Danny Walker is competing in the ongoing Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. He’s playing against top golfers such as World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Jordan Spieth. From being a rookie, the 29-year-old golfer is now one of the top contenders at the tournament.
Walker is an American golfer, born in Bradenton, Florida on October 4, 1995. He attended Lakewood Ranch High School and played in several competitive golf tournaments. He also attended the University of Virginia, where he continued to play golf and was named the 2016 South Beach International Amateur.
The 29-year-old American turned pro in 2018. He played on the PGA Tour Canada and soon claimed his first professional title, the PGA Tour Canada’s Freedom 55 Financial Championship.
Walker joined the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 but took a break from playing golf the year after due to a series of frustrating performances. He returned to the PGA Tour Canada in 2022 where he lifted the trophy at the Osprey Valley Open.
In 2024, Walker finished in 28th position on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. This enabled him to earn his PGA Tour card for the first time. However, Walker’s PGA Tour card didn’t automatically grant him a spot at the Players Championship. He was one of the alternate players for the event and only got into the field when Jason Day withdrew from the event at the last minute.
In the first round of the Players Championship, Walker made four bogeys and five birdies, finishing with a score of one-over 73. On day two of the tournament, he made four bogeys and six birdies to score a 70 at the end of the day.
The 29-year-old performed even better on day three, making six birdies in a bogey-free round to card 66 at the end of his round. He is currently sitting at T11 on the leaderboard. However, this is subject to change as the third round is in progress.
“It meant the world to me”: Danny Walker recalls getting emotional upon securing a spot in the Players Championship
Danny Walker's journey to the 2025 Players Championship has been nothing short of miraculous. On the morning of the tournament’s first round, Walker didn’t have a tee time as he was only an alternate. However, as he prepared to head to the greens, he got the news that he would replace Jason Day at 8:46 a.m. ET tee time.
Walker later revealed that getting the news was an amazing experience that left him emotional.
“It meant the world to me. Wanted to play in this event since I was a little kid, especially living here locally. Watched it a bunch of times the last few years, so yeah, I couldn’t have been more excited,” Danny Walker said. (Via Golf.com)
“Like, honestly, I went and sat in my car for a few minutes afterwards and just kind of let it hit me a little bit, maybe let a tear out. But no, it was all great. I was just excited,” he added.
Walker also revealed that he was even more excited to tee off with two major championship winners. He was grouped with Jordan Spieth and Wyndham Clark for the first round of the tournament.