Alex Čejka

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Alex Čejka

| image = Alex Cejka.JPG

| caption = Čejka in 2012

| full_name = Alexander Čejka

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1970|12|2|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height = 5 ft 8 in

| weight = 170 lb

| nationality = {{DEU}}

| residence = Munich, Germany
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| college =

| yearpro = 1989

| retired =

| tour = PGA Tour Champions
European Senior Tour

| extour = PGA Tour
European Tour
Web.com Tour

| prowins = 18

| pgawins = 1

| eurowins = 4

| japwins =

| asiawins =

| sunwins =

| auswins =

| nwidewins = 1

| chalwins = 4

| champwins = 3

| seneurowins = 3

| otherwins = 4

| majorwins =

| masters = 26th: 2004

| usopen = T8: 2010

| open = T11: 1996

| pga = 4th: 2003

| wghofid =

| wghofyear =

| award1 =

| year1 =

| award2 =

| year2 =

| awardssection =

}}

Alexander Čejka (born 2 December 1970) is a Czech-German professional golfer.

Čejka was born in Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia. He left the country with his parents as a refugee at the age of nine, eventually settling in Munich, where he lived for many years, becoming a West German citizen. Čejka lives in Las Vegas and also has a home in Prague.

Professional career

Čejka turned professional in 1989 and played on the European Tour from 1992 to 2002. His biggest tournament win was the Turespaña Masters Open de Andalucía at Islantilla Golf Club in 1995. That year he came 6th on the European Tour's Order of Merit. Since 2003 he played mainly on the U.S. based PGA Tour. In 2003 he reached as high as No. 33 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Čejka took a five-shot lead into the final round of the 2009 Players Championship after rounds of 66, 67 and 72. He shot a 42 on the front nine, however, en route to a 79 and an eight-stroke loss to Henrik Stenson.

He represented Germany in the World Cup 12 times, including in 2011 at Mission Hills Haikou in Hainan Island, teaming with partner Martin Kaymer to tie for second, two strokes behind the winning United States team of Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland. Čejka teamed with Kaymer in four World Cup appearances.

In 2012 Čejka finished 177th on the PGA Tour and moved to the Web.com Tour. He finished 64th in 2013, then 6th in 2014 to earn a return to the PGA Tour.

Čejka won his first PGA Tour event in his 287th Tour start, the 2015 Puerto Rico Open. Two players bogeyed the 18th hole ensuring a five-man playoff; Čejka won with a birdie at the first playoff hole.{{cite news |url=https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/12445560/alex-cejka-wins-puerto-rico-open-5-man-playoff |title=Alex Cejka gets 1st PGA Tour victory |work=ESPN |agency=Associated Press |date=8 March 2015}} He is the first golfer born in the Czech Republic to win a PGA Tour event and first non-American to win the Puerto Rico Open. At the time, he was also the third oldest first-time winner on the PGA Tour since 1970.{{Cite web |title=Alex Cejka – Profile |url=https://www.pgatour.com/players/player.20472.alex-cejka.html |access-date=2022-06-20 |publisher=PGA Tour}}

File:Alex Cejka at 2015 PGA Championship.jpg (Whistling Straits)]]

He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics.{{cite Sports-Reference |title=Alex Čejka |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ce/alex-cejka-1.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622142826/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ce/alex-cejka-1.html |archivedate=2019-06-22}}

With most of the sports world on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Čejka played on the Arizona-based Outlaw Tour, one of the few professional golf tours in operation during the pandemic, where he won two events.

In May 2021, Čejka won his first tournament on the PGA Tour Champions at the Regions Tradition. Čejka won this major tournament in a playoff over Steve Stricker.{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/golf/2021/05/09/alex-cejka-wins-regions-tradition-playoff-over-stricker.html |newspaper=Toronto Star |agency=Associated Press |first=John |last=Zenor |date=9 May 2021 |access-date=9 May 2021 |title=Alex Cejka wins Regions Tradition playoff over Stricker}} Three weeks later, Čejka won his second PGA Tour Champions major tournament of 2021 at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Čejka shot a final-round 67 Sunday to beat Tim Petrovic by four shots.{{cite web |url=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2021/05/30/alex-cejka-kitchenaid-senior-pga-championship/ |website=Golfweek |first=Todd |last=Kelly |date=30 May 2021 |access-date=30 May 2021 |title=Alex Cejka wins second straight major, claims KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship}}

In July 2023, Čejka won the Senior Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl in Wales on a blustery day with wet conditions. Čejka defeated Pádraig Harrington in a playoff to win the title. This was the third win of his senior PGA Tour Champions career, with all three coming at major championships.{{cite web |url=https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2023/7/30/23813209/padraig-harrington-falls-alex-cejka-wins-thrilling-senior-open |title=Padraig Harrington falls to Alex Cejka in thrilling Senior Open playoff |first=Savannah Leigh |last=Richardson |website=SB Nation |date=30 July 2023 |access-date=31 July 2023}}

Professional wins (18)

=PGA Tour wins (1)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.

!Date

!Tournament

!Winning score

!To par

!Margin of
victory

!Runners-up

align=center|1

|align=right|8 Mar 2015

|Puerto Rico Open

|align=right|70-67-75-69=281

|align=center|−7

|Playoff

|{{flagicon|USA}} Jon Curran, {{flagicon|ARG}} Emiliano Grillo,
{{flagicon|USA}} Tim Petrovic, {{flagicon|USA}} Sam Saunders

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponents!!Result

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|1

|align=center|2015

|Puerto Rico Open

|{{flagicon|USA}} Jon Curran, {{flagicon|ARG}} Emiliano Grillo,
{{flagicon|USA}} Tim Petrovic, {{flagicon|USA}} Sam Saunders

|Won with birdie on first extra hole

style="background:#F2C1D1;"

|align=center|2

|align=center|2017

|Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

|{{flagicon|USA}} Patrick Cantlay, {{flagicon|KOR}} Kim Meen-whee

|Cantlay won with par on second extra hole

=European Tour wins (4)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

! Legend

style="background:thistle"

| Tour Championships (1)

Other European Tour (3)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.

!Date

!Tournament

!Winning score

!To par

!Margin of
victory

!Runner(s)-up

align=center|1

|align=right|5 Mar 1995

|Turespaña Masters Open de Andalucía

|align=right|71-68-70-69=278

|align=center|−6

|3 strokes

|{{flagicon|ITA}} Costantino Rocca

align=center|2

|align=right|13 Aug 1995

|Hohe Brücke Open

|align=right|61-68-68-70=267

|align=center|−21

|4 strokes

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Ignacio Garrido, {{flagicon|NED}} Rolf Muntz,
{{flagicon|NIR}} Ronan Rafferty

style="background:thistle"

|align=center|3

|align=right|29 Oct 1995

|Volvo Masters

|align=right|74-66-72-70=282

|align=center|−2

|2 strokes

|{{flagicon|SCO}} Colin Montgomerie

align=center|4

|align=right|13 Oct 2002

|Trophée Lancôme

|align=right|64-68-72-68=272

|align=center|−12

|2 strokes

|{{flagicon|ESP}} Carlos Rodiles

=Web.com Tour wins (1)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!To par!!Margin of
victory!!Runner-up

align=center|1

|align=right|15 Feb 2014

|Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship

|align=right|68-68-63=199*

|align=center|−14

|3 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Andrew Putnam

*Note: The 2014 Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

=Challenge Tour wins (4)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!To par!!Margin of
victory!!Runner(s)-up

align=center|1

|align=right|30 Jun 1991

|Audi Quattro Trophy

|align=right|

|align=center|

|

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Glyn Krause, {{flagicon|ENG}} John Oates

align=center|2

|align=right|25 Jul 1993

|Audi Open

|align=right|72-66-71=209*

|align=center|−7

|Playoff

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Harrison, {{flagicon|ENG}} Liam White

align=center|3

|align=right|8 Jun 1997

|KB Golf Challenge

|align=right|68-70-65-68=271

|align=center|−17

|2 strokes

|{{flagicon|ITA}} Michele Reale

align=center|4

|align=right|16 Jun 2002

|Galeria Kaufhof Pokal Challenge

|align=right|66-69-68-68=271

|align=center|−17

|2 strokes

|{{flagicon|ENG}} John E. Morgan, {{flagicon|GER}} Marcel Siem

*Note: The 1993 Audi Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Challenge Tour playoff record (1–0)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponents!!Result

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|1

|1993

|Audi Open

|{{flagicon|ENG}} Peter Harrison, {{flagicon|ENG}} Liam White

|Won with par on second extra hole
White eliminated by par on first hole

=Outlaw Tour wins (2)=

2020 Arrowhead Classic, Parker Open{{cite magazine |url=https://www.golfdigest.com/story/alex-cejka-wins-second-consecutive-mini-tour-event-thanks-to-late-hole-in-one?itm_source=parsely-api |magazine=Golf Digest |title=Alex Cejka wins second consecutive mini-tour event thanks to wild rally that included a hole-in-one |first=Alex |last=Myers |date=27 April 2020}}

=Other wins (2)=

1990 Czech Open
1992 Czech Open

=PGA Tour Champions wins (3)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

! Legend

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

| PGA Tour Champions major championships (3)

Other PGA Tour Champions (0)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.

!Date

!Tournament

!Winning score

!To par

!Margin of
victory

!Runner-up

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|align=center|1

|align=right|9 May 2021

|Regions Tradition

|align=right|68-69-66-67=270

|align=center|−18

|Playoff

|{{flagicon|USA}} Steve Stricker

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|align=center|2

|align=right|30 May 2021

|KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship

|align=right|67-70-68-67=272

|align=center|−8

|4 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Tim Petrovic

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|align=center|3

|align=right|30 Jul 2023

|The Senior Open Championship

|align=right|68-71-74-76=289

|align=center|+5

|Playoff

|{{flagicon|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (2–0)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent!!Result

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|1

|2021

|Regions Tradition

|{{flagicon|USA}} Steve Stricker

|Won with birdie on first extra hole

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|2

|2023

|The Senior Open Championship

|{{flagicon|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington

|Won with birdie on second extra hole

=European Senior Tour wins (3)=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

! Legend

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

| Senior major championships (2)

Other European Senior Tour (1)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.

!Date

!Tournament

!Winning score

!To par

!Margin of
victory

!Runner-up

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|align=center|1

|align=right|30 May 2021

|KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship

|align=right|67-70-68-67=272

|align=center|−8

|4 strokes

|{{flagicon|USA}} Tim Petrovic

align=center|2

|align=right|31 Jul 2022

|JCB Championship

|align=right|69-66-70=205

|align=center|−11

|2 strokes

|{{flagicon|IRL}} Paul McGinley

style="background:#e5d1cb;"

|align=center|3

|align=right|30 Jul 2023

|The Senior Open Championship

|align=right|68-71-74-76=289

|align=center|+5

|Playoff

|{{flagicon|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington

European Senior Tour playoff record (1–0)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

!No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent!!Result

style="background:#D0F0C0;"

|align=center|1

|2023

|The Senior Open Championship

|{{flagicon|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington

|Won with birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!1996

!1997

!1998

!1999

align=left|Masters Tournament

|44

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|T50

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|The Open Championship

|T11

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|PGA Championship

|T52

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T65

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!2000

!2001

!2002

!2003

!2004

!2005

!2006

!2007

!2008

!2009

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|26

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T61

|T60

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|The Open Championship

|CUT

|T13

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|4

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014 !! 2015!!2016!!2017!!2018

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T35

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|style="background:yellow;"|T8

|CUT

|T41

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T60

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|WD

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!2019!!2020!!2021!!2022!!2023!!2024

align=left|Masters Tournament

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|PGA Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|U.S. Open

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align=left|The Open Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|NT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T75

CUT = missed the half-way cut

WD = withdrew

"T" = tied

NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

=Summary=

Totals	0	0	0	1	2	4	25	15
class=wikitable style=text-align:center !Tournament !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top-5 !! Top-10 !! Top-25 !! Events !! Cuts made
align=left\|Masters Tournament	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	3
align=left\|U.S. Open	0	0	0	0	1	1	7	6
align=left\|The Open Championship	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	3
align=left\|PGA Championship	0	0	0	1	1	1	7	3

Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (twice)
Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!2004

!2005

!2006

!2007

!2008

!2009

align=left|The Players Championship

|T33

|T12

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

|style="background:yellow;"|T9

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"

!Tournament

!2010

!2011

!2012

!2013

!2014

!2015

!2016

!2017

!2018

!2019

align=left|The Players Championship

|T58

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|74

|style="background:yellow;"|T9

|T79

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

!Tournament!!1999!!2000!!2001!!2002!!2003!!2004!!2005

align="left"|Match Play

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|style="background:yellow;"|R16

|R32

|R64

align="left"|Championship

|T55

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|NT¹

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T12

|T28

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align="left"|Invitational

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T42

|style="background:yellow;"|T9

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

¹Cancelled due to 9/11

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play

"T" = Tied

NT = No tournament

Senior major championships

=Wins (3)=

class="wikitable" !Year!!Championship!!54 holes!!Winning score!!Margin!!Runner-up
style="background:#D0F0C0;" \| 2021	Regions Tradition	1 shot deficit	−18 (68-69-66-67=270)	Playoff	{{flagicon\|USA}} Steve Stricker
style="background:thistle;" \| 2021	KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship	1 shot deficit	−8 (67-70-68-67=272)	4 strokes	{{flagicon\|USA}} Tim Petrovic
style="background:#ABCDEF;" \| 2023	Senior Open Championship	1 shot deficit	+5 (68-71-74-76=289)	Playoff	{{flagicon\|IRL}} Pádraig Harrington