Dean Wilson was born on 17th December, 1969 in Hawaii, USA. He attended Brigham Young University before turning pro in 1992. He started his career in Japan and was one of the leading players on the Tour winning a total of six tournaments. He then headed back to America in 2003.

Wilson struggled in his early years on the PGA Tour and was best known for playing with Annika Sorenstam in the first two rounds of the 2003 Colonial event. He continued to work on his game and in 2006 he won his first PGA Tour title, beating Tom Lehman in a playoff to win The International.