Wilco Nienaber

Last updated

Wilco Nienaber
Personal information
Born (2000-04-07) 7 April 2000 (age 24)
South Africa
Sporting nationalityFlag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
Residence Bloemfontein, South Africa
Career
Turned professional2019
Current tour(s) Sunshine Tour
European Tour
Former tour(s) Challenge Tour
Professional wins1
Number of wins by tour
Sunshine Tour1
Challenge Tour1
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament DNP
PGA Championship DNP
U.S. Open T68: 2021
The Open Championship DNP

Wilco Nienaber (born 7 April 2000) is a South African professional golfer. He won the 2021 Dimension Data Pro-Am. He plays on the European Tour and is known for his long distance off the tee.

Contents

Amateur career

Nienaber won several amateur events in Africa and represented South Africa at the 2018 Eisenhower Trophy in Ireland, where he finished 3 under par individually. [1] He made his European Tour debut as an amateur in December 2018 at the South African Open at Randpark Golf Club, north of Johannesburg, where he opened with two rounds of 69 to make the cut. [2]

His best ranking on the World Amateur Golf Ranking was 28th. [3]

Professional career

Nienaber turned professional in the middle of 2019. His European Tour debut as a professional was made in late November 2019 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek CC, Malelane, South Africa, where he finished tied 24th, earning €14,000.

In February 2020, also in his homeland of South Africa, he came close to his first professional win, finishing runner-up in the Limpopo Championship on the Challenge Tour.

In August 2020, Nienaber recorded his first top-10 on the European Tour; finishing 4th in the Hero Open at Forest of Arden CC, England. [4]

In September 2020, 14 months after turning professional, Nienaber advanced to 270th on the Official World Golf Ranking. [2] In the second round of the Joburg Open in November 2020 at Randpark Golf Club in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nienaber hit his drive on the 597-yard, par-5 4th hole a European Tour season record 439 yards. It was also 16 yards longer than the PGA Tour season record at the time. [5] He eventually finished in second place; two shots behind Joachim B. Hansen, and reached a career best 209th on the Official World Golf Ranking.

In May 2021, Nienaber claimed his first professional victory at the Dimension Data Pro-Am. He beat Henric Sturehed in a playoff [6] and advanced to 135th on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Amateur wins

Source: [3]

Professional wins (1)

Sunshine Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
19 May 2021 Dimension Data Pro-Am 1−19 (69-64-71-65=269)Playoff Flag of Sweden.svg Henric Sturehed

1Co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour

Sunshine Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2021 Dimension Data Pro-Am Flag of Sweden.svg Henric Sturehed Won with par on third extra hole

Challenge Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
19 May 2021 Dimension Data Pro-Am 1−19 (69-64-71-65=269)Playoff Flag of Sweden.svg Henric Sturehed

1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour

Challenge Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2021 Dimension Data Pro-Am Flag of Sweden.svg Henric Sturehed Won with par on third extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament202120222023
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship
U.S. Open T68CUT
The Open Championship
  Did not play

"T" = tied

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament2021
Championship
Match Play
Invitational 64
Champions NT1

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Did not play

NT = No tournament

Team appearances

Amateur

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charl Schwartzel</span> South African professional golfer

Charl Adriaan Schwartzel is a South African professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf Invitational Series and has previously played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and the Sunshine Tour. He has won one major title, the Masters in 2011. Schwartzel's highest world ranking has been number six, after finishing in a tie for fourth at the WGC-Cadillac Championship in 2012.

Mark William McNulty is a Zimbabwean-Irish professional golfer. He was one of the leading players on the European Tour from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, and featured in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for 83 weeks from 1987 to 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Clark (golfer)</span> South African professional golfer

Timothy Henry Clark is a South African professional golfer who formerly played on the PGA Tour. His biggest win was The Players Championship in 2010, which was also his first PGA Tour win.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor Immelman</span> South African professional golfer (born 1979)

Trevor John Immelman is a South African retired professional golfer and television commentator who has played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He won his sole major championship at the 2008 Masters Tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anders Hansen</span> Danish professional golfer

Anders Rosenberg Hansen is a Danish former professional golfer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richie Ramsay</span> Scottish golfer

Richie Ramsay is a Scottish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Oosthuizen</span> South African professional golfer

Lodewicus Theodorus "Louis" Oosthuizen is a South African professional golfer who won the 2010 Open Championship. He has finished runner-up in all four major championships: the 2012 Masters Tournament, the 2015 and 2021 U.S. Open, the 2015 Open Championship, and the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2021. His highest placing on the Official World Golf Ranking is fourth, which he reached in January 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hennie Otto</span> South African professional golfer

Hendrik Johannes "Hennie" Otto is a South African professional golfer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estanislao Goya</span> Argentine golfer (born 1988)

Carlos Estanislao "Tano" Goya is an Argentine professional golfer.

Marc Elton Cayeux is a Zimbabwean professional golfer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Coetzee</span> South African professional golfer

George William Coetzee is a South African professional golfer. He has won five tournaments on the European Tour and 14 on the Sunshine Tour, where he has also topped the Order of Merit on two occasions.

Shaun Patrick Norris is a South African professional golfer.

Oliver Bekker is a South African professional golfer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morten Ørum Madsen</span> Danish golfer (born 1988)

Morten Ørum Madsen is a Danish professional golfer. He played on the European Tour from 2013 to 2016, winning the South African Open Championship in late 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dylan Frittelli</span> South African professional golfer (born 1990)

Dylan Ashley Frittelli is a South African professional golfer. He currently plays on the PGA Tour where he won the John Deere Classic in 2019. He previously played on the European Tour where he won twice in 2017, the Lyoness Open and the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haydn Porteous</span> South African professional golfer

Haydn Porteous is a South African professional golfer.

Brandon Stone is a South African professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and Sunshine Tour. He represented South Africa at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Rhys Alexander Enoch is a Welsh professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour. He won the 2018 Cape Town Open and the 2019 D+D Real Slovakia Challenge. In 2019 he narrowly missed out in a playoff to finish second in the Zambia Open.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout is a South African professional golfer who is a three-time winner on the European Tour. He won the 2019 Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters and, in consecutive weeks, the 2020 Alfred Dunhill Championship and 2020 South African Open.

Mateusz Gradecki is a Polish professional golfer who plays on the Challenge Tour. He won the 2022 Limpopo Championship, becoming the first Sunshine Tour winner and only the second Challenge Tour winner to hail from Poland.

References

  1. ↑ "31st Eisenhower Trophy". World Amateur Team Championship Ireland 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Wilco Nienaber". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Wilco Nienaber". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "Wilco Nienaber – Wins and Results". European Tour. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  5. ↑ Piastowski, Nick (19 November 2020). "Pro crushes a drive 100 yards past Bryson DeChambeau's average". Golf.com. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  6. ↑ "Nienaber continues South Africa's hot streak with Dimension Data victory". European Tour. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  7. ↑ "Albatros Web Services". livescoring.handicaps.co.za. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.