Who is Jerry Kelly, Madison-based golfer and two-time champ at AmFam Championship?
The American Family Insurance Championship, a pro-golf event on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, will get underway Friday. Wisconsinite Jerry Kelly, who won the event on back-to-back occasions in 2019 and 2021, will be among those on hand.
Get to know him a little better:
How old is Jerry Kelly?
He's 56 and will turn 57 on Thanksgiving.
Where is Jerry Kelly from?
He was born and raised in Madison, attending Madison East High School before playing in college at the University of Hartford in Connecticut. He graduated the same year that future Bucks star and assistant coach Vin Baker arrived on campus, in 1989.
Who's in his family?
Kelly is married to Carol, and the couple have a son, Cooper. Carol's brother, Jim Schuman, played pro golf on the Korn Ferry Tour from 1990 to 1993.
Carol recently overcame a diagnosis of kidney cancer and has now survived two cancer diagnoses in her life.
Cooper was a multisport athlete at Madison Edgewood and attended the University of Colorado.
Jerry's mother, Lee, has been known to bring bird feathers to the course and bury them there. "The birdies grow when you plant the feathers," Kelly explained in 2021.
What major events has Jerry Kelly won?
Kelly has three PGA Tour victories — two in 2002 and then the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2009. But his career has surged with the PGA Tour Champions (for golfers age 50 and over), with 11 victories since 2017. That includes two major titles (the 2020 and 2022 senior Players Championship), with the latter including a two-stroke win over defending champion and fellow Wisconsinite Steve Stricker. Kelly and Stricker played junior golf together during their days in Wisconsin.
Kelly and Stricker paired to win an event called the Shark Shootout in 2009, and Kelly won the Wisconsin State Open in 1992. His career earnings on PGA events are in excess of $29 million, according to the PGA Tour media guide.
Kelly was one of the fan favorites at The Players Championship in March 2023 after becoming the oldest player to make the weekend cut. He had qualified by winning the Kaulig Companies Championship on the PGA Tour Champions, and at one point, fans were chanting "Jer-ry, Jer-ry" as he approached his 72nd green.
More: Winning a U.S. Senior Open in Wisconsin would 'mean everything' to Jerry Kelly
Three other fun nuggets about Jerry Kelly
Earlier this month, he stepped in on short notice for John Daly and played superb golf at the "Beauty and the Beast" exhibition, facing off with golf social-media influencer Paige Spiranac.
Hockey plays a big role in his life. The former all-city hockey player said there was "no way" he could have played hockey professionally, but he did skate alongside some future pro players on his way up the ranks.
Early in his career, he moved to Florida so he could play in the winter but wound up buying a house seemingly surrounded by pygmy rattlesnakes. He has since moved back to Wisconsin.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Who is Jerry Kelly, Madison-based golfer and two-time AmFam champion?
