Desvonde Pierre Botes (born 2 November 1974) is a South African

professional golfer 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 pr ...

. Botes was born in Pretoria. After winning the South African Amateur Championship in 1991 at the age of 16 years and 5 months, 20 days younger than the record set by Ernie Els, Botes turned professional at the start of 1992. His first professional victory came in the Mercedes Benz Golf Challenge on the

Southern Africa Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the South African Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the Vod ...

in 1993. Following further successes on the Southern Africa Tour, including the South African Masters in 1998, Botes attempted to qualify for the European Tour. He did not manage to gain full exemption in 1999, but returned the following year and was medalist at the

European Tour Qualifying School The European Tour Qualifying School is an annual golf tournament which enables professional golfers to gain a place on the European Tour and its official development tour, the Challenge Tour. The European Tour Qualifying School In professional ...

less than a week after claiming his second Platinum Classic title in South Africa. He finished just outside the top 100 in the Order of Merit, with a best finish of 5th in the Benson & Hedges International Open. Back problems in 2002 and 2003, meant Botes was unable to retain his place on the European Tour. He returned to South Africa and won the Parmalat Classic on his way to 3rd place on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit. That promising form prompted another attempt at the

. He claimed the last card for the 2004 season, but made only five cuts in the regular tour events, with a best finish of 9th, and failed to retain his playing privileges for the following season. Since then he has competed on the Sunshine Tour with limited success, although he has won several titles on the less competitive Winter Swing of the schedule.

Professional wins (14)

Sunshine Tour wins (12)

IGT Pro Tour wins (1)

Other wins (1)

*1993 Mercedes Benz Golf Challenge

Playoff record

Asian Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

''Note: Botes only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Results in World Golf Championships

"T" = Tied

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Botes, Desvonde South African male golfers Sunshine Tour golfers European Tour golfers Sportspeople from Pretoria People from Madibeng Local Municipality White South African people 1974 births Living people