Alex Čejka

Alexander Čejka (born 2 December 1970) is a Czech-German professional golfer.

Alex Čejka
Čejka in 2012
Personal information
Full nameAlexander Čejka
Born (1970-12-02) 2 December 1970
Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight170 lb (77 kg)
Nationality Czechoslovakia
 Germany
ResidenceMunich, Germany
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Career
Turned professional1989
Current tour(s)PGA Tour
(past champion status)
Former tour(s)European Tour
Web.com Tour
Professional wins12
Highest ranking33 (7 September 2003)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
European Tour4
Korn Ferry Tour1
Challenge Tour4
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament26th: 2004
PGA Championship4th: 2003
U.S. OpenT8: 2010
The Open ChampionshipT11: 1996

Čejka was born in Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia. He left the country with his parents as a refugee at the age of nine, eventually settling in Munich, where he lived for many years, becoming a West German citizen. Čejka lives in Las Vegas and also has a home in Prague.

Professional career

Čejka turned professional in 1989 and played on the European Tour from 1992 to 2002. His biggest tournament win was the Volvo Masters at Valderrama in 1995. That year he came 6th on the European Tour's Order of Merit. Since 2003 he has played mainly on the U.S. based PGA Tour. In 2003 he reached as high as No. 33 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Čejka took a five-shot lead into the final round of the 2009 Players Championship after rounds of 66, 67, and 72. He shot a 42 on the front nine, however, en route to a 79 and an eight-stroke loss to Henrik Stenson.

He has represented Germany in the World Cup 12 times, including in 2011 at Mission Hills Haikou in Hainan Island, teaming with partner Martin Kaymer to tie for second, two strokes behind the winning United States team of Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland. Čejka teamed with Kaymer in four World Cup appearances.

In 2012 Čejka finished 177th on the PGA Tour and moved to the Web.com Tour. He finished 64th in 2013, then 6th in 2014 to earn a return to the PGA Tour.

Čejka won his first PGA Tour event in his 287th Tour start, the 2015 Puerto Rico Open. Two players bogeyed the 18th hole ensuring a five-man playoff; Čejka won with a birdie at the first playoff hole.[2] He also is the first golfer born in the Czech Republic to win a PGA Tour event and first non-American to win the Puerto Rico Open.

He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[3]

With most of the sports world on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Čejka played on the Arizona-based Outlaw Tour, one of the few professional golf tours in operation during the pandemic, where he won two events.[4]

Professional wins (14)

PGA Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 8 Mar 2015 Puerto Rico Open 70-67-75-69=281 −7 Playoff Jon Curran, Emiliano Grillo,
Tim Petrovic, Sam Saunders

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 2015 Puerto Rico Open Jon Curran, Emiliano Grillo,
Tim Petrovic, Sam Saunders
Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Patrick Cantlay, Kim Meen-whee Cantlay won with par on second extra hole

European Tour wins (4)

No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 5 Mar 1995 Turespaña Masters Open de Andalucía 71-68-70-69=278 −6 3 strokes Costantino Rocca
2 13 Aug 1995 Hohe Brücke Open 61-68-68-70=267 −21 4 strokes Ignacio Garrido, Rolf Muntz,
Ronan Rafferty
3 29 Oct 1995 Volvo Masters 74-66-72-70=282 −2 2 strokes Colin Montgomerie
4 13 Oct 2002 Trophée Lancôme 64-68-72-68=272 −21 2 strokes Carlos Rodiles

Web.com Tour wins (1)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner-up
1 15 Feb 2014 Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship 68-68-63=199* −14 3 strokes Andrew Putnam

*Note: The 2014 Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Challenge Tour wins (4)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 30 Jun 1991 Audi Quattro Trophy Glyn Krause, John Oates
2 25 Jul 1993 Audi Open 72-66-71=209 −7 Playoff Simon P. Brown, Peter Harrison,
Liam White
3 8 Jun 1997 KB Golf Challenge 68-70-65-68=271 −17 2 strokes Michele Reale
4 16 Jun 2002 Galeria Kaufhof Pokal Challenge 66-69-68-68=271 −17 2 strokes John E. Morgan, Marcel Siem

Outlaw Tour wins (2)

  • 2020 Arrowhead Classic, Parker Open[4]

Other wins (2)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament 44
U.S. Open T50
The Open Championship T11 CUT
PGA Championship T52 T65
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament 26
U.S. Open T61 T60
The Open Championship CUT T13 CUT CUT CUT
PGA Championship 4 CUT CUT
Tournament 201020112012201320142015
Masters Tournament T35
U.S. Open T8 CUT T41 T60
The Open Championship
PGA Championship WD
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied

Summary

TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament00000033
U.S. Open00001176
The Open Championship00000272
PGA Championship00011163
Totals0001242314
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (twice)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
The Players Championship T33 T12 CUT T9 T58 CUT 74 T9 T79 CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament1999200020012002200320042005
Match Play R16 R32 R64
Championship T55 NT1 T12 T28
Invitational T42 T9

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Team appearances

See also

References

  1. "Week 36 2003 Ending 7 Sep 2003" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  2. "Alex Cejka gets 1st PGA Tour victory". ESPN. Associated Press. 8 March 2015.
  3. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alex Čejka". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019.
  4. Myers, Alex (27 April 2020). "Alex Cejka wins second consecutive mini-tour event thanks to wild rally that included a hole-in-one". Golf Digest.
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