Three-Time PGA Tour Winner Bart Bryant Dies In A Car Accident

Three-time PGA Tour winner Bart Bryant has died in a car accident at the age of 59.

Details on the accident are unclear, but it happened in Florida as Bryant and his wife were driving to their home in Winter Garden from Atlanta.

In a statement, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said: “The PGA Tour is saddened by the tragic passing of Bart Bryant and our hearts go out to his family and friends during this difficult time. The Bryants have been a part of the PGA Tour family for over four decades and we are grateful for the impact and legacy he made on our organization and countless communities. Bart will be dearly missed.”

Bryant, whose brother Brad also played on the PGA Tour, is perhaps most famous for being the man who beat Tiger Woods in the 2005 Tour Championship. In his first appearance in the tournament, Bryant began that week with a course record 62 and eventually won by six shots over Woods, who finished second. 

Bryant was a late bloomer on the PGA Tour and didn’t win his first tournament until after he turned 40. That maiden victory came in the 2004 Valero Texas Open, where Bryant beat Patrick Sheehan by three shots. He followed that up with victory in the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in 2005, before his Tour Championship heroics. 

The win at 'Jack's Place' was almost as impressive as his victory over Woods later that year. He overcame a strong challenge from 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples to win by a shot. Woods was left chasing Bryant in that tournament, too. He finished fourth, six shots behind the Texan. Bryant's 2005 successes saw him finish in the top 10 of that year's money list and reach the top 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking. 

Later in his career, Bryant became the 1,000th winner in Champions Tour history when he claimed the 2013 Dick’s Sporting Goods Open, a tournament he would win for the second time in 2018.

Bryant is survived by his wife Donna, daughters Kristen and Michelle and stepchildren. Bryant’s first wife, Cathy, died of brain cancer in 2017.