Richard Finch (golfer)

{{Infobox golfer

| name = Richard Finch

| image =

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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1977|6|9|df=y}}

| birth_place = Hull, England

| death_date =

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| height = {{height|ft=6|in=2}}

| weight = {{convert|202|lb|kg st|abbr=on}}

| nationality = {{ENG}}

| residence = Mere, Cheshire, England

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| college =

| yearpro = 2003

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| tour =

| extour = European Tour

| prowins = 2

| pgawins =

| eurowins = 2

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| auswins = 1

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| masters = DNP

| usopen = DNP

| open = T58: 2008

| pga = DNP

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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.{{cite web |url=https://www.rte.ie/sport/golf/2007/1202/225460-newzealand/ |title=Finch claims maiden tour victory |website=RTE |date=2 December 2007 |access-date=12 February 2023}} 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/may/18/golf.irishopen |title=Finch makes a splash at Irish Open |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Robin |last=Lynch |date=18 May 2008 |access-date=12 February 2023}} 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.{{cite web |url= https://www.golfmagic.com/dp-world-tour/tiger-woods-forgets-richard-finchs-name-hilarious-new-footage |title=Tiger Woods forgets Richard Finch's name in hilarious new footage |work=GolfMagic |first=Andy |last=Roberts |date=8 July 2022 |access-date=20 March 2023}}

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

2000 Spanish International Amateur Championship
2002 English Amateur
2003 St Andrews Links Trophy

Professional wins (2)

=European Tour wins (2)=

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

!No.

!Date

!Tournament

!Winning score

!Margin of
victory

!Runner(s)-up

align=center|1

|align=right|2 Dec 2007
(2008 season)

|Michael Hill New Zealand Open¹

|−14 (73-65-64-72=274)

|3 strokes

|{{flagicon|AUS}} Steven Bowditch, {{flagicon|AUS}} Paul Sheehan

align=center|2

|align=right|18 May 2008

|Irish Open

|−10 (71-72-65-70=278)

|2 strokes

|{{flagicon|CHI}} Felipe Aguilar

¹Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia

Results in major championships

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

!Tournament

!2008

!2009

!2010

!2011

!2012

align=left|The Open Championship

|T58

|CUT

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|CUT

Note: Finch only played in The Open Championship.

CUT = missed the halfway cut

"T" = tied

Results in World Golf Championships

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

!Tournament!!2008!!2009

align="left"|Match Play

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align="left"|Championship

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

|T40

align="left"|Invitational

|T36

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

align="left"|Champions

|style="background:#D3D3D3;"|

|style="background:#eeeeee;"|

"T" = Tied

Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

Amateur

European Amateur Team Championship (representing England): 2003{{cite web |url=http://www.ega-golf.ch/page/european-amateur-team-championship |title=European Amateur Team Championship |publisher=European Golf Association |access-date=26 April 2021}}