Richard Finch (golfer)

Richard Finch
Personal information
Born 9 June 1977
Hull, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 202 lb (92 kg; 14.4 st)
Sporting nationality England
Residence Mere, Cheshire, England
Career
Turned professional 2003
Former tour(s) European Tour
Professional wins 2
Number of wins by tour
European Tour 2
PGA Tour of Australasia 1
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
PGA Championship DNP
U.S. Open DNP
The Open Championship T58: 2008

Richard Finch (born 9 July 1977) is an English professional golfer.

Career

Finch played on the European Tour, where he had been a member since 2005. He earned his card through Qualifying School in 2004. In his rookie season, he finished 60th on the Order of Merit, but missed out on the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award, which went to Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño instead. His best finish in 2005 was as joint runner-up in the Telecom Italia Open.

Finch picked up his first professional win at the 2007 Michael Hill New Zealand Open. He shot a 14-under-par total of 274 (73-65-64-72) to win the tournament by three shots. In May 2008, Finch won the Irish Open at Adare Manor. On the final hole of the tournament, his second shot on the par-5 18th finished on the bank of the river. While playing his third shot, he lost his balance and fell into the water. This moment garnered much attention due to the comedic nature of the event. In July 2022, at the J. P. McManus Pro-Am, Tiger Woods reminisced about the incident in a pre-round interview. However he incorrectly cited Finch's first name as being Robert.

Since 2008 his best finishes have been as runner-up; in the 2010 Avantha Masters, the 2010 Open de Andalucía de Golf, the 2011 Nordea Scandinavian Masters and the 2013 Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (2)

European Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 2 Dec 2007
(2008 season) 		Michael Hill New Zealand Open1 −14 (73-65-64-72=274) 3 strokes Steven Bowditch, Paul Sheehan
2 18 May 2008 Irish Open −10 (71-72-65-70=278) 2 strokes Felipe Aguilar

1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia

Results in major championships

Tournament 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
The Open Championship T58 CUT CUT

Note: Finch only played in The Open Championship.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" = tied

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 2008 2009
Match Play
Championship T40
Invitational T36
Champions
  Did not play

"T" = Tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

Amateur

See also