Alex Čejka
This biography of a living person includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (December 2012) |
Alexander Čejka (born 2 December 1970) is a Czech-German professional golfer.
| Alex Čejka | |
|---|---|
Čejka in 2012 | |
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Alexander Čejka |
| Born | 2 December 1970 Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) |
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Sporting nationality | Germany |
| Residence | Munich, Germany Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1989 |
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour Champions European Senior Tour |
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour Web.com Tour |
| Professional wins | 17 |
| Highest ranking | 33 (7 September 2003)[1] |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 1 |
| European Tour | 4 |
| Korn Ferry Tour | 1 |
| Challenge Tour | 4 |
| PGA Tour Champions | 2 |
| European Senior Tour | 2 |
| Other | 4 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | 26th: 2004 |
| PGA Championship | 4th: 2003 |
| U.S. Open | T8: 2010 |
| The Open Championship | T11: 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 Turespaña Masters Open de Andalucía at Islantilla Golf Club in 1995. That year he came 6th on the European Tour's Order of Merit. Since 2003 he 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 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 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. At the time, he was also the third oldest first-time winner on the PGA Tour since 1970.[3]
He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[4]
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.[5]
In May 2021, Čejka won his first tournament on the PGA Tour Champions at the Regions Tradition. Čejka won this major tournament in a playoff over Steve Stricker.[6] Three weeks later, Čejka won his second PGA Tour Champions major tournament of 2021 at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Čejka shot a final-round 67 Sunday to beat Tim Petrovic by four shots.[7]
Professional wins (17)
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. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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)
| Legend |
| Tour Championships (1) |
| Other European Tour (3) |
| 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 | −12 | 2 strokes | Carlos Rodiles |
Web.com Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin 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. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin 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[5]
Other wins (2)
- 1990 Czech Open
- 1992 Czech Open
PGA Tour Champions wins (2)
| Legend |
| PGA Tour Champions major championships (2) |
| Other PGA Tour Champions (0) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 May 2021 | Regions Tradition | 68-69-66-67=270 | −18 | Playoff | Steve Stricker |
| 2 | 30 May 2021 | KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship | 67-70-68-67=272 | −8 | 4 strokes | Tim Petrovic |
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 | Regions Tradition | Steve Stricker | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
European Senior Tour wins (2)
| Legend |
| Senior major championships (1) |
| Other European Senior Tour (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 May 2021 | KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship | 67-70-68-67=272 | −8 | 4 strokes | Tim Petrovic |
| 2 | 31 Jul 2022 | JCB Championship | 69-66-70=205 | −11 | 2 strokes | Paul McGinley |
Results in major championships
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
| 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 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | T35 | ||||||||
| U.S. Open | T8 | CUT | T41 | T60 | |||||
| The Open Championship | |||||||||
| PGA Championship | WD |
| Tournament | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||||
| PGA Championship | CUT | |||
| U.S. Open | ||||
| The Open Championship | NT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Summary
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 14 |
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T33 | T12 | CUT | T9 |
| Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | T58 | CUT | 74 | T9 | T79 | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships
| Tournament | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match Play | R16 | R32 | R64 | ||||
| Championship | T55 | NT1 | T12 | T28 | |||
| Invitational | T42 | T9 |
1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Senior major championships
Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Regions Tradition | 1 shot deficit | −18 (68-69-66-67=270) | Playoff | Steve Stricker |
| 2021 | KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship | 1 shot deficit | −8 (67-70-68-67=272) | 4 strokes | Tim Petrovic |
Results timeline
| Tournament | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| The Tradition | 1 | DQ |
| Senior PGA Championship | 1 | 13 |
| U.S. Senior Open | T26 | T13 |
| Senior Players Championship | T5 | |
| The Senior Open Championship | T18 | T12 |
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Team appearances
See also
References
- ^ "Week 36 2003 Ending 7 Sep 2003" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- ^ "Alex Cejka gets 1st PGA Tour victory". ESPN. Associated Press. 8 March 2015.
- ^ "Alex Cejka PGA TOUR Champions Profile - News, Stats, and Videos". PGATour. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Zenor, John (9 May 2021). "Alex Cejka wins Regions Tradition playoff over Stricker". Toronto Star. Associated Press. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ Kelly, Todd (30 May 2021). "Alex Cejka wins second straight major, claims KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship". Golfweek. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
External links
- Official website
- Alex Cejka at the European Tour official site
- Alex Cejka at the PGA Tour official site
- Alex Cejka at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Alex Cejka at the International Olympic Committee
- Alex Cejka at Olympics.com
- Alex Čejka at Olympedia
- Alexander Cejka at the Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (in German)