Michael Richard Long (born 27 August 1968) is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

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 ...

who has played on a number of tours, including two seasons on the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

and three seasons on the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fif ...

. He won four times on the

PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for Official World ...

between 1996 and 2018 and twice on the

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental golf tour, tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at tha ...

. He won the

2020 European Senior Tour The 2020 European Senior Tour, titled as the 2020 Staysure Tour for sponsorship reasons, was intended to be the 29th season of the European Senior Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe for men aged 50 and over. In-season changes On 19 ...

Q-School.

Early life and amateur career

Long was born in

Cromwell, New Zealand Cromwell ( Māori: ''Tīrau'') is a town in Central Otago in the Otago region of New Zealand. Geography Cromwell is between (linking to Wānaka, north, and Queenstown via the Kawarau Gorge, west) and State Highway 8 leading to the ...

. He took up golf when he lived at Waitangi where his father worked, later attending Waikato University. He had considerable success as an amateur, winning the New Zealand under-18 title in 1985, the under-21 title in 1988, the under-23 title in 1989 and the New Zealand Amateur in 1990. He was in the four-man New Zealand team in the 1990 Eisenhower Trophy, played in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

. The team finished joint runners-up behind Sweden. Individually Long had the joint third best score, behind two Swedes.

Professional career

Long turned professional after the Eisenhower Trophy and joined the

. Despite having limited success on his home tour he travelled to the United States to play in the

Q-school at the end of 1995, earning a place on the second-tier

1996 Nike Tour The 1996 Nike Tour season was the seventh season of the Nike Tour, the PGA Tour's official developmental tour, now known as the Korn Ferry Tour. The top ten players on the final money list earned PGA Tour cards for 1997. Schedule The following ta ...

. He played in 9 tournaments between March and August. His best finish was to be tied for fourth place in his last event, the

Nike Permian Basin Open The WNB Golf Classic was a professional golf tournament in the United States on the Web.com Tour. It was played annually at the Midland Country Club in Midland, Texas, and the title sponsor was Western National Bank. It debuted in 1992 as the Ben ...

, despite a first round 74. Following his period in America Long had much more success in the 1996/1997 Australasian Tour season, results that lifted him from outside the top 800 into the top 100 of the

Official World Golf Rankings The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

. During this season he won the 1996 New Zealand Open, his major success as a professional. In January 1997 he was a runner-up in the Johnnie Walker Classic, an event co-sponsored by the

, winning A$121,000.

Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is known as "The Big Easy" due to his imposing physical stature (he stands ) along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victor ...

won the event, a stroke ahead of Long and Peter Lonard. Long incurred a one-stroke penalty, penalising himself, when his ball moved after he addressed the ball on the 15th green of the final round. He was also third in the Greg Norman Holden International, the

Schweppes Coolum Classic The Coolum Classic was a golf tournament held in Australia between 1990 and 1999. The tournament was held at the Hyatt Regency Coolum Resort in Yaroomba, Queensland. Schweppes Schweppes (, ) is a beverage brand that originated in the Republi ...

and the Ford South Australian Open, and had three other top-10 finishes. Long's runner-up finish in the Johnnie Walker Classic gave him playing opportunities on the

and he played on the tour from 1997 to 1999. He was 43rd in the Order of Merit in 1997, 84th in 1998 and 131rd in 1999. Long played with Grant Waite in the 1997 World Cup of Golf, the pair finishing in a tie for 9th place. In February 1999 Long won the Greg Norman Holden International at

The Lakes Golf Club The Lakes Golf Club is one of Australia's premier golf courses, located in the Sydney suburb of Eastlakes in New South Wales. Founded in 1928, this prestigious private golf course is approximately a 10-minute drive from Sydney central business ...

Bernhard Langer Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first official number one ran ...

came to final hole needing par-3 for victory. However he took a triple-bogey 6, Long taking the A$180,000 first prize. In late 1999 Long's career was interrupted after suffering a broken C5 bone in his neck in a boogie boarding accident. After making a recovery he turned his attentions to America and played on the second-tier

Buy.com Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. T ...

, which became the Nationwide Tour in 2003. He had some success at this level, winning twice, at the 2001

Buy.com Boise Open The Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron is a professional golf tournament in Idaho on the Korn Ferry Tour, played annually at Hillcrest Country Club in Boise. Held in mid-September for its first 23 years, the new September playoff sched ...

and the 2003 VB Open, and losing in a playoff for the 2004

Lake Erie Charity Classic The Peek'n Peak Classic was a golf tournament on the Nationwide Tour. It was played from 2002 to 2007 on the Upper Course of Peek'n Peak Resort in Findley Lake, New York, United States. The 2007 purse was $600,000, with $108,000 going to the win ...

. He twice finished high enough in the money list to graduate to the

. Playing two full seasons on the main tour, in 2002 and 2005, he was unable to keep his card on either occasion. Long played on the Buy.com/Nationwide Tour from 2000 to 2007 with the exception of his two seasons on the main PGA Tour. By 2008 Long had lost his playing rights on the

and returned to Australasia. He topped the 2008 Von Nida Tour money list and was tied for third in the 2009

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...

. From 2009 Long also played on the

OneAsia The OneAsia Tour was a men's professional golf tour based in the Asia-Pacific region. The tour was founded in 2009 as a joint venture between the PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association, the Korean Golf Association and the Korean PGA. T ...

tour. In 2011 he lost in a four-man playoff for the

Nanshan China Masters Nanshan (, literally "South rnmountain ), is a common place name in China and adjacent areas: Geographic locations China ; Topographic features * Nanshan, another name for the Nanling Mountains of southern China * Nanshan Mountains (Shenzhen) ...

and he had third-place finishes in the 2009

Midea China Classic The Midea China Classic is a professional golf tournament held in China. It was first played in 2007 at the Royal Orchid International Golf Club in Guangzhou. The tournament was originally part of the Asian Tour schedule, but became part of the r ...

and the 2012 Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open. In early 2016, at the age of 47, Long won the

Oates Victorian Open The Vic Open is an annual golf tournament held in Australia. It was founded in 1957 and is the Victoria state open championship for men. It is run by Golf Victoria and is a Golf Australia national ranking event. The event is held concurrent ...

after a playoff against Matthew Millar. Millar had birdied the last three holes to force a playoff. At the first playoff hole Long hooked his second shot into long grass but managed to hit the ball to five feet and holed the putt to win the title with a birdie 4. In May 2018, Long won the

TX Civil & Logistics WA PGA Championship The Western Australia PGA Championship, currently known as the CKB WA PGA Championship is a Tier 2 golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour ...

at Kalgoorlie Golf Course, one stroke ahead of

Brody Martin Brody ( uk, Броди; russian: Броды, Brodï; pl, Brody; german: Brody; yi, בראָד, Brod) is a city in Zolochiv Raion of Lviv Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr River, approximately ...

after a final round 64. Since turning 50 Long has played on the Ladbrokes Legends Tour. In 2018 he won Lincoln Place NSW Senior Open and the Australian PGA Seniors Championship and won the Sheraton South Pacific Golf Classic in 2019. In January 2020 he won the

European Senior Tour The Legends Tour is the current branding of the European Senior Tour, a professional tour for male golfers aged 50 and over, run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was branded as the Staysure Tour for the 2018 and 2019 seasons after UK-based insur ...

Q-School. The 2020 season was cancelled but his playing rights were rolled over to the 2021 season and he finally made his debut on the tour in June 2021. The following month he led his qualifying section for the 2021 Senior Open Championship with a 5-under-par 65, to get a place in the event, his first senior major. Long was on the board of the

PGA of Australia The PGA Tour of Australasia, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, is a professional golf tour for men, owned and operated by the PGA of Australia. Official events on the tour count for World Golf R ...

from 2014 to 2018.

Amateur wins

*1985 New Zealand under 18s *1988 New Zealand under 21s *1989 New Zealand under 23s *1990 New Zealand Amateur

Professional wins (13)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (4)

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (1–0)

Nationwide Tour wins (2)

Nationwide Tour playoff record (0–1)

Von Nida Tour wins (1)

Other wins (3)

*1992 South West Open (Australia), New Caledonia Open *2007

Nedlands Masters The Nedlands Masters was a professional golf tournament in Australia, held at the Nedlands Golf Club in Nedlands, Perth, Western Australia. It was first played in 1947, again in 1950, and then annually from 1962. Like the Masters Tournament ...

PGA of Australia Legends Tour wins (3)

Playoff record

OneAsia Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

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

Team appearances

Amateur *

Nomura Cup The Nomura Cup, also known as the Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship, is a biennial amateur team golf championship for men organised by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation. The inaugural event was held in 1963 and it has been played in odd- ...

(representing New Zealand): 1989 *

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eise ...

(representing New Zealand):

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

* Sloan Morpeth Trophy (representing New Zealand): 1990 Professional * Dunhill Cup (representing New Zealand):

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...