- Stephen Dodd
Stephen Dodd (born
15 July 1966 ) is a Welshgolf er who after a very moderate career, unexpectedly won two events on theEuropean Tour in the 2005 season at the age of 38.Dodd won
The Amateur Championship atRoyal Birkdale in 1989, which qualified him to play in the Masters the following year, but he spent the early years of his professional career on the second tierChallenge Tour . In 1992 he won the Bank Austria Open on that tour, but his results were generally patchy. He first qualified to for the main European Tour in 1995, but didn't finish in the top one hundred of the rankings until 2001, when he came 97th. He then had new personal best seasons in 2003 and 2004, finishing 80th and 58th respectively.The 2005 season marked a sudden improvement in Dodd's fortunes. He won the first tournament he entered that season, the
Volvo China Open (actually played in late 2004), which is one of several events co-sanctioned by the European Tour and theAsian Tour . A few weeks later he picked up a new biggest paycheck of his career by coming tied second in the higher profileDubai Desert Classic . In May 2005 he won theNissan Irish Open , a considerably more prestigious tournament than his previous victory, and in November of the same year he won theWGC-World Cup for Wales in partnership withBradley Dredge . He finished 2005 ranked 17th on the Order of Merit.In 2006 he won the Smurfit European Open. In 1989 he was Welsh sports personality of the year.
European Tour wins (3)
*2005
Volvo China Open (played in 2004; part of 2005 season),Nissan Irish Open
*2006Smurfit European Open Team appearances
Amateur
*Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1989Professional
*Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2005 (winners}
*WGC-World Cup (representing Wales): 2005 (winners), 2007External links
* [http://www.europeantour.com/players/bio.sps?iPlayerNo=5529&sOption=profile Profile on the European Tour's official site]
* [http://www.officialworldgolfranking.com/players/bio.sps?ID=4311 Results in ranking events for the last two years from the Official Golf Ranking site]
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