Rodger Miles Davis (born 18 May 1951) is an Australian professional golfer.

Rodger Davis
Personal information
Full nameRodger Miles Davis
Born (1951-05-18) 18 May 1951 (age 73)
Sydney, Australia
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight90 kg (198 lb; 14 st 2 lb)
Sporting nationality Australia
ResidencePalm Beach, NSW, Australia
Career
Turned professional1974
Current tour(s)European Seniors Tour
Former tour(s)PGA Tour of Australasia
European Tour
Champions Tour
Professional wins30
Highest ranking7 (19 July 1987)[1]
Number of wins by tour
European Tour7
PGA Tour of Australasia14
PGA Tour Champions1
Other8
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament29th: 1988
PGA ChampionshipT52: 1988
U.S. OpenT36: 1987
The Open ChampionshipT2: 1987
Achievements and awards
New Zealand Golf Circuit
money list winner
1979–80
PGA Tour of Australasia
Order of Merit winner
1990, 1991

Early life

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Davis was born in Sydney, Australia.

Professional career

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In 1974, Davis turned professional in 1974 and spent his regular career playing mainly on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the European Tour.

He won the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit in 1990 and 1991. He made the top ten of the European Tour Order of Merit four times in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His seven European Tour wins included two of Europe's most prestigious tournaments; the British PGA Championship, which he won in 1986 at Wentworth Club, and the season ending Volvo Masters, which he claimed in 1991. His best finish on the PGA Tour was a tie for fifth at the 1986 NEC World Series of Golf.

Davis was ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for 29 weeks between 1987 and 1992.[2] In the 1987 Open Championship, Davis shot a first round of 64 at Muirfield to lead the tournament by three strokes after the opening round. He finished the championship in a tie for 2nd place with American Paul Azinger, a stroke behind the champion Nick Faldo. The 1987 Open Championship is Davis' best finish in a major championship.

Davis represented Australia in team competitions several times, and was a member of his country's winning three-man team at the 1986 Alfred Dunhill Cup.

As a senior, he played mainly on the U.S.-based Champions Tour (2001–05), where he won once, the 2003 Toshiba Senior Classic. He played on the European Seniors Tour in 2011 and 2012.

Amateur wins

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this list may be incomplete

Professional wins (30)

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European Tour wins (7)

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Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other European Tour (6)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 11 Jul 1981 State Express Classic −5 (70-68-74-71=283) 2 strokes   Greg Norman
2 26 May 1986 Whyte & Mackay PGA Championship −7 (70-72-71-68=281) Playoff   Des Smyth
3 12 Jun 1988 Wang Four Stars National Pro-Celebrity −13 (69-63-71-72=275) 1 stroke   José María Cañizares,   Eamonn Darcy
4 29 Apr 1990 Peugeot Spanish Open −11 (74-69-68-66=277) 1 stroke   Nick Faldo,   Peter Fowler,
  Bernhard Langer
5 17 Jun 1990 Wang Four Stars −17 (67-72-65-67=271) Playoff   Mike Clayton,   Bill Malley,
  Mark McNulty
6 27 Oct 1991 Volvo Masters −4 (68-73-68-71=280) 1 stroke   Nick Faldo
7 2 May 1993 Air France Cannes Open −13 (68-64-69-70=271) Playoff   Mark McNulty

European Tour playoff record (3–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1986 Whyte & Mackay PGA Championship   Des Smyth Won with bogey on third extra hole
2 1986 German Open   Bernhard Langer Lost to birdie on fifth extra hole
3 1990 Wang Four Stars   Mike Clayton,   Bill Malley,
  Mark McNulty
Won with birdie on seventh extra hole
Malley and McNulty eliminated by par on first hole
4 1991 Mercedes German Masters   Bernhard Langer Lost to par on first extra hole
5 1993 Air France Cannes Open   Mark McNulty Won with par on first extra hole

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (14)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 14 Aug 1977 Nedlands Masters −11 (69-69-67-72=277) 2 strokes   Allen Cooper
2 9 Oct 1977 McCallum's South Coast Open −13 (67-66-69-69=271) 4 strokes   Terry Gale
3 18 Feb 1979 Victorian Open +3 (75-73-70-73=291) Playoff   Geoff Parslow,   Gary Player
4 10 Nov 1985 Victorian PGA Championship −18 (68-66-69-67=270) 7 strokes   Ossie Moore
5 16 Nov 1986 National Panasonic Australian Open −10 (67-71-72-68=278) 1 stroke   Ian Baker-Finch,   Graham Marsh,
  Bob Shearer
6 30 Nov 1986
(1987 season)
Air New Zealand Shell Open −13 (63-65-67-72=267) 3 strokes   Bob Shearer,   Curtis Strange
7 7 Dec 1986
(1987 season)
Nissan-Mobil New Zealand Open −18 (67-62-65-68=262) 8 strokes   Bob Shearer
8 4 Dec 1988 Bicentennial Classic −17 (68-67-68-68=271) Playoff   Fred Couples
9 19 Nov 1989 Ford New South Wales Open −15 (71-65-71-70=277) 9 strokes   Bradley Hughes
10 14 Jan 1990 Daikyo Palm Meadows Cup −17 (64-67-71-69=271) Playoff   Curtis Strange
11 20 Jan 1991 SxL Sanctuary Cove Classic −10 (70-70-67-71=278) 1 stroke   Frank Nobilo
12 10 Mar 1991 AMP New Zealand Open (2) −11 (67-66-73-67=273) 2 strokes   Frank Nobilo
13 12 Jan 1992 SxL Sanctuary Cove Classic (2) −5 (72-67-67-77=283) 2 strokes   Grant Waite
14 13 Dec 1992 Coolum Classic −17 (68-70-68-65=271) 7 strokes   Mike Clayton

PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (3–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1979 Victorian Open   Geoff Parslow,   Gary Player Won with birdie on second extra hole
2 1980 Australian Masters   Gene Littler Lost to bogey on first extra hole
3 1988 Bicentennial Classic   Fred Couples Won with par on second extra hole
4 1990 Daikyo Palm Meadows Cup   Curtis Strange Won with eagle on second extra hole

Other Australasian wins (5)

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  • 1977 Rosebud Invitational
  • 1978 South Australia Open, Nedlands Masters, West Australia Open, Mandurah Open

Other wins (1)

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Champions Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 23 Mar 2003 Toshiba Senior Classic −16 (65-64-68=213) 4 strokes   Larry Nelson

Other senior wins (2)

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Results in major championships

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Tournament 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament
U.S. Open
The Open Championship T52 T52 5
PGA Championship
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament 29
U.S. Open T36 T47
The Open Championship T38 T39 CUT T26 CUT CUT T2 T20 CUT
PGA Championship CUT T52
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
Masters Tournament 63
U.S. Open T46 CUT
The Open Championship CUT T12 CUT T24 CUT T33 T44
PGA Championship CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3
The Open Championship 0 1 0 2 2 5 19 12
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1
Totals 0 1 0 2 2 5 29 18
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (1977 Open Championship – 1981 Open Championship)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Team appearances

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 29 1987 Ending 19 Jul 1987" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  2. ^ 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking
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