Putnam was born in Tacoma, Washington. He played on the Nationwide Tour in 2006. He had two 2nd place finishes on the Nationwide Tour in 2006 including losing in a playoff at the Rheem Classic. He finished 17th on the money list to earn his PGA Tour card for 2007. He finished 158th on the money list and dropped back to the Nationwide Tour in 2008. He played the Nationwide Tour through 2010 when he finished the year 24th on the money list and earned his 2011 PGA Tour card. Putnam finished 153rd on the PGA Tour money list and lost his Tour card after the 2011 season. In 2013, he finished the Web.com Tour (renamed from Nationwide Tour in 2012) regular season as the leading money winner and regained his PGA Tour card; Putnam was fully exempt as money leader. He was also voted Web.com Tour Player of the Year.
Putnam played the 2013 Web.com Tour season with his older brother, Joel, serving as his caddie. In 2013, a younger brother, Andrew, was also a Tour member who finished 49th on the money list.