Nick Dougherty
Nick Dougherty | |
---|---|
— Golfer — | |
Personal information | |
Full name | Nicholas Dougherty |
Born |
Bootle, Liverpool | 24 May 1982
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Nationality | England |
Residence | Sunningdale, Berkshire |
Spouse | Di Stewart (m. 2010) |
Career | |
Turned professional | 2001 |
Current tour(s) | Challenge Tour |
Former tour(s) | European Tour |
Professional wins | 3 |
Number of wins by tour | |
European Tour | 3 |
Best results in Major Championships | |
Masters Tournament | T33: 2008 |
U.S. Open | T7: 2007 |
The Open Championship | T38: 2009 |
PGA Championship | CUT: 2005–09 |
Achievements and awards | |
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year | 2002 |
Nicholas Dougherty (born 24 May 1982) is an English professional golfer.
Dougherty was born in Bootle, Merseyside, and attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School near Blackburn, Lancashire. He is a protégé of former professional golfer, Nick Faldo, and had an exceptional amateur career. He won numerous tournaments including the 1999 World Boys Championship and three Faldo Junior Series events.[1] In 2001 he was a member of the victorious Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup team.
Dougherty turned professional in 2001 and gained membership to the European Tour for 2002 via the final qualifying school. In his début season he finished 36th on the Order of Merit, and was named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year. He was hindered by glandular fever in 2003, and his 2004 season was also disappointing when he slipped to 97th on the Order of Merit. In early 2005 he earned his first victory on the European Tour at the Caltex Masters in Singapore,[2] going on to reach the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings in the middle of the year, and ended it in 15th place on the final European Tour Order of Merit. He also made a strong start to the 2006 season before struggling later in the year.
Dougherty would bounce back in 2007, and was the leader after the first round of the 107th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a two under par round of 68.[3] He eventually finished the tournament in a tie for seventh place. This is, to date, his best finish in a major championship, and was also enough to gain automatic entry into the following years championship and the U.S. Masters.[4] Later that year he secured his second European Tour victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship,[5] and finished the season placed 11th on the Order of Merit.
After a disappointing 2008 season which was marred by the sudden death of his mother, Dougherty recorded his third European Tour victory at the 2009 BMW International Open in Munich, Germany. He was three shots behind 54-hole leader Retief Goosen going into the final round. He shot a final round of 64 and ended with a one stroke victory over Rafael Echenique, who made an albatross 2 on the par-5 18th, and by four over Goosen.[6] The win secured Dougherty a spot in his first major of 2009, The Open Championship at Turnberry in July.
Dougherty ended up losing his European Tour card in 2011 after making only one cut during 32 events. Although he finished 45th at the Omega European Masters with a first day 63 helping him to a pay check of 10,600 euros, it was not enough to retain his 2012 tour card. He attended the European Qualifying School in late 2011, but was unsuccessful and consequently settled for membership on the Challenge Tour.
Amateur wins (10)
- 1997 Faldo Junior Series, Golf Foundation Player of the Year
- 1999 Faldo Junior Series, European Under 21 Championship, World Boys Championship, Polo Classic Under 19 Championship (United States)
- 2000 Faldo Junior Series, Polo Golf Classic Stroke Play Championship (United States), Guatemalan Amateur Open Championship
- 2001 Lake Macquarie Amateur
Professional wins (3)
European Tour wins (3)
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 30 Jan 2005 | Caltex Masters (co-sanctioned by Asian Tour) |
–18 (68-67-68-67=270) | 5 strokes | Maarten Lafeber, Colin Montgomerie |
2 | 7 Oct 2007 | Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | –18 (67-66-66-71=270) | 2 strokes | Justin Rose |
3 | 28 Jun 2009 | BMW International Open | –22 (69-65-68-64=266) | 1 stroke | Rafael Echenique |
Results in major championships
Tournament | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | DNP | DNP | DNP | T33 | DNP |
U.S. Open | T52 | CUT | T7 | CUT | DNP |
The Open Championship | DNP | CUT | T42 | T78 | T38 |
PGA Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT | CUT |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Summary
Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 6 |
- Most consecutive cuts made – 2 (2007 U.S. Open – 2007 Open Championship)
- Longest streak of top-10s – 1
Team appearances
Amateur
- Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2001 (winners)
- St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2000 (winners)
- Jacques Léglise Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1998 (winners), 1999 (winners)
- World Boys: 1998 (winners), 1999 (winners)
Professional
- Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2005 (winners), 2007 (winners), 2009 (winners)
- Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2009
References
- ↑ "Nick Dougherty: The remaking of 'Little Nick' on the hard road to respect". London: The Independent. 6 March 2005. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ↑ "Dougherty secures Singapore title". BBC Sport. 30 January 2005. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ↑ Slater, Matt (15 June 2007). "Dougherty storms to US Open lead". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ↑ Slater, Matt (17 June 2007). "Cool Cabrera wins US Open classic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ↑ Mair, Lewine (8 October 2007). "Nick Dougherty wins at St Andrews". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ↑ "Dougherty holds on for BMW title". BBC Sport. 2009-06-28. Retrieved 2009-06-28.
External links
- Official website
- Nick Dougherty at the European Tour official site
- Nick Dougherty at the Official World Golf Ranking official site