Ian Baker-Finch: Difference between revisions
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==Other work== |
==Other work== |
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After his game deserted him, Baker-Finch turned his interests to careers in broadcasting and golf course design and management.<ref name="gl">{{cite web |title=Ian Baker-Finch bio |publisher=Golf Legends |url=http://www.golflegends.org/ian-baker-finch.php |accessdate=19 April 2010}}</ref> He was hired by [[ESPN]] and [[ABC Sports]] to commentate 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.<ref name="ibf"/> On broadcasts he is often known by the nickname "Finchy". |
After his game deserted him, Baker-Finch turned his interests to careers in broadcasting and golf course design and management.<ref name="gl">{{cite web |title=Ian Baker-Finch bio |publisher=Golf Legends |url=http://www.golflegends.org/ian-baker-finch.php |accessdate=19 April 2010 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101126171402/http://www.golflegends.org/ian-baker-finch.php |archivedate=26 November 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> He was hired by [[ESPN]] and [[ABC Sports]] to commentate 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.<ref name="ibf"/> On broadcasts he is often known by the nickname "Finchy". |
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Reporting for CBS at the 2007 [[The 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 out, causing him to fall on his back behind the green. Baker-Finch recovered before Beem got to his ball.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1656384,00.html |title=Baker-Finch hit in face by Beem's stray shot |agency=AP |work=Golf.com |accessdate=3 January 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204131025/http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1656384,00.html |archivedate=4 December 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> |
Reporting for CBS at the 2007 [[The 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 out, causing him to fall on his back behind the green. Baker-Finch recovered before Beem got to his ball.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1656384,00.html |title=Baker-Finch hit in face by Beem's stray shot |agency=AP |work=Golf.com |accessdate=3 January 2013 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204131025/http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1656384,00.html |archivedate=4 December 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> |
Revision as of 12:28, 27 December 2017
Ian Baker-Finch | |
---|---|
Personal information | |
Full name | Ian Michael Baker-Finch |
Nickname | Finchy, The Dark Shark |
Born | European Tour PGA Tour of Australasia | 24 October 1960
Professional wins | 17 |
Highest ranking | 10 (29 September 1991)[2] |
Number of wins by tour | |
PGA Tour | 2 |
European Tour | 2 |
Japan Golf Tour | 3 |
PGA Tour of Australasia | 10 |
Other | 1 |
Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |
Masters Tournament | T6: 1992 |
PGA Championship | T34: 1989 |
U.S. Open | T13: 1992 |
The Open Championship | Won: 1991 |
Ian Michael Baker-Finch (born 24 October 1960) is an Australian professional golfer who is best known for winning The Open Championship in 1991.
Early years
Baker-Finch was born in
Professional career
Baker-Finch turned professional in 1979.[4] Baker-Finch credits Jack Nicklaus as his greatest influence, saying that he based his game on Nicklaus' book, Golf My Way. He began his professional career on the PGA Tour of Australasia, winning his first professional tournament, the New Zealand Open, in 1983.[4] That victory earned him an entry to the British Open 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
Baker-Finch first played on the
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 British Open at Royal Birkdale, closing with a 64–66[4] 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.[5]
Baker-Finch's British Open victory might have proven the catalyst for him to move to a higher level and start to regularly challenge for prestigious titles, but this was not to be the case. He had a 10-year exemption from the PGA Tour for the British Open win, leaving him exempt until 2001. He did achieve 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.
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."[7]
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.[7]
The only PGA Tour events Baker-Finch has played since the 1997 Open Championship was the 2001
In 2003, 2005 and 2007, Baker-Finch served as Gary Player's captain's assistant for the International team in the Presidents Cup. Baker-Finch, 52, plans to compete on the Champions Tour now that he has surpassed the minimum age requirement of 50.
In 2009 Baker-Finch was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.[8]
Other work
After his game deserted him, Baker-Finch turned his interests to careers in broadcasting and golf course design and management.
Reporting for CBS at the 2007
On 22 June 2000, Baker-Finch was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his golfing achievements.[11]
Personal life
Baker-Finch and his wife, Jennie, have two daughters Hayley and Laura; they live in North Palm Beach, Florida.[9]
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 | David Edwards |
2 | 21 Jul 1991 | The Open Championship | −8 (71-71-64-66=272) | 2 strokes | Mike Harwood |
PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1991 | New England Classic | Bruce Fleisher | Lost to birdie on seventh extra hole |
European Tour wins (2)
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 | Graham Marsh |
2 | 21 Jul 1991 | The Open Championship | −8 (71-71-64-66=272) | 2 strokes | Mike Harwood |
European Tour playoff record (0–1)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1986 | Bell's Scottish Open
|
David Feherty, Christy O'Connor Jnr | Feherty won with birdie on second extra hole |
PGA Tour of Australasia wins (10)
- 1983 New Zealand Open
- 1984 Western Australia Open, New South Wales Open
- 1985 Queensland PGA Championship, Victorian Open
- 1987 Australian Match Play Championship
- 1988 Australian Masters
- 1990 Coolum Classic (incorporating the Queensland Open)
- 1992 Vines Classic
- 1993 Australian PGA Championship
Japan Golf Tour wins (3)
- 1987 Golf Digest Tournament
- 1988 Bridgestone ASO Open
Senior wins (1)
- 2013 Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf - Raphael Division (with Bart Bryant)
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 | 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 |
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)
Team appearances
- World Cup (representing Australia): 1985
- Four Tours World Championship (representing Australasia): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 (winners), 1991
See also
- List of golfers with most PGA Tour of Australasia wins
- List of men's major championships winning golfers
References
- ^ "Australia Golf Player Profiles". pga.org.au. The Professional Golfers Association of Australia. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
- OWGR. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
- ^ "Media Guide". PGA Tour. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Ian Baker-Finch bio". Golf Legends. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking" (PDF). Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ McDaniel, Peter (January 2005). "Moment in the Sun". Golf Digest. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
- ^ a b "Baker-Finch can sympathise with Duval". Golftoday.co.uk. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
- ^ "Mr Ian Baker-Finch". Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. qsport.org.au. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Ian Baker-Finch bio from his official site". Retrieved 19 April 2010.
- ^ "Baker-Finch hit in face by Beem's stray shot". Golf.com. AP. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Ian Baker-Finch". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
External links
- Ian Baker-Finch at the PGA Tour official site
- Ian Baker-Finch at the European Tour official site
- Ian Baker-Finch at the Japan Golf Tour official site
- Ian Baker-Finch interview from Sports Business Daily