Former PGA Tour golfer Matt McQuillan dies at 45

Matt McQuillan, a Canadian who played 32 events on the PGA Tour and later devoted himself to teaching the game in his hometown, died August 5 at Kingston General Hospital in Ontario, he was 45 years old.

McQuillan passed away surrounded by his family, according to an obituary published in the Kingston Whig-Standard. No cause of death was listed. Fox News reported the death was sudden, and tributes from the golf world followed quickly.

His family described him as "a respected golfer, devoted son, hilarious brother, and friend", a man whose passion for the sport started young and never faded, even after his competitive days ended.

Kingston roots shaped a career that reached the PGA Tour

McQuillan's father, Mark, put a club in his hands at age ten. The boy took to it. He earned a scholarship to Oklahoma State, where he began his college career in 2000, then transferred to the University of Georgia before turning professional in 2003.

He ground his way through the Canadian Tour as a junior professional and eventually reached the PGA Tour, where he competed in 32 events and made the cut in nine. His career earnings on Tour came in just under $604,000, a solid living, though far from the purses that headline players collect.

His best finish came at the 2011 John Deere Classic, where he fired a final-round 64 to tie for third alongside two-time major champion Zach Johnson. That season marked his peak visibility on Tour. He appeared at the RBC Canadian Open in Vancouver, the Greenbrier Classic in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and the McGladrey Classic at Sea Island, Georgia, all in 2011.

His last appearance in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event came in September 2016 on the PGA Tour Canada circuit.

After the Tour, McQuillan gave the game back to his community

Rather than chase a second act on another professional circuit, McQuillan went home. He became a teaching professional in Kingston, Ontario, and spent years introducing the next generation of Canadian players to the sport. The PGA Tour noted that he "stayed connected in the game as a teaching professional in his hometown and introduced the game to the next generation of players across Canada."

That commitment earned him a reputation that went well beyond scorecards. His family's obituary said he "developed lifelong friendships while mentoring anyone who loved the game of golf." The New York Post reported that his family described his "welcoming personality and unwavering kindness" as making him "a beloved figure within Kingston's golfing community and beyond."

Golf Canada offered its own tribute, saying McQuillan's "golf story began in Kingston, Ont., and no matter where the game took him, Kingston remained at the heart of it."

A celebration of life will be held at the ANAF, a local venue in Kingston, at a date the family plans to announce later.

His obituary closed simply:

"He will be deeply missed by many and his spirit, love and compassion will be remembered every day. Rest easy, Matty. We love you."

No cause of death has been disclosed. McQuillan was 45, an age when most men are still decades from the end. The golf world lost a competitor, but Kingston lost something harder to replace: a man who came home and gave back.