Robert_Gamez
Robert Gamez
American professional golfer
Robert Anthony Gamez (born July 21, 1968) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour.
Gamez was born in Las Vegas, and is of Mexican descent.[2] He attended the University of Arizona where he was a member of the golf team. He played on the 1989 Walker Cup Team and dropped out of university to turn professional later that same year.[3][4]
Gamez has had what can be described as a hot and cold career as a professional golfer. He started out winning two tournaments in his rookie season on the Tour, including his first event, the Northern Telecom Tucson Open.[5] Only three others: Marty Fleckman in 1967, Ben Crenshaw in 1973, and Garrett Willis in 2001, have won their first PGA Tour event as a member of the PGA Tour. He is possibly best known for holing his second shot from the fairway on the tough 18th hole in the final round at the Nestle Invitational in March 1990, giving him a one stroke win over Greg Norman.[6][7] A commemorative plaque has since been placed in the fairway on the 18th hole at Bay Hill to mark the spot from which Gamez holed his 7-iron from 176 yards (161 m).[8]
From 1991 to 1997, Gamez had six runner-up finishes and one third place finish on the PGA Tour. In 1998, Gamez was injured in a car accident at the Kemper Open and his career started to decline. Between 1998 and 2001, he failed to finish in the top 125 on the PGA Tour money list. His career hit a low point in 2001, when he failed to qualify for the Tour.[9] Then he began to enjoy a resurgence in his career. He finished in the top-125 every year between 2002–2005 including a T-5 at the Bank of America Colonial in 2004 and a win at the 2005 Valero Texas Open. It was his first win in 15 years, 6 months (394 events), a PGA Tour record.[10][11] After 2005, Gamez's form started to decline and he has only had a few top-10 finishes since his 2005 season.[12][13] Gamez also had a health scare in 2014 when he underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery.[14] His best finish in a major is T-12 at the 1990 Open Championship.[15]
Gamez hosts an annual tournament in Orlando, Florida for the benefit of the Team Gamez Foundation. He lives in Orlando. His last full season on the PGA Tour was in 2008.
In 2022, Gamez was arrested while intoxicated on misdemeanor battery charges at a pool party in Orlando, Florida.[16]
