Billy Andrade
William Thomas Andrade is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Champions Tour. He was previously a member of the PGA Tour, where he was a four-time winner.
Early life
Andrade was born in Bristol, Rhode Island. He is an American Junior Golf Association alum and 1981 Rolex Junior Player of the Year.He attended the Providence Country Day School for high school and then made his way to Wake Forest University where he helped lead the Demon Deacons to the 1986 NCAA Championship. He played on the U.S. team in the 1987 Walker Cup, and turned professional in the same year.
Professional career
He has four wins on the PGA Tour: the 1991 Kemper Open and Buick Classic, the 1998 Bell Canadian Open, and the 2000 Invensys Classic. He was the first golfer to win on the PGA Tour using the Titleist Pro V1 golf ball at the 2000 Invensys Classic at Las Vegas. He has been featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. Andrade continues to play on a limited basis, and finished T5 at the Sanderson Farms Championship on the PGA Tour in July 2013, earning $114,000. He became eligible to compete on the Champions Tour on January 25, 2014, when he turned 50 years old. He had exempt status on the Champions Tour due to his position on the career earnings money list and his multiple victories on the PGA Tour.Andrade is also an active contributor to charity. With Brad Faxon, they run the Billy Andrade/Brad Faxon Charities for Children, Inc., a non-profit organization that, as of 2005, has donated over $3 million to needy children in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts. Since 1999, Andrade and Faxon have also served as hosts of the CVS Charity Classic, a golf tournament held at the Rhode Island Country Club each June, whose proceeds benefit the two players' charity. Every fall Andrade and PGA Tour player Stewart Cink co-host the East Lake Invitational held at East Lake Golf Club which helps to benefit the East Lake Foundation.
Personal life
Andrade resides in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bristol, Rhode Island, with his wife, Jody, and their children Cameron and Grace. Unusual for a professional golfer, he is also a Democrat.Andrade has a close friendship with Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax whom he met at La Cumbre Country Club in Santa Barbara, California when Andrade was still a college player. Koufax, an avid golfer, regularly played at Andrade's annual charity golf tournament at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, Rhode Island.
Awards and honors
- In 1981, he was awarded the Rolex Junior Player of the Year
- In 1999, Andrade and Brad Faxon received the Golf Writers of America's Charlie Bartlett Award for their "unselfish contributions to society"
- In 2002, Andrade and Faxon received the American Heart Association's Gold Heart Award in recognition of their charitable efforts
- In addition, Andrade and Faxon were named winners of the Ambassadors of Golf Award in 2002
- In 2022, he received the Payne Stewart Award, given annually to a golfer who exemplifies Stewart's values of character, charitable efforts, and sportsmanship.
Amateur wins
- 1981 Junior PGA Championship, Junior World Cup
- 1983 New England Amateur
- 1986 North and South Amateur, Sunnehanna Amateur
Professional wins (13)
PGA Tour wins (4)
PGA Tour playoff record| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 1991 | Kemper Open |  Other wins (6)
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