Oliver Bekker (born 11 December 1984) is a South African professional golfer.
Professional career
Bekker plays on the Sunshine Tour where he has won seven times. He won the 2011 Northern Cape Classic, the 2012 Dimension Data Pro-Am,[2] the 2013 Telkom PGA Pro-Am and the 2016 Sun City Challenge. He won three times in 2017, the Zambia Sugar Open, the Lombard Insurance Classic, and the Sun Wild Coast Sun Challenge.
In April 2021, Bekker lost in a four-man playoff at the Limpopo Championship.[3] In December, he finished second in the SA Open Championship; one shot behind Daniel van Tonder.[4] At the end of the season he graduated to the European Tour for 2022 via the Challenge Tour rankings.[5]
In May 2022, Bekker broke into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time after losing out in a playoff for the Catalunya Championship.[6] In June 2022, he played in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event. Along with several other players, he was subsequently fined by the European Tour and suspended from three PGA Tour co-sanctioned events.[7]
In February 2023, Bekker won the Dimension Data Pro-Am for the second time in his career. The event was co-sanctioned between the Challenge Tour and the Sunshine Tour.[8]
Professional wins (8)
Sunshine Tour wins (8)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 Sep 2011 | Northern Cape Classic | −15 (66-64-68=198) | 5 strokes |  Bryce Easton
|
| 2 | 19 Feb 2012 | Dimension Data Pro-Am | −13 (65-70-71-70=276) | 2 strokes | Thomas Aiken, Tyrone Ferreira
|
| 3 | 25 Jan 2013 | Telkom PGA Pro-Am | −20 (66-64-66=196) | 2 strokes | PH McIntyre, Ryan Strauss
|
| 4 | 6 Aug 2016 | Sun City Challenge | −6 (74-67-69=210) | 1 stroke | Shaun Norris
|
| 5 | 30 Apr 2017 | Zambia Sugar Open | −19 (68-66-67-72=273) | 2 strokes | Jared Harvey
|
| 6 | 21 May 2017 | Lombard Insurance Classic | −19 (63-70-64=197) | Playoff | Justin Harding
|
| 7 | 25 Aug 2017 | Sun Wild Coast Sun Challenge | −11 (69-65-65=199) | 3 strokes | Tyrone Ferreira, Alex Haindl, Ockie Strydom
|
| 8 | 12 Feb 2023 | Dimension Data Pro-Am1 (2) | −22 (67-68-64-68=267) | 4 strokes |  Adam Blommé
|
1Co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour
Sunshine Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017 | Lombard Insurance Classic | Justin Harding
|
Won with par on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2021 | Limpopo Championship | Hennie du Plessis, Brandon Stone, Daniel van Tonder
|
Stone won with birdie on first extra hole |
Challenge Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 Feb 2023 | Dimension Data Pro-Am1 | −22 (67-68-64-68=267) | 4 strokes | Adam Blommé
|
1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour
Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 | Limpopo Championship | Hennie du Plessis, Brandon Stone, Daniel van Tonder
|
Stone won with birdie on first extra hole |
Playoff record
European Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2022 | Catalunya Championship |  Adri Arnaus
|
Lost to par on sixth extra hole |
Results in major championships
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||
| U.S. Open | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | ||
| PGA Championship |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | |||
| U.S. Open | ||||
| The Open Championship | NT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Results in World Golf Championships
| Tournament | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match Play | |||||||
| Championship | |||||||
| Invitational | 75 | ||||||
| Champions | T69 |
"T" = Tied
See also
References
- ^ "Week 20 2022 Ending 15 May 2022" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ "Bekker wins Dimension Data Pro-Am". Miami Herald. The Sports Network. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
- ^ "Stone takes playoff victory in Limpopo Championship". Sport 24. 25 April 2021.
- ^ "Van Tonder wins SA Open, Bezuidenhout locks up Masters spot". Associated Press. 5 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ Coley, Ben (24 November 2021). "Challenge Tour graduates player profiles as DP World Tour welcomes new members". Sporting Life. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ Butler, Lynn (3 May 2022). "SA golfer Bekker breaks into top 100 after playoff agony in Spain". News24. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ Hibbett, James (28 June 2022). "LIV Rebels Continue On DP World Tour After £100,000 Fines". Golf Monthly. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
- ^ "Oliver Bekker wins second Dimension Data Pro-Am title". IOL. 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
External links
- Oliver Bekker at the European Tour official site
- Oliver Bekker at the Sunshine Tour official site
- Oliver Bekker at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
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