View source for Nick Dougherty

{{short description|English professional golfer}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox golfer
| name              = Nick Dougherty
| image             = File:DR100830.jpg
| imagesize         = <!-- e.g. 250px (default is 200px) -->
| caption           = 
| fullname          = Nicholas James Dougherty
| nickname          = 
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1982|5|24}}
| birth_place       = [[Bootle]], [[Liverpool]], England
| death_date        = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|1982|5|24}} -->
| death_place       = 
| height            = {{height|ft=6|in=0}}
| weight            = <!-- {{convert| |lb|kg st|abbr=on}} OR {{convert| |kg|lb st|abbr=on}} -->
| nationality       = {{ENG}}
| residence         = [[Sunningdale]], [[Berkshire]], England
| spouse            = {{marriage|[[Di Stewart]]|2010|2023|reason=div}}
| partner           = Selena Oliver
| children          = 2
| college           = 
| yearpro           = 2001
| tour              = 
| extour            = [[European Tour]]<br>[[Challenge Tour]]
| prowins           = 3
| pgawins           = <!-- Number of PGA Tour wins -->
| eurowins          = 3
| japwins           = <!-- Number of Japan Golf Tour wins -->
| asiawins          = 1
| sunwins           = <!-- Number of Sunshine Tour wins -->
| auswins           = <!-- Number of PGA Tour of Australasia wins -->
| nwidewins         = <!-- Number of Nationwide Tour wins -->
| chalwins          = <!-- Number of Challenge Tour wins -->
| champwins         = <!-- Number of Champions Tour wins -->
| seneurowins       = <!-- Number of European Seniors Tour wins -->
| otherwins         = <!-- Number of Other wins -->
| majorwins         = <!-- Number of Major Championship wins -->
| masters           = T33: 2008
| usopen            = T7: [[2007 U.S. Open (golf)|2007]]
| open              = T38: 2009
| pga               = CUT: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
| wghofid           = <!-- World Golf Hall of Fame member ID -->
| wghofyear         = <!-- World Golf Hall of Fame year inducted -->
| award1            = [[Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year|Sir Henry Cotton<br>Rookie of the Year]]
| year1             = [[2002 European Tour|2002]]
| award2            = 
| year2             = 
| awardssection     = <!-- location of awards page or section -->
}}
'''Nicholas James Dougherty''' (born 24 May 1982) is an English former [[professional golfer]] and broadcaster.

== Early life and amateur career ==
Dougherty was born in [[Bootle]], Merseyside, and attended [[Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn|Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School]] in [[Blackburn]], Lancashire.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-07-10 |title=School leads the field in sport|url=https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/5958907.school-leads-field-sport/ |access-date=2020-11-10 |newspaper=Lancashire Telegraph}}</ref> 

Dougherty is a protégé of former professional golfer, [[Nick Faldo]], and had an exceptional amateur career. He won numerous tournaments including the 1999 World Boys Championship and three Faldo Junior Series events.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/nick-dougherty-the-remaking-of-little-nick-on-the-hard-road-to-respect-527403.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220620/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/nick-dougherty-the-remaking-of-little-nick-on-the-hard-road-to-respect-527403.html |archive-date=20 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Nick Dougherty: The remaking of 'Little Nick' on the hard road to respect |work=[[The Independent]] |date=6 March 2005 |access-date=7 April 2009 | location=London}}</ref> In 2001 he was a member of the victorious Great Britain and Ireland [[Walker Cup]] team.

==Professional career==
In 2001, Dougherty turned professional. He gained membership to the [[European Tour]] for 2002 via the final [[qualifying school]]. In his début season he finished 36th on the Order of Merit, and was named the [[Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year]]. He was hindered by glandular fever in 2003, and his 2004 season was also disappointing when he slipped to 97th on the Order of Merit. In early 2005 he earned his first victory on the European Tour at the [[Singapore Masters|Caltex Masters]] in Singapore,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/4219831.stm |title=Dougherty secures Singapore title |publisher=[[BBC Sport]] |date=30 January 2005 |access-date=7 April 2009}}</ref> going on to reach the top 100 of the [[Official World Golf Rankings]] in the middle of the year, and ended it in 15th place on the final European Tour Order of Merit. He also made a strong start to the 2006 season before struggling later in the year.

[[File:Nick Dougherty winner of 2007 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.jpg|thumb|left|Nick Dougherty after winning the 2007 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship]]

Dougherty would bounce back in 2007, and was the leader after the first round of the [[2007 U.S. Open Golf Championship|107th US Open]] at [[Oakmont Country Club]] with a two-under-par round of 68.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/6754327.stm |title=Dougherty storms to US Open lead  |publisher=[[BBC Sport]] |date=15 June 2007 |access-date=7 April 2009 | first=Matt | last=Slater}}</ref> He eventually finished the tournament in a tie for seventh place. This is, to date, his best finish in a [[Men's major golf championships|major championship]], and was also enough to gain automatic entry into the following years championship and the [[Masters Tournament|US Masters]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/golf/6762391.stm |title=Cool Cabrera wins US Open classic |publisher=[[BBC Sport]] |date=17 June 2007 |access-date=7 April 2009 | first=Matt | last=Slater}}</ref> Later that year he secured his second European Tour victory at the [[Alfred Dunhill Links Championship]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/europeantour/2322943/Nick-Dougherty-wins-at-St-Andrews.html |title=Nick Dougherty wins at St Andrews |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=8 October 2007 |access-date=7 April 2009 | location=London | first=Lewine | last=Mair}}</ref> and finished the season placed 11th on the Order of Merit.

After a disappointing 2008 season which was marred by the sudden death of his mother, Dougherty recorded his third European Tour victory at the 2009 [[BMW International Open]] in Munich, Germany. He was three shots behind 54-hole leader [[Retief Goosen]] going into the final round. He shot a final round of 64 and ended with a one stroke victory over [[Rafael Echenique]], who made an albatross 2 on the par-5 18th, and by four over Goosen.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/8123299.stm|title=Dougherty holds on for BMW title |date=28 June 2009|work=BBC Sport|access-date=28 June 2009}}</ref>
The win secured Dougherty a spot in his first [[Men's major golf championships|major]] of 2009, [[The Open Championship]] at [[Turnberry (golf course)|Turnberry]] in July.

Dougherty ended up losing his European Tour card in 2011 after making only one cut during 32 events. Although he finished 45th at the Omega European Masters with a first day 63 helping him to prize money of 10,600 euros, it was not enough to retain his 2012 tour card. He attended the European [[Qualifying School]] in late 2011, but was unsuccessful and consequently settled for membership on the [[Challenge Tour]]. At the end of 2013 he found himself at Q school on the Challenge Tour where he stated he was much happier with his game than he had been for a while, but success continued to elude him.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/other-sport/golf/liverpool-golfer-nick-dougherty-feels-6283933|title=Nick Dougherty feels far happier with life and his golf game now|first=Paul|last=Snowdon|date=8 November 2013|work=Liverpool Echo}}</ref> Dougherty has not played a European Tour-sanctioned event since 2016.

After his retirement from playing Dougherty moved into the media with a position at Sky Sports Golf as a presenter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skysports.com/golf/pundits/nick-dougherty|title=Golf (Sky Sports)|website=SkySports}}</ref>

== Awards and honors ==
In 2002, Dougherty earned the European Tour's [[Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year]] award

==Amateur wins==
*1997 Faldo Junior Series, Golf Foundation Player of the Year
*1999 Faldo Junior Series, European Under 21 Championship, World Boys Championship, Polo Classic Under 19 Championship (United States)
*2000 Faldo Junior Series, Polo Golf Classic Stroke Play Championship (United States), Guatemalan Amateur Open Championship
*2001 [[Lake Macquarie Amateur]]

==Professional wins (3)==
===European Tour wins (3)===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.
!Date
!Tournament
!Winning score
!Margin of<br>victory
!Runner(s)-up
|-
|align=center|1
|align=right|30 Jan [[2005 European Tour|2005]]
|[[Caltex Masters]]<sup>1</sup>
|−18 (68-67-68-67=270)
|5 strokes
|{{flagicon|NED}} [[Maarten Lafeber]], {{flagicon|SCO}} [[Colin Montgomerie]]
|-
|align=center|2
|align=right|7 Oct [[2007 European Tour|2007]]
|[[Alfred Dunhill Links Championship]]
|−18 (67-66-66-71=270)
|2 strokes
|{{flagicon|ENG}} [[Justin Rose]]
|-
|align=center|3
|align=right|28 Jun [[2009 European Tour|2009]]
|[[BMW International Open]]
|−22 (69-65-68-64=266)
|1 stroke
|{{flagicon|ARG}} [[Rafael Echenique]]
|}
<sup>1</sup>Co-sanctioned by the [[Asian Tour]]

==Results in major championships==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;"
!Tournament
!2005
!2006
!2007
!2008
!2009
|-
|align=left|[[Masters Tournament]]
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|T33
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|-
|align=left|[[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open]]
|T52
|CUT
|style="background:yellow;"|T7
|CUT
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|-
|align=left|[[The Open Championship]]
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|CUT
|T42
|T78
|T38
|-
|align=left|[[PGA Championship]]
|CUT
|CUT
|CUT
|CUT
|CUT
|}
{{legend|yellow|Top 10}}
{{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}}
CUT = missed the half-way cut<br>
"T" = tied

===Summary===
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!Tournament !! Wins !! 2nd !! 3rd !! Top-5 !! Top-10 !! Top-25 !! Events !! Cuts made
|-
|align=left|[[Masters Tournament]]         || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1
|-
|align=left|[[U.S. Open (golf)|U.S. Open]] || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4 || 2
|-
|align=left|[[The Open Championship]]      || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4 || 3
|-
|align=left|[[PGA Championship]]           || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0
|-
!Totals                                    !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 1 !! 1 !! 14 !! 6
|}
*Most consecutive cuts made – 2 (2007 U.S. Open – 2007 Open Championship)
*Longest streak of top-10s – 1

==Results in World Golf Championships==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
!Tournament!!2005!!2006!!2007!!2008!!2009
|-
|align="left"|[[WGC-Match Play|Match Play]]
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|R64
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|-
|align="left"|[[WGC-Championship|Championship]]
|T51
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|T51
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|-
|align="left"|[[WGC-Invitational|Invitational]]
|T51
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|style="background:#eeeeee;"|
|T61
|T51
|-
|align="left"|[[WGC-HSBC Champions|Champions]]
|colspan=4 style="background:#D3D3D3;"|
|T74
|}
{{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}}
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play<br>
"T" = Tied<br>
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

==Team appearances==
'''Amateur'''
*[[European Boys' Team Championship]] (representing England): 1998, 1999 (winners), 2000<ref>{{cite web |title=European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association |url=http://www.ega-golf.ch/page/european-boys-team-championship |access-date=22 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=9 July 1998 |title=Golf round-up |newspaper=The Herald |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12258203.golf-round-up/ |access-date=2 February 2023}}</ref>
*[[European Amateur Team Championship]] (representing England): [[2001 European Amateur Team Championship|2001]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ega-golf.ch/page/european-amateur-team-championship |title=European Amateur Team Championship |publisher=European Golf Association |date=19 October 2015 |access-date=9 November 2020}}</ref>
*[[Walker Cup]] (representing Great Britain & Ireland): [[2001 Walker Cup|2001]] (winners)
*[[St Andrews Trophy]] (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2000 (winners)
*[[Jacques Léglise Trophy]] (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1998 (winners), 1999 (winners)
*[[World Boys]]: 1998 (winners), 1999 (winners)

'''Professional'''
*[[Seve Trophy]] (representing Great Britain & Ireland): [[2005 Seve Trophy|2005]] (winners), [[2007 Seve Trophy|2007]] (winners), [[2009 Vivendi Trophy with Seve Ballesteros|2009]] (winners)
*[[Royal Trophy]] (representing Europe): [[2009 Royal Trophy|2009]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|http://www.nickdougherty.com}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Nick Dougherty}}
*{{EuroTour player|30601}}
*{{OWGR|6954}}

{{Sir Henry Cotton Rookies of the Year}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dougherty, Nick}}
[[Category:English male golfers]]
[[Category:European Tour golfers]]
[[Category:People educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn]]
[[Category:Golfers from Liverpool]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Bootle]]
[[Category:1982 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century English sportsmen]]