Ian Baker-Finch

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Template:Short description Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox golfer Ian Michael Baker-Finch (born 24 October 1960) is an Australian golfer and sports commentator best known for winning The Open Championship in 1991.[1]

Early life

Baker-Finch was born in Nambour, Queensland, Australia. He grew up in the same Queensland neighborhood as fellow golfers Greg Norman and Wayne Grady.[2]

Professional career

Australian and European Tours

Baker-Finch turned professional in 1979.[3] He credits Jack Nicklaus as his greatest influence, saying that he based his game on Nicklaus' book, Golf My Way.

Baker-Finch began his professional career on the PGA Tour of Australasia, winning his first professional tournament, the New Zealand Open, in 1983.[3] That victory earned him an entry to The Open Championship in 1984. He would make headlines by taking the 36-hole lead, holding onto the lead after three rounds but then shooting a disastrous last round 79 to finish ninth, much in the manner of Bobby Clampett who had endured a similar collapse two years previously.

Baker-Finch joined the European Tour, winning the 1985 Scandinavian Enterprise Open and finishing in the top-20 on the order of merit in both 1985 and 1986. At the same time he continued to play in Australasia in the Northern Hemisphere winter, picking up several further tournament titles there and occasionally played on the Japan Golf Tour.

PGA Tour

Baker-Finch first played on the PGA Tour as an invitee in 1985 and began to do so regularly in 1989, having qualified for tour membership by finishing third in the 1988 World Series of Golf. He won his first PGA Tour title at the 1989 Southwestern Bell Colonial, gaining him a two-year exemption on Tour. In 1990, he finished 16th on the PGA Tour money list, on the strength of three runner-up finishes and two third-place finishes.

Despite his steady career, with wins on four continents, including Asia, Baker-Finch was not generally counted as a member of the elite group of international golfers. When he won the 1991 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, closing with a 64-66[3] to beat Mike Harwood by two strokes, he was considered a surprise champion. He had three other runner-up finishes that year as well and again qualified for the Tour Championship with a 13th-place finish on the money list. He ranked briefly in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking that year.[4]

Baker-Finch had a 10-year exemption from the PGA Tour for his Open Championship win, leaving him exempt until 2001. He achieved a runner-up finish in The Players Championship in 1992, but otherwise never came close to contending on the PGA Tour again. He picked up wins in Australia in 1992 and 1993 but his form then went into a steep and accelerating decline. He began to lose confidence in his game and tinkered with his swing often. His last top-10 finish on the PGA Tour was a tie for 10th in the 1994 Masters Tournament.

Baker-Finch then famously suffered a complete collapse of his game.[5] The problems were often psychological: he would hit shots flawlessly on the practice range, and then go to the first tee and hit a weak drive into the wrong fairway. In the 1995 Open Championship at St Andrews, he notoriously hooked his first round tee shot at the first out-of-bounds on the left side of the fairway shared with the 18th, with attention focused on him as his playing partner was Arnold Palmer, competing in his final Open. In 1995 and 1996 he missed the cut, withdrew after one round or was disqualified in all 29 PGA Tour events that he entered.

Baker-Finch later said: "I lost my confidence. I got to the point where I didn't even want to be out on the golf course because I was playing so poorly. I would try my hardest but when I came out to play, I managed to find a way to miss the cut time and time again. It became a habit."[6]

After shooting a 92 in the first round of the 1997 Open at Royal Troon, an extraordinarily bad score by tournament professional standards, Baker-Finch admitted that he cried in the locker room that afternoon. He withdrew from the championship after one round and retired from tournament golf.[6]

In 2013, in a return to tournament form, Baker-Finch together with Bart Bryant won the age 60 to 69 exhibition portion of the Champions Tour Legends of Golf tournament.

Broadcasting career

After his game deserted him, Baker-Finch turned his interests to careers in broadcasting and golf course design and management.[3] He was hired by ESPN and ABC Sports to comment on golf tournaments in 1998, and did so until 2006. During this time, Baker-Finch served as the lead analyst for ESPN and as a hole announcer for ABC, though on many occasions he filled in as ABC's lead analyst. In 2007, he was hired by CBS Sports as a hole announcer, a position he still holds today.[7] During this era, Baker-Finch served as Gary Player's captain's assistant for the International team in the Presidents Cup in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Reporting for CBS at the 2007 Barclays tournament, Baker-Finch was one of the thousands gathered around the 18th green as Rich Beem hit his approach shot. The errant shot hit straight on Baker-Finch's cheek and knocked him down, causing him to fall on his back behind the green. Baker-Finch recovered before Beem got to his ball.[8]

Personal life

Baker-Finch and his wife, Jennie, have two daughters Hayley and Laura; they live in North Palm Beach, Florida.[7]

Awards and honours

  • On 22 June 2000, Baker-Finch was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his golfing achievements.[9]
  • In 2009, Baker-Finch was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.[10]

Professional wins (17)

PGA Tour wins (2)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 21 May 1989 Southwestern Bell Colonial −10 (65-70-65-70=270) 4 strokes Template:Flagicon David Edwards
2 21 Jul 1991 The Open Championship −8 (71-71-64-66=272) 2 strokes Template:Flagicon Mike Harwood

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1991 New England Classic Template:Flagicon Bruce Fleisher Lost to birdie on seventh extra hole

European Tour wins (2)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other European Tour (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 4 Aug 1985 Scandinavian Enterprise Open −14 (68-72-68-66=274) 2 strokes Template:Flagicon Graham Marsh
2 21 Jul 1991 The Open Championship −8 (71-71-64-66=272) 2 strokes Template:Flagicon Mike Harwood

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1986 Bell's Scottish Open Template:Flagicon David Feherty, Template:Flagicon Christy O'Connor Jnr Feherty won with birdie on second extra hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (3)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 18 Oct 1987 Polaroid Cup Golf Digest Tournament −9 (74-67-68-66=275) 4 strokes Template:Flagicon Kazushige Kono
2 10 Apr 1988 Pocari Sweat Open −7 (73-68-66-70=277) 2 strokes Template:Flagicon Graham Marsh
3 17 Apr 1988 Bridgestone Aso Open −6 (75-73-68-66=282) 1 stroke Template:Flagicon Tadami Ueno

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (10)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 27 Nov 1983 New Zealand Open E (71-66-72-71=280) 3 strokes Template:Flagicon Stuart Reese
2 13 May 1984 Town and Country WA-RAC Western Australian Open −16 (70-67-67-68=272) 4 strokes Template:Flagicon Terry Gale
3 21 Oct 1984 National Panasonic New South Wales Open −15 (69-70-68-70=277) 13 strokes Template:Flagicon Peter Senior
4 16 Dec 1984 Coca-Cola Queensland PGA Championship −3 (69-74-70-72=285) 1 stroke Template:Flagicon Ossie Moore
5 10 Feb 1985 Victorian Open −9 (73-65-72-69=279) 2 strokes Template:Flagicon Rodger Davis
6 8 Feb 1987 Robert Boyd Transport Australian Match Play Championship 5 and 4 Template:Flagicon Ossie Moore
7 21 Feb 1988 Australian Masters −9 (69-70-71-73=283) Playoff Template:Flagicon Roger Mackay, Template:Flagicon Craig Parry
8 16 Dec 1990 Coolum ClassicTemplate:Efn −17 (66-67-67-71=271) 5 strokes Template:Flagicon Stephen Bennett, Template:Flagicon Rodger Davis
9 26 Jan 1992 Vines Classic −12 (71-67-66-72=276) 1 stroke Template:Flagicon Jeff Maggert, Template:Flagicon Frank Nobilo
10 22 Nov 1993 Ford Australian PGA Championship −9 (69-69-73-64=275) Playoff Template:Flagicon Peter Fowler, Template:Flagicon Grant Waite

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (2–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1984 Victorian PGA Championship Template:Flagicon Wayne Riley Lost to birdie on second extra hole
2 1988 Australian Masters Template:Flagicon Roger Mackay, Template:Flagicon Craig Parry Won with birdie on first extra hole
3 1993 Ford Australian PGA Championship Template:Flagicon Peter Fowler, Template:Flagicon Grant Waite Won with birdie on second extra hole

Senior wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1991 The Open Championship Tied for lead −8 (71-71-64-66=272) 2 strokes Template:Flagicon Mike Harwood

Results timeline

Tournament 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
Masters Tournament CUT CUT T7 T6 T54 T10 CUT CUT
U.S. Open T44 T13 T19 CUT CUT CUT
The Open Championship T9 T20 CUT CUT CUT T30 T6 1 T19 T70 CUT CUT CUT WD
PGA Championship T34 T57 CUT T69 66 CUT CUT

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  Win

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  Top 10

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  Did not play

CUT = missed the half way cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 3 3 8 4
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 3
The Open Championship 1 0 0 1 3 5 14 7
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 4
Totals 1 0 0 1 6 10 35 18
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (1992 Masters – 1994 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (six times)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
The Players Championship CUT T46 T41 T2 T39 T69 WD CUT

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  Top 10

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

Team appearances

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

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  1. ↑ Viacom CBS Press Express
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External links

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