Richard Finch (born 9 July 1977) is an English

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 ...

Career

Finch played on the

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

, where he had been a member since 2005. He earned his card through

Qualifying School In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

in 2004. In his rookie season, he finished 60th on the Order of Merit, but missed out on the

Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

award, which went to

Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (born 13 October 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, winning seven times, and on the PGA Tour. Early life Fernández-Castaño was born in Madrid. He started playing golf at th ...

instead. His best finish in 2005 was as joint runner-up in the

Telecom Italia Open The Italian Open () is the men's national open golf championship of Italy. It was founded in 1925 and, except for 1933 and during World War II, was played annually until 1960. After an eleven-year hiatus, it returned in 1971 when it was one of fi ...

. Finch picked up his first professional win at the 2007

Michael Hill New Zealand Open The New Zealand Open is the premier men's golf tournament in New Zealand. It has been a regular fixture on the PGA Tour of Australasia tournament schedule since the 1970s. The 2019 event was the 100th edition of the tournament. Since 2014 it has ...

. He shot a 14-under-par total of 274 (73-65-64-72) to win the tournament by three shots. In May 2008, Finch won the

Irish Open Irish Open may refer to: *Irish Open (golf), a golf tournament on the European Tour ** Irish Senior Open, a golf tournament on the European Seniors Tour **Ladies Irish Open, a golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour * Irish Open (darts), annua ...

Adare Manor Adare Manor is a manor house located on the banks of the River Maigue in the village of Adare, County Limerick, Ireland, the former seat of the Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl. The present house was built in the early 19th century, though r ...

. On the final hole of the tournament, his second shot on the par-5 18th finished on the bank of the river. While playing his third shot, he lost his balance and fell into the water. This moment garnered much attention due to the comedic nature of the event. In July 2022, at the J. P. McManus Pro-Am,

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

reminisced about the incident in a pre-round interview. However he incorrectly cited Finch's first name as being Robert. Since 2008 his best finishes have been as runner-up; in the 2010

Avantha Masters The Avantha Masters was a professional golf tournament co-sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India. The tournament was played at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Delhi from 2010 to 2012 and moved to J ...

, the 2010 Open de Andalucía de Golf, the 2011 Nordea Scandinavian Masters and the 2013

Alfred Dunhill Championship The Alfred Dunhill Championship is a men's professional golf tournament which is played in South Africa. It is part of the Southern African Sunshine Tour and is one of several events in South Africa that are co-sanctioned by the more prestigiou ...

Amateur wins

*2000 Spanish International Amateur Championship *2002

English Amateur The English Amateur is the national amateur match play golf championship of England. It has been played annually since 1925 (except for war years) and is organised by England Golf. The English Men's Amateur Championship is contested through tw ...

*2003 St Andrews Links Trophy

Professional wins (2)

European Tour wins (2)

¹Co-sanctioned by 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 ...

Results in major championships

''Note: Finch only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" = tied

Results in World Golf Championships

"T" = Tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

Amateur *

European Amateur Team Championship The European Amateur Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for men organised by the European Golf Association which was introduced in 1959. The championship was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been ...

(representing England):

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Richard English male golfers European Tour golfers Sportspeople from Kingston upon Hull 1977 births Living people