A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pro", most of whom are teachers/coaches. The professional golfer status is reserved for people who play, rather than teach, golf for a career.
37-550: Francesco Molinari (born 8 November 1982) is an Italian professional golfer . He won the 2018 Open Championship , his first and only major victory, and the first major won by an Italian professional golfer. The Open Championship win capped a successful season in which he won the 2018 BMW PGA Championship , his fifth win on the European Tour , and the Quicken Loans National , his first PGA Tour win. At
74-498: A chip for another birdie and made the turn in 32 (−4). He made four more birdies on the back nine, including a 43-foot putt at the 72nd hole, to shoot a final-round 64 that ended up giving him a two-stroke win over Matt Fitzpatrick , who shot a final-round 71. In April 2019, Molinari was the 54-hole leader at the Masters at 13 under, two strokes clear of Tony Finau and Tiger Woods , after a six-under-par 66 third round. Molinari held
111-508: A sudden-death playoff to win the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open , the week before the 2012 Open Championship . The win secured Singh a spot in the 2012 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club as a result of finishing as the highest non-qualifier at the event. The win was also Singh's fourth career victory on the European Tour and moved him ahead of Arjun Atwal , making him
148-512: Is an avid fan of Italian football team Internazionale , he also supports West Ham United after Italian football manager Gianfranco Zola started managing the East London side in 2008. Molinari is an ambassador for Borne, a medical research charity looking to identify the causes of premature birth. European Tour playoff record (0–3) CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic CUT = missed
185-463: Is the first significant tournament professional from the People's Republic of China . In various countries, Professional Golfers' Associations (PGAs) serve either or both of these categories of professionals. There are separate LPGAs (Ladies Professional Golf Associations) for women. Under the rules of golf and amateur status, the maximum value of a prize an amateur can accept is £700 or US$ 1000. Before
222-399: Is very difficult for a professional to regain their amateur status; simply agreeing not to take payment for a particular tournament is not enough. A player must apply to the governing body of the sport to have amateur status reinstated. Historically, the distinction between amateur and professional golfers had much to do with social class . In 18th and 19th century Britain, golf was played by
259-451: The 2012 Ryder Cup , where he played the foursomes with Lee Westwood on Friday, losing by 3 and 2 to Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson ; he then teamed up in the four-balls with Justin Rose , losing by 5 and 4 against Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson . On the final day, he halved with Tiger Woods in the last singles match. The point meant Europe not only completed a comeback from 10–6 down at
296-631: The BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award), Molinari was the first Italian to receive this prize. On 10 March 2019, Molinari won the Arnold Palmer Invitational for his third PGA Tour victory of his career. He teed off 10 groups ahead of the leaders on the final day and 5 stokes behind, making three birdies and no bogeys on his first seven holes. On the 8th hole, from well off the green he holed
333-503: The BMW PGA Championship . He produced a flawless final round to see off Rory McIlroy by two strokes. The win took Molinari level with Costantino Rocca , for most European Tour wins by an Italian. In the same year, Molinari won the Quicken Loans National in a dominating fashion by shooting a 62 on Sunday to win by eight strokes, the first PGA Tour win for an Italian since 1947. At the 2018 Open Championship , Molinari won
370-680: The Official World Golf Ranking in October 2006. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of Padma Shri in 2007. He is also the recipient of 1999 Arjuna Award . Singh was born on 15 December 1971 to Indian Olympic athlete Milkha Singh and Nirmal Saini , former captain of the Indian women's volleyball team. Singh attended Bishop Cotton School in Shimla and later went to Abilene Christian University in
407-624: The Reale Seguros Open de España . He was four strokes out of the lead going into the final round but fired a 65 (−7), the best round of the tournament, to win by three strokes over Alejandro Cañizares , Søren Kjeldsen and Pablo Larrazábal . In July 2012, the week before the Open Championship , Molinari lost in a playoff at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open . He was defeated on the first playoff hole by Jeev Milkha Singh . Molinari gained an automatic selection for
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#1732801686890444-594: The United States , obtaining a degree in business and international studies in 1996. Singh won the NCAA Division II individual golf championship in 1993 in addition to a number of amateur tournaments in the U.S. Singh turned professional in 1993 and his first professional win was at the 1993 Southern Oklahoma State Open, a minor local event. He played mainly in Asia, where he was a regular winner in
481-414: The 20th century ( Walter Hagen is sometimes considered to have been the first man to have done so). In the developed world, the class distinction is now almost entirely irrelevant. Golf is affordable at public courses to a large portion of the population, and most golf professionals are from middle-class backgrounds, which are often the same sort of backgrounds as the members of the clubs where they work or
518-608: The 2nd places collected at the 2015 Open de España and 2016 Open de France , while in the U.S. he collected a 3rd place at the 2015 Memorial Tournament . In the same year he also recorded a hole in one at the iconic 16th hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open . Molinari recorded his fifth European Tour win and first Rolex Series titles in May 2018, with victory in the European Tour's flagship event,
555-721: The Asian Tour. In 2009, Singh finished the WGC-CA Championship in fourth place, after leading round one. Singh played on the Nationwide Tour in 2003. He played on the PGA Tour from 2007 to 2010, where his best finish was 4th place at the 2009 WGC-CA Championship . Singh received India's fourth highest civil honour, the Padma Shri , in 2007. On 15 July 2012, Singh beat Francesco Molinari in
592-619: The Official World Golf Ranking, his highest ranking for eight years. He also recorded eleven top-10 finishes including two runner-up finishes en route to a 5th-place finish in the Race to Dubai. In October 2010, Molinari represented Europe in the 2010 Ryder Cup which took place at Celtic Manor Resort , teaming up with his brother Edoardo in the four-balls (halved against Stuart Cink and Matt Kuchar ) and foursomes (lost against Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan ). He then lost
629-540: The amateurism rules. If an amateur accepts a prize of greater than this in a competition covered by the amateurism rules, they forfeit their amateur status, and are therefore by definition a professional golfer. Professional golfers are divided into two main groups, with a limited amount of overlap between them: In the United States, the PGA of America has 31 distinct member classifications for professionals. Many of
666-409: The classifications also have corresponding apprenticeship positions. Jeev Milkha Singh Jeev Milkha Singh (born 15 December 1971) is an Indian professional golfer who became the first player from India to join the European Tour in 1998. He has won four events on the European Tour , becoming the most successful Indian on tour. He was the first Indian golfer to break into the top 100 of
703-466: The distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose said status. A golfer who has lost their amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated; a professional may not play in amateur tournaments unless the Committee is notified, acknowledges and confirms the participation. It
740-511: The end of the season, Molinari won 5 out of 5 points as Europe won the 2018 Ryder Cup . Molinari has been in the top 100 of the World Rankings continuously since the end of 2008. Playing with his brother Edoardo , they won the 2009 Omega Mission Hills World Cup , Italy's only win in the event. Molinari won the 2010 WGC-HSBC Champions and has represented Europe in three winning Ryder Cup teams, in 2010 , 2012 and 2018 . Molinari
777-692: The first Indian golfer to participate in the Masters Tournament . In August 2008, Singh achieved the highest ranking for an Indian in any major event at the 2008 PGA Championship in Oakland Hills, finishing at T9, making him arguably India's best golfer ever. Singh finished the 2008 European Tour season ranked 12th on the Order of Merit, and after winning the Barclays Singapore Open won his second Order of Merit title on
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#1732801686890814-484: The first Italian since Massimo Mannelli in 1980 to win the Telecom Italia Open . This victory helped him finish 38th on the Order of Merit. He did not win on Tour between 2007 and 2009 but during that time he recorded twenty top-10 finishes including three runner-up finishes. He finished 60th on the Order of Merit in 2007, 24th in 2008 and 14th in the Race to Dubai in 2009. In October 2009, Molinari reached
851-400: The first player ever to go 5–0–0. He paired with Tommy Fleetwood to win all four fourball and foursome matches. He also won his singles match against Phil Mickelson . On 18 November 2018, Molinari won the season-long Race to Dubai title on the European Tour . The victory was worth $ 1,250,000. On 16 December 2018, he received the 2018 BBC World Sport Star of the Year award (formerly known as
888-624: The halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place C = Cancelled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic Results not in chronological order prior to 2015. Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play NT = No tournament "T" = Tied ^ Molinari became member of the PGA Tour in 2015, so he is not included in the money list before that. Amateur Professional Ryder Cup points record Professional golfer In golf,
925-491: The lead for two thirds of the final round, until he reached the par-3 12th, where his tee shot found the water, resulting in a double bogey. He found the water again on the 15th, which led to another double bogey to fall out of contention. He finished with a round of 74 and T5 finish, still his best performance at the Masters to date. Molinari has worked since 2018 with Dave Alred on several mental aspects of his game. Molinari
962-523: The mid-1990s. In 1997 he finished seventh at the European Tour qualifying school , and joined the tour the following year. He became the third golfer to receive Arjuna Award in 1999. His best season in Europe until 2006 was in 1999, when he came 50th on the Order of Merit. He struggled with injury in the early years of the new millennium. In April 2006 he won the Volvo China Open , becoming
999-425: The most recent increase in 2022, the maximum had been £500 or $ 750. The 2022 changes also significantly reduced the scope of competitions in which the prize limit applies. Before that time, the only competitions exempt from prize limits were hole in one contests. The 2022 changes took all competitions in which the player's score on a hole is not the primary goal, such as long drive and putting competitions, outside
1036-661: The most successful Indian golfer in European Tour history. Singh lives in Chandigarh with wife Kudrat and their son. *Note: The 2008 Bank Austria GolfOpen was shortened to 54 holes due to rain. Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour European Tour playoff record (1–1) Japan Golf Tour playoff record (0–1) Co-sanctioned by the European Tour Asian Tour playoff record (1–3) Korean Tour playoff record (0–1) CUT = missed
1073-651: The people they teach the game, and are educated to university level. Leading tournament golfers are very wealthy; upper class in the modern U.S. usage of the term. However, in some developing countries, there is still a class distinction. Typically, golf is restricted to a much smaller and more elite section of society than is the case in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. Professional golfers from these countries are quite often from poor backgrounds and start their careers as caddies, for example, Ángel Cabrera of Argentina , and Zhang Lian-wei , who
1110-505: The rich, for pleasure. The early professionals were working-class men who made a living from the game in a variety of ways: caddying , greenkeeping, clubmaking, and playing challenge matches. When golf arrived in America at the end of the 19th century, it was an elite sport there, too. Early American golf clubs imported their professionals from Britain. It was not possible to make a living solely from playing tournament golf until some way into
1147-541: The second Indian player to win on the European Tour after Arjun Atwal . He also won the season ending Volvo Masters , which elevated him to a final position of 16th on the Order of Merit. He finished 2006 as the winner of the Asian Tour Order of Merit and capped his season with a pair of back to back wins in Japan to become the first Indian to make the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking . In 2007 he became
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1184-500: The singles match by 4 and 3 against Tiger Woods on the final day. Europe defeated the United States, 14 1 ⁄ 2 –13 1 ⁄ 2 . Molinari had a steady 2011 without any further victories but did record seven top-10 finishes, including a 3rd place at the WGC-Cadillac Championship . He finished the year ranked 21st in the Race to Dubai. Molinari picked up his third win on the European Tour on 6 May 2012 at
1221-454: The start of the final day to retain the cup, but won it outright by a score of 14 1 ⁄ 2 points to 13 1 ⁄ 2 . During the 2013 and 2014 seasons Molinari did not register a tournament win, but his steady position in the top fifty of the OWGR allowed him to play several PGA Tour events as a non-member, where he reached three top ten finishes; among these the most prestigious result
1258-668: The top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time. On 29 November 2009, Molinari, along with his older brother Edoardo, led Italy to their first World Cup victory at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in China. On 7 November 2010, Molinari won the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, China. He defeated Lee Westwood by one stroke, finishing at 19-under par. The win moved him into 14th in
1295-529: The tournament with a score of −8, pairing with Tiger Woods in the final round. The win at the Open Championship moved him to sixth place in the Official World Golf Ranking, the highest ranking of his career to date. In September 2018, Molinari qualified for the European team participating in the 2018 Ryder Cup . Europe defeated the U.S. team 17 1 ⁄ 2 to 10 1 ⁄ 2 . Molinari became
1332-731: Was born on 8 November 1982 in Turin , Italy. He is the younger brother of Edoardo Molinari . As an amateur, he won the Italian Amateur Stroke Play Championship twice, and the Italian Match Play Championship in 2004. Molinari turned professional later that year. Molinari earned his European Tour card for 2005 through qualifying school . He finished in 86th place on the tour's Order of Merit in his rookie season. In May 2006, Molinari claimed his first European Tour victory, becoming
1369-402: Was the 6th place at the 2014 Players Championship . These results allowed him to earn a full PGA Tour card for the 2014–15 season. In 2015 and 2016, Molinari shared his time between the European Tour and PGA Tour. In September 2016 he became the first Italian to win his national open twice with a 1 shot victory over Danny Willett at the 2016 Italian Open . Other notable results in Europe were
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