At the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, Jake Knapp is chasing his second victory of the season. Following him is two-time PGA Tour winner Troy Merritt. After the first round, Merritt was not expected to be in contention, but he pleasantly was after the second round.

The 30-year-old shot the second round of 5 under 66 and jumped 29 places to be T2 at the CJ Cup’s Byron Nelson’s leaderboard. Stunning, right? Well, this sure has intrigued people to know about how the golfer’s golf journey has been so far. Let us get to know the Tour Pro better.

Who was Troy Merritt’s inspiration when he was growing up?

Troy Merritt hails from the small and beautiful Maple City, Iowa, Osage. He was born on October 25, 1985, to Mark and Zoe Merritt. From his childhood, Merritt was curious about sports. So, he picked up golf and basketball. Although the former became more of his life’s central piece.

Growing up, the 30-year-old used to watch a lot of golf and could not decide who he should love more. So he settled on Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Fred Couples, and the 1996 Tiger Woods as his inspiration. To continue on the path of golf, Merritt was admitted to Spring Lake Park High School in Minnesota after his family moved.

In his senior year of high school, Merritt was ranked second as the best high school player in Minnesota. While playing golf at Spring Lake, he stayed in the state for five years. He got himself a membership at Bunker Hill and worked as a cart for Oak Hill Golf Club for two years. Then he started playing golf at another course called Majestic Oaks for two summers.

At first, Merritt continued his studies in Minnesota at Winona State University as a junior in 2005 as a freshman. Two years later, he decided to move to Idaho and continue his education at Boise State University. Leading up to his senior year, Meritt had already won many events, and in that season, he amazingly won five back-to-back titles.

In an interview with Pioneer Press, Merritt revealed that, before his professional debut, he had already won 100 events in his junior career. So, when he graduated in 2008 from Boise, his first thing was to play the Q School and repeat his success as he did as a junior player.

How many times has Troy Merritt won in his career?

Troy Merritt started playing on the then-Nationwide Tour, and after a year of hard work, he earned his first victory. In a playoff against Australia’s Adam Bland, Merritt sank a 20-foot birdie putt and won the Mexico Open in 2009. That year, he also participated in the PGA Tour National Qualifying Tournament.

Merritt shot the final round of 3 under 69 and received the medalist honor and the PGA Tour membership for the 2010 season. However, the first year for Merritt on the PGA Tour was very stressful, and the next season, in 2011, Merritt lost his PGA Tour card. He hustled his way back through the Korn Ferry Tour and regained PGA Tour privileges in 2013.

Since then, Merritt has always stayed on the PGA Tour. In his over a decade-long career on the Tour, the Iowa native’s maiden victory came two years after he re-entered the PGA Tour. In 2015, Merritt was leading ahead of Rickie Fowler, his Q-schoolmate at Quick Loans National. He eventually finished better and defeated Fowler by three strokes. Then, three years after his initial win, Merritt’s luck shone at the 2018 Barbasol Championship.

The event was rain-delayed, and it got pushed to a Monday finish. He missed the birdie for his victory and concluded with a par putt to lift the trophy. That win was a relief and yet a painful one for Merritt, as it led to one of his most dangerous injuries.

What injuries did Troy Merritt suffer from? 

After his second victory on the PGA Tour, Merritt was eligible to play in the 2018 PGA Championship. However, bad news struck, as he was diagnosed with a blood clot above his elbow and continued to his chest. With it, moving the club was the hardest task, so to play better at the PGA Championship, Merritt went through surgery.

Before he flew to St. Louis, Merritt underwent a thrombectomy, and two days later, he was at the PGA Championship. Yet, all his hard work couldn’t be fruitful at the course, as he missed the cut. After recovering from a thrombectomy in January 2019, the doctors diagnosed Merritt with thoracic outlet syndrome, which was an after-effect of the blood clot.

In the same month, the Osage native underwent another procedure. This one was much more complicated than the last as he had gotten his left upper rib removed. He bid adieu to the greens for a good two months and returned to the 2019 PLAYERS Championship. Unfortunately, there as well, he missed the cut.

His ordinary performance continued on the PGA Tour, but in the 2020–21 season, Merritt was close to ending his rust and winning again. At the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic, he entered the playoffs against Joaquin Niemann and Cam Davis. He couldn’t capitalize and lost his third victory to a bogey putt. There have been many ups and downs in his life, and through it all, Merritt had his family to back him up.

How many children does Troy Merritt have? 

Although Merritt rarely divulges his personal information, he had made it public about his dear wife, Courtney Merritt. The couple has two sons, Scout and Dodge. Per the 30-year-old pro, the birth of his two children was the biggest thrill for him outside of golf. Moreover, even though he is a huge golf fan and most players choose their inspiration for dream foursome pairings, he chose his family.

The four of them may make the best foursome pairing and the most entertaining, too. Now at TPC Craig Ranch, Merritt remains tied for second on the leaderboard before Saturday’s round, and he would surely want to convert it into a win at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.