Stephen Dodd

Stephen Christopher Dodd (born 15 July 1966) is a Welsh professional golfer who after a moderate career, unexpectedly won two events on the European Tour in the 2005 season at the age of 38 and won a third time in 2006. He also won the 2005 WGC-World Cup in partnership with Bradley Dredge. Since turning 50 he has won three times on the European Senior Tour.

For the Australian actor, see Steve Dodd. For the Australian footballer, see Steven Dodd. For the police officer killed by an IRA bomb, see Harrods bombing.
Stephen Dodd
Personal information
Full nameStephen Christopher Dodd
Born (1966-07-15) 15 July 1966
Cardiff, Wales
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight187 lb (85 kg; 13.4 st)
Nationality Wales
ResidenceBarry, Wales
Career
Turned professional1990
Current tour(s)European Senior Tour
Former tour(s)European Tour
Challenge Tour
Professional wins17
Highest ranking56 (22 May 2005)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour3
Asian Tour1
Challenge Tour1
European Senior Tour3
Other10
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentCUT: 1990
PGA ChampionshipCUT: 2005, 2006
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipCUT: 1989, 2005, 2006

Personal life

Dodd was born in Cardiff. He resides in Barry, Wales with his wife Allison and their son Liam.

Amateur career

Dodd had a successful amateur career highlighted by victory in The Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale in 1989, which qualified him to play in The Open Championship that year and the Masters Tournament the following year. He played in the 1989 Walker Cup, being part of the first Great Britain and Ireland team to win in the United States. He was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year in 1989.

Professional career

Dodd turned professional in 1990. He spent the early years of his professional career on Europe's second tier Challenge Tour. In 1992 he won the Bank Austria Open on that tour, but his results were generally patchy. He first gained his place on the main European Tour in 1995, but found himself returning to qualifying school every year until 2001, when he finally broke into the top 100 on the Order of Merit to automatically retain his playing status. He then steadily improved, having new personal best seasons in 2003 and 2004, finishing 80th and 58th respectively on the money list.

The 2005 season marked a sudden improvement in Dodd's fortunes. He won the first tournament he entered that season, the Volvo China Open (actually played in late 2004), which was one of several events co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the Asian Tour.[2] A few weeks later he picked up a new biggest paycheck of his career by coming tied second in the higher profile Dubai Desert Classic. He went on to win the Nissan Irish Open in May,[3] and in November he won the WGC-World Cup for Wales in partnership with Bradley Dredge. He finished the season ranked a career high 17th on the Order of Merit.

In 2006 Dodd won the Smurfit European Open, granting him a five-year exemption on the European Tour.[4] He finished the season ranked 29th on the Order of Merit. Since then his form has dropped, and in 2008 he made just 4 cuts as he slipped to 245th on the end of season money list. His career started to decline and by 2012, he was playing on the third-tier Dubai-based MENA Golf Tour, where he had three wins. In 2016 he won the GRENKE Championship on the PGA EuroPro Tour, a few weeks before his 50th birthday.

Dodd joined the European Senior Tour after turning 50. In his first season, 2016, he won the Senior Italian Open and followed up with wins in the 2017 Farmfoods European Senior Masters and the 2018 WINSTONgolf Senior Open.

Amateur wins

Professional wins (17)

European Tour wins (3)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 28 Nov 2004
(2005 season)		 Volvo China Open1 −12 (68-70-70-68=276) 3 strokes Thomas Bjørn
2 22 May 2005 Nissan Irish Open −9 (69-70-72-68=279) Playoff David Howell
3 9 Jul 2006 Smurfit Kappa European Open −9 (67-69-73-70=279) 2 strokes José Manuel Lara, Anthony Wall

1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour

European Tour playoff record (1–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2005 Nissan Irish Open David Howell Won with birdie on first extra hole

Challenge Tour wins (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 5 Jul 1992 Bank Austria Open −11 (69-67-71-70=277) 3 strokes Gordon Manson

PGA EuroPro Tour wins (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 24 Jun 2016 GRENKE Championship −13 (66-66-68=200) Playoff Adam Hodkinson

MENA Tour wins (3)
  • 2012 Shaikh Maktoum Dubai Open
  • 2013 Royal D’Anfa Open, Abu Dhabi Golf Citizen Open

Other wins (6)

European Senior Tour wins (3)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 23 Oct 2016 Senior Italian Open −9 (69-64-71=204) 1 stroke Phillip Price
2 22 Oct 2017 Farmfoods European Senior Masters −2 (71-73-70=214) 1 stroke Clark Dennis, Paul McGinley
3 15 Jul 2018 WINSTONgolf Senior Open −15 (64-66-71=201) 6 strokes Jean-François Remésy

Results in major championships
Tournament 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament CUT
The Open Championship CUT
PGA Championship
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Masters Tournament
The Open Championship CUT CUT
PGA Championship CUT CUT

Note: Dodd never played in the U.S. Open.

  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut

Results in World Golf Championships
Tournament20052006
Match Play
Championship T18
Invitational 69 T50
  Did not play

"T" = Tied

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

References
  1. "Week 21 2005 Ending 22 May 2005" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. "Dodd claims first tour victory". BBC Sport. 28 November 2004. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  3. "Dodd wins Irish Open in play-off". BBC Sport. 22 May 2005. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
  4. "Dodd claims European Open victory". BBC Sport. 9 July 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
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