Craig Spence (golfer)

Craig Spence
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name Craig A. Spence
Born (1974-09-17) 17 September 1974
Colac, Victoria, Australia
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 72 lb (33 kg; 5.1 st)
Nationality  Australia
Residence Melbourne, Australia;
Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Career
College Victorian Institute of Sport
Turned professional 1996
Current tour(s) PGA Tour of Australasia
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
European Tour
Professional wins 2
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour of Australasia 1
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
U.S. Open CUT: 2000
The Open Championship CUT: 1999
PGA Championship DNP

Craig A. Spence (born 17 September 1974) is an Australian professional golfer.

Spence was born in Colac, Victoria and first played golf at the age of 10. Around the age of 15 he began competing at an amateur level. He then went on to the Victorian Institute of Sport, winning two Victorian Amateurs back to back. He turned professional in 1996 and joined the PGA Tour of Australasia.

In 1999 Spence made his professional breakthrough with victory in the Ericsson Australian Masters. Having opened up with a 9 under par first round, he finished by hitting a 6 iron to two feet for a birdie on the final hole to win by a single stroke over Australia's most successful golfer, playing partner Greg Norman. Following that win Spence received invites to tournaments around the world, on five of the major tours. He managed to record top 5 finishes in events on all of those tours.

At the end of 1999, Spence earned his PGA Tour card for the 2000 season with a top 10 finish at the tour's Qualifying School. His rookie year on the PGA Tour was a struggle and he missed out on keeping a full card for 2001, finishing 129th on the money list. He made just two cuts the following season to lose all playing rights on the tour.[1] He spent two more years in the United States competing mostly on mini-tours while receiving invites to a limited number of second tier Nationwide Tour events. He also continued to play on the PGA Tour of Australasia with limited success.

Spence turned his attentions to Europe at the end of 2003, earning a spot on the European Tour for 2004 via the qualifying school. In his début season, he made just three cuts as he failed to keep his card for the 2005 season. He then returned to the United States, to play on the Gateway Tour in preparation for another try at qualifying for the PGA Tour. Having missed out on reaching the final qualifying tournament by one shot in 2006, he and his family moved back to Australia.[2]

Spence is married to Nicole, an American. They have two children.

Amateur wins

Professional wins

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)

Other wins (1)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1999 2000
Masters Tournament DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP CUT
The Open Championship CUT DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP

DNP = Did not play
CUT = Missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Falling hard from Master to apprentice". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 December 2002. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  2. ↑ "One-hit wonder seeks to lose moniker". Fox Sports (Australia). 19 November 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
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