Paul Dale Devenport (born 19 March 1966) is a

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 ...

from

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Early life and amateur career

Devenport was born in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. He grew up in

Paraparaumu Beach Paraparaumu Beach is a coastal settlement on the Kāpiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located west of the main Paraparaumu township, north of Wellington. The area faces Kapiti Island. Demographics Paraparaumu Beach covers and h ...

where his house backed onto the 13th hole of the Paraparaumu Beach Club. After playing amateur

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

in Wellington, he was offered a full golf scholarship from

Houston Baptist University Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), is a private Baptist university in Houston, Texas. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Its Cultural Arts Center houses three museums: the ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. He later transferred to the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a Public university, public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus Universi ...

to finish his Business Degree.

Professional career

In 1991, Devenport turned pro. He joined the

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

in 1993 but has had most success on the

Canadian Tour PGA Tour Canada, commonly referred to as the Canadian Tour, was a men's professional golf tour headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The United States–based PGA Tour took over operation of the tour on November 1, 2012, at which time it was renamed ...

where he has won four times, including twice in 2001. His final win was the 2001 Shell Payless Open, where he was victorious a few weeks after the death of his mother.
/ref> Devenport is also known for performing magic and sleight-of-hand tricks to entertain crowds at golf tournaments. His last full season on tour was 2004.

Amateur wins

*1984 New Zealand Under-23 Championship

Professional wins (4)

Canadian Tour wins (4)

Team appearances

* World Cup (men's golf), World Cup (representing New Zealand):

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devenport, Paul New Zealand male golfers Houston Christian Huskies men's golfers Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's golfers New Zealand expatriates in Canada Sportspeople from Wellington City People from Paraparaumu Sportspeople from the Kāpiti Coast District Sportspeople from Victoria, British Columbia 1966 births Living people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen