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Wikipedia / Stephen Dodd

Stephen Christopher Dodd (born 15 July 1966) is a Welsh professional golfer who won the 2021 Senior Open Championship. On the regular tours, he won three events on the European Tour 2005−2006. He also won the 2005 WGC-World Cup for Wales in partnership with Bradley Dredge.

Early life and amateur career

Dodd was born in Cardiff. He had a successful amateur career highlighted by victory in The Amateur Championship at Royal Birkdale in 1989, which qualified him to play in The Open Championship that year and the Masters Tournament the following year. He played in the 1989 Walker Cup, being part of the first Great Britain and Ireland team to win in the United States. He was named BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year in 1989.

Professional career

Dodd turned professional in 1990. He spent the early years of his professional career on Europe's second tier Challenge Tour. In 1992 he won the Bank Austria Open on that tour, but his results were generally patchy. He first gained his place on the main European Tour in 1995, but found himself returning to qualifying school every year until 2001, when he finally broke into the top 100 on the Order of Merit to automatically retain his playing status. He then steadily improved, having new personal best seasons in 2003 and 2004, finishing 80th and 58th respectively on the money list.

The 2005 season marked a sudden improvement in Dodd's fortunes. He won the first tournament he entered that season, the Volvo China Open (actually played in late 2004), which was one of several events co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the Asian Tour. A few weeks later he picked up a new biggest paycheck of his career by coming tied second in the higher profile Dubai Desert Classic. He went on to win the Nissan Irish Open in May, and in November he won the WGC-World Cup for Wales in partnership with Bradley Dredge. He finished the season ranked a career high 17th on the Order of Merit.

In 2006 Dodd won the Smurfit European Open, granting him a five-year exemption on the European Tour. He finished the season ranked 29th on the Order of Merit. Since then his form has dropped, and in 2008 he made just 4 cuts as he slipped to 245th on the end of season money list. His career started to decline and by 2012, he was playing on the third-tier Dubai-based MENA Golf Tour, where he had three wins. In 2016 he won the GRENKE Championship on the PGA EuroPro Tour, a few weeks before his 50th birthday.

Dodd joined the European Senior Tour after turning 50. In his first season, 2016, he won the Senior Italian Open and followed up with wins in the 2017 Farmfoods European Senior Masters and the 2018 WINSTONgolf Senior Open.

Dodd's biggest success of his career came at the 2021 Senior Open Championship. He shot an 8-under-par 62 in the third round to take a two shot lead going into the final round. A 68 on the final day was good enough to see off Miguel Ángel Jiménez by one shot. The win also gave him an exemption into the 2022 Open Championship.

Personal life

Dodd lives in Barry, Wales with his wife Allison and their son Liam.

Awards and honors

Amateur wins

Professional wins (19)

European Tour wins (3)

1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour

European Tour playoff record (1–0)

Challenge Tour wins (1)

Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1)

PGA EuroPro Tour wins (1)

MENA Golf Tour wins (3)

Other wins (7)

PGA Tour Champions wins (1)

European Senior Tour wins (4)

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020. CUT = missed the half-way cut NT = No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic Note: Dodd never played in the U.S. Open.

Results in World Golf Championships

"T" = Tied

Senior major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order. CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrw "T" indicates a tie for a place NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

References