For the first time in his life, Englishman David Skinns will be playing at THE PLAYERS Championship. The breakthrough for Skinns comes at the age of 42, which makes his first play special and a fruitful result after tough times. Alongside young stars like Nick Dunlap, Ludvig Aberg, and Nicolai Hojgaard, Skinns will be another debutant at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course.

The journey from the feeder leagues to finally playing golf, deemed to be a fifth major, was overwhelming, but Skinns surpassed it all because of his determination to make it big. So who is the man who never deterred as time tested him at every point?

How did David Skinns start playing golf?

David Skinns, from the flattened land of Nottingham County in England, comes from an avid soccer fan family. But when his father injured his knee while playing soccer and turned to golf, Skinns too found a new interest. Until the age of 10, the golf pro went about hitting balls around his town. And then the youngster got permission to play at Canwick Park Golf Club.

Skinns spent the majority of his early years playing at Canwick; however, when he started his junior golf career, he decided to move on to play for the Lincoln Golf Club in Torksey. There, he finished as a runner-up for the Boys Amateur Championship in 2000. His brilliant display of skill at the event even earned him admission to the University of Tennessee. The now-42-year-old then went on to win the SEC Championship in his senior year.

Backed by a promising college career, Skinns’s professional career kicked off epically. “Straight out of college, I was promised a bunch of invites on the Challenge Tour,” he said. However, he missed a cut early on and “never saw another one [invite].” “So I gave up on the Challenge Tour pretty quickly,” added the star, explaining how he then came to America and started playing on the Hooters Tour.

Skinns won on that Hooters Tour seven times, but misfortune struck when the league was shut down due to the untimely death of the owner and a son not interested in funding it further. The golfer, however, refused to give in and moved to other tours, playing events on the Nationwide Tour and multiple other mini-tours.

Eventually Skinns made his way to the PGA Tour Canada, and from there, in 2016, he earned a membership in the Korn Ferry Tour. He played on KFT for six years and won three times; his latest victory was at the Club Car Championship. The golfer had several appearances on the PGA Tour too. The best of them was at the Cognizant Classic just weeks ago, where he carded a T-4 finish—his best placing on the Tour.

David Skinns’s motivation behind playing golf

Undoubtedly, the gold pro has seen many ups and downs in his career. Through it all, however, he has never given up. Why? Well, the answer is straight and simple. “I’ve never not felt like this is what I’m supposed to do,” he said, claiming that he believes he was born to golf. “I’ve always kind of had that belief: I’m a professional golfer. There’s never been any thought of ‘what else?’ It’s the only thing I can do.” Thus, he just kept swimming through all the rough phases.

Skinns believed that though he didn’t earn success like Scottie Scheffler, with whom he played at KFT, he would eventually taste the win. He kept coming back to the thought that “when I do get it right, I can win.” He did exactly that, as he won the PGA Tour card for 2023.

And now, though he hasn’t won on the PGA Tour yet, his last finish at the Cognizant Classic speaks highly of his chances. And backed by his biggest support system in his corner, his wife, it may just be a real possibility!

Skinns’s support system that has kept him afloat

David Skinns met his wife, Kristin Skinns, in South Carolina while they were both studying. Kristin Skinns was a former softball player, and the two quickly connected after having a first date. Skinns attributes his success to his wife. He says, “She just keeps everything going when I’m not there… and she keeps it going when I am there.”

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With three kids, Brayden, Bennett, and Colt, to take care of, Kristin is the anchor who keeps Skinns from grounded. At the age of 42, Skinns presents the beauty of golf: that most can get better at any age; he says, “There’s no reason why I can’t get better at 42,” and there’s no reason to doubt that he can’t win. With his family and ton of experience, the 50th Players Championship will undoubtedly be a blast for the Skinns at TPC Sawgrass!

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