Roland Thatcher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | April 11, 1977 Hampton, Virginia, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg/13.2 st) |
| Nationality |  United States |
| College | Auburn University |
| Career | |
| Turned Pro | 2000 |
| Current tour | PGA Tour |
| Professional wins | 3 (Nationwide Tour: 3) |
| Best Results in Major Championships | |
| Masters | DNP |
| U.S. Open | CUT: 2003 |
| British Open | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP |
Roland Churchill Thatcher IV (born April 11, 1977) is an American professional golfer.
Thatcher was born in Hampton, Virginia. He had a successful stint at Auburn University in Alabama where he was an All-American and the Southeastern Conference golf champion.
Contents |
[edit] Collegiate career
Thatcher played at Auburn University where he earned All-SEC honors all four years of his career. In 1997 and 1998, the Tigers finished 16th and 10th respectively in the NCAA championships. Thatcher shined in his senior year by winning the SEC Individual Championship and leading Auburn to a second-place finish in the SEC. In 2000 the Tigers won three regular season tournaments and ultimately placed 14th at the NCAA championship. Thatcher earned first team All-SEC and second-team All-American honors.[1]
[edit] Professional career
[edit] 2000-2002
Thatcher turned pro in 2000 and played on The Golden Bear Tour. He joined the BUY.COM Tour (now known as the Nationwide Tour) in 2002 after finishing 47th at the PGA Tour Qualifying School. In April he recorded his first Top Ten finish at the Louisiana Open. In October at the Bank of America Monterey Peninsula Classic he won with a final round of 74 for his first Nationwide Tour victory. He took home $81,000 and a 2-year Nationwide Tour exemption. He had to withdraw from the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in December and therefore remained on the Nationwide Tour.
[edit] 2003
In 2003 Thatcher had four Top Ten finishes on the Nationwide Tour including a tie for 2nd at the Price Cutter Charity Championship where he earned $48,200. He finished off the year making 11 consecutive cuts. He continued his good play with a tie for 28th at the PGA Qualifying Tournament which earned him fully exempt status on the PGA Tour in 2004.
[edit] 2004
As a rookie on the PGA Tour Thatcher started off the first half of 2004 with little success but things improved in the second half of the year. At the Reno-Tahoe Open at Montreaux Golf Club he shot 66-68-68 in the first three rounds to hold the third-round lead. He then shot a final round five-over par 77 to finish tied for 6th and took home $109,000. At the Bell Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville, Ontario he finished tied for 26th but had one of the best final rounds at a very tough golf course. He then finished in a tie for 25th place at the 84 Lumber Classic and a tie for 27th at the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. Because of his rough start, Thatcher finished out of the Top 125 on the PGA Tour money list and therefore had to go back to Q-School. He played very well at the PGA Qualifying Tournament finishing in the Top 10 and retaining his card for 2005.
[edit] 2005
In 2005 Thatcher finished tied for 8th at the FedEx St. Jude Classic where he fired a final round 69 and took home the largest paycheck of his career at $142,100. At the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Michigan one of his best moments was being the closest to the pin in the final round at the infamous par 3 17th which is surrounded by some of the rowdiest fans on Tour. He finished tied for 22nd and earned $92,604. Things looked good for Thatcher at this point as he was leading the Tour in the important stat of "Greens in Regulation". However he had a poor finish to the year and ended up 173rd on the money list and therefore had to go back to Q-School. He failed to keep his card finishing outside the Top 30 at the PGA Qualifying Tournament.
[edit] 2006
Thatcher was therefore back on the Nationwide Tour in 2006. He started the year off well with a Top 10 finish at the Jacob's Creek Open Championship in Adelaide, Australia. He received a sponsor's exemption to the PGA Tour's Shell Houston Open and did well finishing 19th and receiving a $74,000 paycheck. Back on the Nationwide Tour, Thatcher also had Top 10 finishes at the Xerox Classic and the PalmettoPride Classic. He ended up in 55th on the final 2006 Nationwide Tour money list. At the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament he failed to earn his PGA Tour card for 2007.
[edit] 2007
On the Nationwide Tour in 2007, Thatcher got off to a slow start missing the cut 3 times in his first 4 tournaments. Things then improved tremendously as he had five Top 25 finishes in a row, including a playoff loss to Nick Flanagan at the Henrico County Open where he earned $33,600. After another missed cut, he then had another three Top 25 finishes, including a tie for 3rd at the LaSalle Bank Open in Chicago earning him another $43,500. On July 1, he won the 2007 Peek'n Peak Classic and set a new tournament record at 15-under-par. His victory was worth $108,000 and moved him from 10th into 4th place on the Nationwide Tour money list. He was also awarded the Nationwide Tour Player of the Month for June. Thatcher continued his hot play in July as he won for the second time in 2007. With a final score of 24-under-par he won the Cox Classic by one stroke over Australian Jason Day. The victory earned him $117,000 and moved him into first place on the Nationwide Money list. Thatcher was not able to hold on to the number one spot on the 2007 Nationwide Tour money list though. After his win at the Cox Classic he played in 10 tournaments and only made 5 cuts. He led the money list going into the Nationwide Tour Championship at Barona Creek but finished in a tie for 29th place while Richard Johnson went on to win the tournament and money list crown. In 28 tournaments he recorded six Top 10 finishes and fifteen Top 25 finishes. Thatcher finished in 2nd place on the final 2007 Money List, earning his PGA Tour card for 2008. He also became only the third player in Nationwide Tour history to earn at least $400,000 in one year.
[edit] 2008
Thatcher was back on the PGA Tour after an absence of 2 years. In February at the Mayakoba Classic at Riviera Maya in Mexico, he shot a career best "61" in the third round. Although he made the cut on the number, he ended up finishing with his first Top-10 of the year. In April he finished T-7 at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship earning $179,733.34 and the largest payday of his career. As of April 27 Thatcher had 2 Top-10 and 4 Top-25 finishes and was 87th on the 2008 Money List.
[edit] Professional wins (3)
[edit] Nationwide Tour wins (3)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winnig Score | Margin of Victory | Runner(s) up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | October 6, 2002 | Bank of America Monterey Peninsula Classic | -5 (66-72-71-74 = 283) | 2 strokes |  Aaron Baddeley |
| 2. | July 1, 2007 | Peek'n Peak Classic | -15 (69-67-69-68 = 273) | 3 strokes | Paul Claxton |
| 3. | July 29, 2007 | Cox Classic | -24 (64-63-68-65 = 260) | 1 stroke | Jason Day |
Nationwide Tour playoff record (0-1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
| 1. | 2007 | Henrico County Open | Nick Flanagan,  Chris Baryla |
Was eliminated on 2nd playoff hole (Nick Flanagan beat Chris Baryla with a birdie on the 3rd playoff hole) |
[edit] Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2003 |
|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP |
| U.S. Open | CUT |
| The Open Championship | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
[edit] References
- ^ Auburn 2007 Men's Golf Media Guide. Auburn Athletic Department. Retrieved on 2007-11-05.
