What to know about Michael McDermott, the Philly-area finance CEO who played in the Masters

A Havertown native made serious waves in the world of professional golf at the Masters tournament in Georgia during the weekend — and he wasn’t even competing.

Michael McDermott appeared in the tournament playing as what is known as a “marker” — a distinction he held for the second time in three years.

Markers are employed when an odd number of golfers are participating in a tournament. Rather than having one golfer playing alone, the marker plays alongside the golfer and keeps score. The presence of the marker also allows for a more typical playing pace.

So while McDermott didn’t officially compete, he did play in the Masters — a move that inspired awe and jealousy among some golf fans over the course of the weekend tournament. And though some onlookers (understandably) wished to be on the course in McDermott’s place, here’s the thing: McDermott is distinctively qualified to hold the honor.

Philadelphia golf fans, of course, know this. McDermott’s presence in the local golf scene goes back decades, and for years he was a dominant amateur golf champion in the region.

Here is what you need to know:

McDermott, 50, grew up in Havertown, where he developed a reputation as a pitching phenom in middle school and excelled in basketball at Haverford High School, The Inquirer reported in 2023. Golf would take over as his sport of choice, and McDermott went on to attend St. Joseph’s University, where he was a star player on the school’s golf team.

McDermott graduated from St. Joe’s in 1997, and the golf team went undefeated all four years, according to an Inquirer report from that year. McDermott’s brothers Brian and Kevin also went on to attend the school, where they also played golf.

McDermott himself is in the school’s athletic hall of fame. A biography on the school’s website describes him as “one of the top golfers in school history,” noting that he won three All-Atlantic 10 Conference honors — more than any other player in the school’s history.

A prowess in the sport, however, did not begin with the McDermott siblings. Their father, Neil McDermott, is also well known in local golf, having served as president of the Golf Association of Philadelphia from 2002 to 2005.

Today, Michael McDermott lives in Bryn Mawr with his wife and three sons.

On Saturday, McDermott played as a marker alongside Tom Kim. While McDermott’s score wasn’t kept, Kim said McDermott likely shot somewhere in the 70s.

“He played great actually,” Kim said. “Hits the ball really far. His irons, sometimes he grabbed one club longer than me. He was a complete baller.”

Kim added that he was pleasantly surprised when he learned he would be playing with McDermott. At most events on professional tours, singles can play alone and often zip around the course, finishing well ahead of the twosomes behind them. But it was “a lot more fun” playing with McDermott, he said.

“He’s really, really good player,” Kim said. “Definitely helped just kind of the rhythm of golf, just going out and playing alone and having no momentum or not feeding off anyone. It was nice to be able to have a conversation down the fairway.”

» READ MORE: Rory McIlroy wins the most entertaining Masters ever

On Sunday, McDermott played alongside Brian Campbell, who appeared for the first time in the Masters this year. Campbell described McDermott as easygoing, and said playing with him in the tournament was “awesome,” Golf.com reports.

“It really allowed me to kind of zone in and do what I want to do,” Campbell told the publication of playing with McDermott.

McDermott, who has been a member at Augusta National Golf Club, where the Masters is held, for nearly a decade, first served as a marker in 2023. That year, he played alongside Mike Weir after Weir’s playing partner, Kevin Na, withdrew due to illness.

Weir in 2023 complimented McDermott’s playing, saying that he has a “very powerful game.”

McDermott’s golf resume is a lengthy one.

He has 10 major wins with the Golf Association of Philadelphia, and won the association’s amateur title in 2008, 2013, and 2016. He was honored as the associations William Hyndman III Player of the Year five times between 2000 and 2008.

McDermott has numerous other honors, including four Pennsylvania Mid-Am wins (2001, 2004, 2008, and 2013), two Silver Cross wins (2003 and 2007), and a 2003 win in the U.S. Amateur in which he beat out J.B. Holmes, who is today a five-time PGA Tour winner. He has also won two Crump Cups — in 2012 and 2017 — which is often considered the premier event in amateur golf circuit.

McDermott is also part of the Pine Valley, Merion, and Aronimink golf clubs, Forbes reports. Off the course, he serves as a co-founder of The GolfBridge Society, a golf mentorship program in the region, and is a board member at the Cobbs Creek Foundation, which is heading efforts to restore the Cobbs Creek Golf Course.

Though he is known for his golfing, McDermott works as the CEO of Kathmere Capital Management, a Wayne-based financial management services firm. McDermott has been professionally involved in wealth management for a quarter century, according to an online biography.

McDermott has largely maintained his privacy during his golf career. In recent years, he had largely stepped away from high-level competitive play, The Inquirer previously reported.

Instead, McDermott’s brother Kevin told The Inquirer in 2023, family, work, and life took precedence over golf.

This article contains information from the Associated Press.