PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker

(Reuters) - American Jimmy Walker clinched the 98th PGA Championship by one shot over Australian world number one Jason Day at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, on Sunday to compete a 2016 sweep for first-time major winners. Born: January 16, 1979 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma BACKGROUND * Learned the game from his father, who was a scratch golfer. * Went on to become an All-American selection as an amateur at Baylor University in Texas. PROFESSIONAL DAYS * Turned professional in 2001 and made his debut on the satellite Web.com Tour at the weather-shortened Ozarks Open where he tied for 57th. * In 2004, he became at 25 the second-youngest player to earn Web.com Tour Player of the Year honours after winning twice and finishing atop the money list with earnings of $371,346, securing his PGA Tour card in the process. Fellow American Stewart Cink was 23 when he won the award in 1999. * Was limited to just nine events as a PGA Tour debutant in 2005 due to a neck injury he suffered in Hawaii, two days before the start of the Sony Open. * In 2009, he made 15 of 24 cuts on the PGA Tour, highlighted by a pair of top-10 finishes, before ending the season in 125th place on the money list to retain a full exemption for 2010. * Cemented his status as a PGA Tour player in 2011 by setting personal bests in top 10s (four), top 25s (seven), cuts made (16), FedExCup finish (50th) and money-list finish (67th). * Produced a banner campaign on the 2013-14 PGA Tour, winning three times among his 10 top-10 finishes, earning a debut spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team and advancing to the season-ending Tour Championship for the first time. * Maintained consistent form on the 2014-15 PGA Tour as he won two more titles (the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Texas Open) along with four other top-10s. He advanced to the lucrative FedExCup Playoffs for a sixth consecutive year, ending the season ranked 16th in the standings. * Produced three top-10s in his first 19 starts on the 2015-16 PGA Tour before winning his first major title by one shot in the weather-interrupted PGA Championship at soggy Baltusrol in Springfield, New Jersey. PERSONAL * Met his wife, Erin, at a Web.com Tour event in 2004, where she was a tournament volunteer. His father-in-law, Mark Stiegemeier, was the 1975 world champion in freestyle skiing. (Compiled by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Andrew Both)