Simon Wakefield
Encyclopedia
Simon Wakefield is an English
professional golf
er.
Wakefield was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme
, Staffordshire
and is the nephew of former England cricket
er Bob Taylor
. He won the 1996 Tillman Trophy in addition to several county amateur championships before turning professional
in 1997.
Early in his career, Wakefield played predominantly on the second tier Challenge Tour
before winning a place on the European Tour
via qualifying school
at the end of 1999. He failed to reatin his tour card during his rookie season and dropped back to the Challenge Tour for 2001. He won his first professional tournament in 2002 at the Tessali Open del Sud, and went on to finish 9th on the Challenge Tour Rankings to graduate back to the European Tour for 2003.
Wakefield finished the 2003 European Tour season inside the top 100 on the Order of Merit to retain his card, but was back at the tour school at the end of 2004 having just missed out on keeping his place via the money list. He won his card back, and has secured his place on the European Tour since then with solid performances, although he has yet to win a tournament at the highest level. In 2005, he won his second professional title, the Dimension Data Pro-Am
in South Africa.
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
professional golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er.
Wakefield was born in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
and is the nephew of former England cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er Bob Taylor
Bob Taylor (cricketer)
Robert William Taylor , known as Bob Taylor, is a former English cricketer who played as wicket-keeper for Derbyshire between 1961 and 1984 and for England between 1971 and 1984. He made 57 Test, and 639 first class cricket appearances in total, taking 1,473 catches. The 2,069 victims across his...
. He won the 1996 Tillman Trophy in addition to several county amateur championships before turning professional
Professional golfer
In golf the distinction between amateurs and professionals is rigorously maintained. An amateur who breaches the rules of amateur status may lose his or her amateur status. A golfer who has lost his or her amateur status may not play in amateur competitions until amateur status has been reinstated;...
in 1997.
Early in his career, Wakefield played predominantly on the second tier Challenge Tour
Challenge Tour
The Challenge Tour is the second tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and as with on the main European Tour and the European Seniors Tour, some of the events are played outside of Europe...
before winning a place on the European Tour
PGA European Tour
The PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...
via qualifying school
Qualifying school
In professional golf the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S. based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the tour for the following season, otherwise known as a...
at the end of 1999. He failed to reatin his tour card during his rookie season and dropped back to the Challenge Tour for 2001. He won his first professional tournament in 2002 at the Tessali Open del Sud, and went on to finish 9th on the Challenge Tour Rankings to graduate back to the European Tour for 2003.
Wakefield finished the 2003 European Tour season inside the top 100 on the Order of Merit to retain his card, but was back at the tour school at the end of 2004 having just missed out on keeping his place via the money list. He won his card back, and has secured his place on the European Tour since then with solid performances, although he has yet to win a tournament at the highest level. In 2005, he won his second professional title, the Dimension Data Pro-Am
Dimension Data Pro-Am
The Dimension Data Pro-Am is one of the principal annual golf tournaments on the Southern African Sunshine Tour. It was played in 2009 at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa, with a prize fund in 2008 of 1.8 million rand. In 2011, the tournament will be played from February 17-20...
in South Africa.
Challenge Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 Apr 2002 2002 Challenge Tour The 2002 Challenge Tour was a series of golf tournaments known as the Challenge Tour, the official development tour run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was started as the Satellite Tour in 1986 and was renamed the Challenge Tour ready for the start of the 1990 season.The Challenge Tour Rankings... |
Tessali Open del Sud | 1 stroke |  Andrew Raitt |
Sunshine Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 Jan 2005 | Dimension Data Pro-Am Dimension Data Pro-Am The Dimension Data Pro-Am is one of the principal annual golf tournaments on the Southern African Sunshine Tour. It was played in 2009 at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa, with a prize fund in 2008 of 1.8 million rand. In 2011, the tournament will be played from February 17-20... |
Playoff |  Nic Henning |
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters The Masters Tournament The Masters Tournament, also known as The Masters , is one of the four major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week of April, it is the first of the majors to be played each year... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (golf) The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship The Open Championship The Open Championship, or simply The Open , is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. It is the only "major" held outside the USA and is administered by The R&A, which is the governing body of golf outside the USA and Mexico... |
CUT | CUT | DNP | T48 | DNP | T19 |
| PGA Championship PGA Championship The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the PGA of America as part of the PGA Tour. It is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, and is the golf season's final major, usually played in mid-August, customarily four weeks after The Open Championship... |
DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.