Brian Davis (golfer)

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Brian Davis (golfer) bigraphy, stories - Professional golfer

Brian Davis (golfer) : biography

2 August 1974 –

Brian Lester Davis (born 2 August 1974) is an English professional golfer.

Davis was born in London. He turned professional in 1994 and became a member of the European Tour in 1997. He performed steadily for his first six seasons on the Tour, and won the 2000 Peugeot Open de Espana. In 2003, despite not winning a tournament, he had his best season by far to that time, finishing ninth on the European Tour Order of Merit. The highlights of his season included finishing in a tie for sixth at The Open Championship, and placing third in the European Tour’s tour championship, the Volvo Masters, as well as two second places in lower profile events and playing on the winning Great Britain and Ireland team in the Seve Trophy. His second European Tour win came in 2004 at the ANZ Championship and later that year he became the first Englishman to win the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. In 2005 he played on both the U.S. based PGA Tour and the European Tour and in 2006 he concentrated more on the PGA Tour, making only a handful of appearances in Europe. Davis had two solid seasons on the PGA Tour in 2007 and 2008 where he finished inside the top 100 on the money list both times, including a runner-up at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open.

2009 was a very consistent season for Davis. The season included 5th place finishes at The Players Championship and the Valero Texas Open, followed by a third straight top 5 finish at the HP Byron Nelson Championship where he matched his best finish on the PGA Tour when he was runner-up behind Rory Sabbatini. He finished the season 43rd on the money list.

In April 2010 Davis called a two-stroke penalty on himself on the first play-off hole on Sunday to hand Jim Furyk a victory at the Verizon Heritage. Davis later received much praise for his decision which cost him a potential first PGA Tour victory. Davis finished second again later in 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, three shots behind Zach Johnson.

Davis has featured in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings.

Professional wins (3)

European Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin ofvictory Runner-up
1 1 May 2000 Peugeot Open de España –14 (71-68-66-69=274) 3 strokes AUT}} Markus Brier
2 15 Feb 2004 ANZ Championship 44 pts (7-8-12-17=44) 1 point ENG}} Paul Casey

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2005 Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters DEN}} Thomas Bjørn, David Howell Bjørn won with par at second extra holeDavis eliminated with par on first hole

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2010 Verizon Heritage USA}} Jim Furyk Lost to par on first extra hole

Other wins

  • 2004 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament

Results in major championships

Tournament 1998 1999
The Masters DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT T68
PGA Championship DNP DNP
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP T61 CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT DNP DNP T6 CUT CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP CUT T13 CUT DNP DNP DNP CUT
Tournament 2010 2011 2012
The Masters DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT DNP DNP
The Open Championship DNP CUT DNP
PGA Championship T39 T19 CUT

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

Amateur wins (1)

  • 1992 Peter McEvoy Trophy

Team appearances

Amateur

  • Jacques Léglise Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1992 (winners)

Professional

  • Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing England): 2000
  • World Cup (representing England): 2000
  • Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2003 (winners)