Richard Sterne (golfer)

Richard Sterne
Personal information
Full name	Richard Sterne
Born	27 August 1981 (1981-08-27) Pretoria, South Africa
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Nationality	South Africa
Residence	Pretoria, South Africa; Manchester, England
Career
Turned professional	2001
Current tour(s)	European Tour Sunshine Tour
Professional wins	8
Number of wins by tour
European Tour	5
Sunshine Tour	5
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament	T25: 2008
U.S. Open	CUT: 2008
The Open Championship	T34: 2009
PGA Championship	WD: 2007, 2009
Achievements and awards
Sunshine Tour Order of Merit winner	2008

Richard Sterne (born 27 August 1981) is a South African professional golfer.

Life and career

Sterne was born in Pretoria. He was runner-up in the Boys' 15-17 Division at the 1999 World Junior Golf Championships and turned pro in 2001. He played on the European Challenge Tour in 2002 and graduated to membership of the main European Tour in 2003. He won his first European Tour title at the 2004 Open de Madrid and his second at the 2007 Celtic Manor Wales Open. In 2008 he picked up his third victory at the Joburg Open which is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour, and at the end of 2008 won a further two European Tour tournaments in South Africa.

His best year-end ranking on the European Order of Merit is 14th in 2007. His Celtic Manor win moved him into the top forty of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time.

He has had five wins on the Sunshine Tour, and won that tour's Order of Merit in 2008. In January 2008 he reached a career high of number 29 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He missed most of the 2010 season with injury.

Sterne is friends with South African golf icon, Gary Player (to whom he is often compared because of their similar small stature) and has played several times in the Gary Player Invitational charity event to help raise funds for less fortunate children's education.

Amateur wins

• 1999 South African Junior Strokeplay & Matchplay Championship, South African Amateur Championship
• 2000 Southern Cross
• 2001 South African Amateur Strokeplay Championship

Professional wins (8)

European Tour wins (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	24 Oct 2004	Open de Madrid	-18 (70-65-66-65=266)	2 strokes	Anders Hansen
2	3 Jun 2007	Celtic Manor Wales Open	-13 (67-67-64-65=263)	1 stroke	Bradley Dredge, Søren Kjeldsen, Mardan Mamat, Mads Vibe-Hastrup
3	13 Jan 2008	Joburg Open	-13 (71-68-67-65=271)	Playoff	Magnus A. Carlsson, Garth Mulroy
4	14 Dec 2008 (2009 season)	Alfred Dunhill Championship	-17 (68-66-68-69=271)	1 stroke	Johan Edfors, Robert Rock
5	21 Dec 2008 (2009 season)	South African Open Championship	-14 (72-69-67-66=274)	Playoff	Gareth Maybin

Sunshine Tour wins (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	6 Feb 2005	Nashau Masters	-11 (68-64-67-70=269)	1 stroke	Titch Moore, Grant Muller
2	18 Feb 2007	Vodacom Championship	-14 (73-68-68-65=274)	Playoff	Louis Oosthuizen
3	13 Jan 2008	Joburg Open	-13 (71-68-67-65=271)	Playoff	Magnus A. Carlsson, Garth Mulroy
4	14 Dec 2008	Alfred Dunhill Championship	-17 (68-66-68-69=271)	1 stroke	Johan Edfors, Robert Rock
5	21 Dec 2008	South African Open	-14 (72-69-67-66=274)	Playoff	Gareth Maybin

Other wins (1)

• 2001 Rye Hill Championship (Euro Pro Tour)

Results in major championships

Tournament	2006	2007	2008	2009
The Masters	DNP	DNP	T25	CUT
U.S. Open	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP
The Open Championship	CUT	CUT	CUT	T34
PGA Championship	DNP	WD	DNP	WD

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Team appearances

• World Cup (representing South Africa): 2006, 2008, 2009

External links

• Richard Sterne at the European Tour official site
• Richard Sterne at the Sunshine Tour official site
• Richard Sterne at the Official World Golf Ranking official site