Mark Pilkington (born 17 March 1978) is a Welsh professional golfer.
| Mark Pilkington | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Born | 17 March 1978 Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Sporting nationality |  Wales | ||
| Residence | Morfa Nefyn, Wales | ||
| Career | |||
| Turned professional | 1998 | ||
| Former tour(s) | European Tour Challenge Tour | ||
| Professional wins | 2 | ||
| Number of wins by tour | |||
| Challenge Tour | 1 | ||
| Other | 1 | ||
| Best results in major championships | |||
| Masters Tournament | DNP | ||
| PGA Championship | DNP | ||
| U.S. Open | DNP | ||
| The Open Championship | CUT: 2001, 2006 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Career edit
Pilkington was born in Bangor, Gwynedd. He enjoyed a successful amateur career, representing Wales at all levels, and highlighted by winning the Welsh Amateur Championship in 1998. He turned professional later that year, immediately after winning a place on the European Tour at final qualifying school.
Pilkington had an unsuccessful rookie season on the European Tour in 1999, and played on the Challenge Tour the following season after failing to regain his card at qualifying school. He followed up a consistent Challenge Tour season with success at qualifying school to return to the top level for 2001. He managed to retain his European Tour card by finishing inside the top 100 on the Order of Merit in both 2001 and 2002, but his form dipped in 2003 and he dropped back down to the second tier for 2004.
After two largely unsuccessful seasons on the Challenge Tour, Pilkington's fortunes were revived in 2006 when he produced consistently good performances to finish the season on top of the Challenge Tour Rankings. After a slow start to the season, he recorded back to back second-place finishes, before rounding off the season with victory in the Kazakhstan Open and another runners-up prize at the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final. By topping the money list, he had regained his card on the European Tour;[1] but in 2007 he finished in 136th place on the Order of Merit to again lose his place on the elite tour.
Amateur wins edit
- 1996 Peter McEvoy Trophy
- 1998 Welsh Amateur Championship
Professional wins (2) edit
Challenge Tour wins (1) edit
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 Oct 2006 | Kazakhstan Open | −16 (70-66-67-69=272) | 2 strokes |  Shaun P. Webster
|
Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2004 | Summit Panama Masters |  Miguel Fernández
|
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
Other wins (1) edit
Results in major championships edit
| Tournament | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT |
Note: Pilkington only played in The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the half-way cut
Team appearances edit
Amateur
- European Boys' Team Championship (representing Wales): 1995, 1996[2]
- European Amateur Team Championship (representing Wales): 1997
- European Youths' Team Championship (representing Wales): 1998 (winners)
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Pilkington excited by Tour return". BBC Sport. 8 November 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
- ^ "European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association". Retrieved 22 January 2023.
External links edit
- Mark Pilkington at the European Tour official site