MY STORY
My name is Cyril Bouniol, I am a French professional golfer based out of Fort Worth, Texas and this is my story:
At the beginning of 2020, I was living my dream of playing on the Korn Ferry Tour. I secured my card by finishing 4th on the 2019 PGA Tour-China money list. I started out well on the KFT, making 3 out of the first 4 cuts and then Covid happened and turned everything upside down.
In May 2021, I received my 2nd Covid vaccine dose, and little did I know, it would change my life. In September 2021, my body entered into a full-blown Thyroid Storm—a rare life-threatening condition of the thyroid gland.
This condition left me in a coma and fighting for my life. My family was told that there was a 30-40 % chance I wouldn’t make it, and if I did, there was a 70-80% chance that I would have permanent brain issues.
I was diagnosed with a severe case of Grave’s disease— an autoimmune disease that attacks the thyroid.
The months to follow were extremely difficult. I had to recover, rebuild my mind and body, and learn to live with the symptoms of this new disease. The medication took more than six months to begin working but I am grateful to have made it through this life-threatening event and consider myself one of the lucky ones who survived and did so without any brain damage.
I lost my card on the KFT and did not have status on any tour.
It was a dark year, to say the least, but the wild idea of playing professional golf again kept me fighting through it. I refused to let this obstacle rob me of my dreams, so I decided to keep fighting for it.
In September 2022, after playing only four competitive tournaments in 14 months, I signed up for Q School to try and beat the odds of getting my card back on the KFT.
At first stage, I birdied two of my last three holes to advance on the number.
At second stage, I was 11 shots outside the qualifying number after 2 rounds. I made a historical comeback shooting 64-63 in the last two rounds to advance on the number again.
Unfortunately, Final Stage did not go as planned and I did not finish inside the Top 40 to guarantee myself starts. However, advancing to Final Stage has secured me status back on the KFT and has provided me the hope I needed to keep pursuing my dream of playing on the PGA TOUR in the near future.
Collegiate Highlights
Played collegiate golf for Abilene Christian University from 2008-2011
2010 NCAA DII Individual National Champion
2010 LSC Conference Individual Champion
2010 Arnold Palmer Award Recipient
2010-2011 First Team All-American
2011 South Central Super Regional Individual Champion
2011 All-Nicklaus Team
2011 Byron Nelson Award Recipient
2011 European Amateur Team Champion with France
Professional Highlights
Won seven (7) Professional tournaments
2014 European Tour and Web.com Tour member
2014 Seven Top 10’s on the Challenge Tour
2015 European Tour Player
2016 Made 14 out of 16 cuts on the Challenge Tour and recorded two Top 10’s finishes
2017 Qualified for PGA Tour Puerto Rico Open and made the cut
2018 Finished 3rd at PGA Tour China Q School to earn full status for the 2019 season
2019 Finished 4th position in the Order of Merit of the PGA Tour China Series.
2019: won the Suzhou open on PGA tour China and recorded 5 top 5 finishes
2020 & 2021 full-time Korn Ferry Tour player
2022: shot 64-63 the last 2 rounds of Second Stage of Q-School to advance to Final Stage
2022 ACU Sports Hall of Fame Inductee
2023: Korn Ferry tour status
2023: Played PGA Tour Fortinet championship in Napa, CA
MY BACKGROUND
I am from Tarbes, a small town in the South West of France where I grew up playing many sports but developed a passion for the game of golf. I started golf on a little 9-hole course in the middle of a horse track when I was 11 years old. By the age of 15, I was a scratch golfer and completely addicted to the game. Picking up the game in the late 90s while Tiger Woods was in his prime, was very inspirational to me and I wanted to become a professional golfer just like him. However, I was keen on getting a great education before committing myself to the uncertainties of professional sports.
After graduating from high school with a scientific baccalaureate, I studied physics and astrophysics at a French university for a couple of years. Then, at the age of 19, I made the difficult decision to leave my family behind to further my education in America. There, I decided to study business management which seemed more interesting and practical than Astrophysics. I attended Abilene Christian University, where I had a very successful college golf career and met some of the best people in my life. Winning the 2010 Individual DII National Championship in my junior year was a pivotal moment that gave me the confidence to turn professional after college. I graduated in 2011 with a BBA in Management. While at ACU, I met my now-wife, Sharlotte. We got married in 2014 and reside in Dallas/ Fort Worth, Texas, with our two-year-old son, Luka.
Since turning pro in 2012, I have played tournaments on every continent and some of the best courses in the world. My favorite course is the Old Course at St Andrew's which I was lucky enough to play a handful of times. I played on the European tour, PGA Tour China, and multiple seasons on the European Challenge tour and the Korn Ferry tour. I love my job and everything that goes with it. For many years, my wife and I traveled the world to tournaments and got to experience things that we would never imagine experiencing.
The best part about my job is to travel the world, explore new places, and meet fascinating people every week. I love how traveling to play professional golf has opened my horizon to a diversity of cultures, religions, lifestyles, and the incredible sceneries that our planet has to offer. It made me realize how incredibly blessed I am and that the true riches of this world are its people. I love interacting with people and believe we all have something to learn from others.
I never take any experience for granted and although life threw a curve ball at me in the recent couple of years, I'm determined to prove to myself that with resilience and self-belief, we can accomplish extraordinary things. I want my story to inspire people to keep fighting through adversity and not let circumstances out of their control dictate the path of their life
Cyril Bouniol
Tour Professional and Golf Instructor
Located in Aledo, Texas
325-660-8385