open. However, he shot 148 at sectionals and missed qualifying by several shots. In June, he missed the cut at the Vermont Open. He told The Boston Globe, "Honestly I've been struggling. It's frustrating." Later in the month, Sisk attempted to defend his Massachusetts Open title. However, he was not in contention, finishing ten shots back at 215 (+2).