# Richard Sterne (golfer)

Richard Sterne (born 27 August 1981) is a South African professional golfer who plays on both the European and Sunshine Tours.

## Life and career

Sterne was born in Pretoria and attended St Alban's College for high school. He was runner-up in the Boys' 15–17 Division at the 1999 World Junior Golf Championships and turned pro in 2001. He played on the European Challenge Tour in 2002 and graduated to membership of the main European Tour in 2003. He won his first European Tour title at the 2004 Open de Madrid.
In the 2007 European Tour, Sterne won at the Celtic Manor Wales Open, and finished second at the Johnnie Walker Classic, third at the BMW PGA Championship and fourth at the Barclays Scottish Open, therefore finishing 14th in the Order of Merit. In 2008 he picked up his third victory at the Joburg Open which is co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour, and at the end of 2008 won a further two European Tour tournaments in South Africa.
His best year-end ranking on the European Order of Merit is 8th in 2013. His Celtic Manor win moved him into the top 40 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time.
He has had six wins on the Sunshine Tour, and won that tour's Order of Merit in 2008. In January 2008 he reached a career high of number 29 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He missed most of the 2010 and 2011 seasons with injury.
In February 2013, Sterne won the Joburg Open by seven strokes, to end a four-year winless drought from which he had been plagued with back injuries. This marked his sixth victory on both the European and Sunshine Tours and came on the back of a second-place finish he had in the previous week at the Dubai Desert Classic. It was also the first event that he had won wire-to-wire. The win moved him inside the top 60, which meant qualification for the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and to the top of the Race to Dubai standings. Later he finished second at the Alstom Open de France, ninth at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, 13th at the Omega European Masters, and 14th at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. As a result, he was eighth in the Race to Dubai final standings.
During the 2014 season, Sterne finished fourth at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, 17th at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and 35th at the PGA Championship. He qualified to the Web.com Tour Finals, where he ended second at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship. He finished ninth in the Web.com Tour Finals to earn his PGA Tour card for the 2014–15 season.
Sterne is friends with South African golf icon, Gary Player, to whom he is often compared because of their similar small stature. He has played several times in the Gary Player Invitational charity event to help raise funds for less fortunate children's education.

## Amateur wins

* 1999 South African Junior Strokeplay & Matchplay Championship, South African Amateur
* 2000 Southern Cross
* 2001 South African Amateur Strokeplay Championship

## Professional wins (9)
### European Tour wins (6)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 24 Oct 2004 | Open de Madrid | −18 (70-65-66-65=266) | 2 strokes | Anders Hansen |
| 2 | 3 Jun 2007 | Celtic Manor Wales Open | −13 (67-67-64-65=263) | 1 stroke | Bradley Dredge, Søren Kjeldsen, Mardan Mamat, Mads Vibe-Hastrup |
| 3 | 13 Jan 2008 | Joburg Open$^1$ | −13 (71-68-67-65=271) | Playoff | Magnus A. Carlsson, Garth Mulroy |
| 4 | 14 Dec 2008 (2009 season) | Alfred Dunhill Championship$^1$ | −17 (68-66-68-69=271) | 1 stroke | Johan Edfors, Robert Rock |
| 5 | 21 Dec 2008 (2009 season) | South African Open Championship$^1$ | −14 (72-69-67-66=274) | Playoff | Gareth Maybin |
| 6 | 10 Feb 2013 | Joburg Open$^1$ (2) | −27 (63-65-68-64=260) | 7 strokes | Charl Schwartzel |
$^1$Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour
European Tour playoff record (2–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 2007 | Johnnie Walker Classic | Anton Haig, Oliver Wilson | Haig won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 2 | 2008 | Joburg Open | Magnus A. Carlsson, Garth Mulroy | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 3 | 2008 | South African Open Championship | Gareth Maybin | Won with birdie on first extra hole |

### Sunshine Tour wins (6)

* Legend
* Flagship events (1)
* Other Sunshine Tour (5)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
| 1 | 5 Feb 2005 | Nashua Masters | −11 (68-64-67-70=269) | 1 stroke | Titch Moore, Grant Muller |
| 2 | 18 Feb 2007 | Vodacom Championship | −14 (73-68-68-65=274) | Playoff | Louis Oosthuizen |
| 3 | 13 Jan 2008 | Joburg Open$^1$ | −13 (71-68-67-65=271) | Playoff | Magnus A. Carlsson, Garth Mulroy |
| 4 | 14 Dec 2008 | Alfred Dunhill Championship$^1$ | −17 (68-66-68-69=271) | 1 stroke | Johan Edfors, Robert Rock |
| 5 | 21 Dec 2008 | South African Open Championship$^1$ | −14 (72-69-67-66=274) | Playoff | Gareth Maybin |
| 6 | 10 Feb 2013 | Joburg Open$^1$ (2) | −27 (63-65-68-64=260) | 7 strokes | Charl Schwartzel |
$^1$Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
Sunshine Tour playoff record (3–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
| 1 | 2007 | Vodacom Championship | Louis Oosthuizen | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 2 | 2008 | Joburg Open | Magnus A. Carlsson, Garth Mulroy | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 3 | 2008 | South African Open Championship | Gareth Maybin | Won with birdie on first extra hole |

### EuroPro Tour wins (1)

| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
| 1 | 14 Sep 2001 | Rye Hill Championship | −7 (209) | 1 stroke | Martin LeMesurier |

## Playoff record

Web.com Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
| 1 | 2014 | Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship | Justin Thomas | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |

## Results in major championships

| Tournament | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Masters Tournament | | | T25 | CUT |
| U.S. Open | | | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | CUT | CUT | CUT | T34 |
| PGA Championship | | WD | | WD |
| Tournament | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2016 | 2017 |
| Masters Tournament | | T25 | | | |
| U.S. Open | | | | | |
| The Open Championship | T39 | T21 | CUT | T46 | |
| PGA Championship | | CUT | T35 | | T28 |
| Tournament | 2019 |
| Masters Tournament | |
| PGA Championship | CUT |
| U.S. Open | |
| The Open Championship | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut WD = withdrew "T" = tied for place

### Summary

| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| The Open Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 8 |
* Most consecutive cuts made – 3 (twice)
* Longest streak of top-10s – 0

## Results in The Players Championship

| Tournament | 2008 |
| The Players Championship | T66 |
"T" indicates a tie for a place

## Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order before 2015.
| Tournament | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2013 | 2014 | 2016 | 2017 | 2019 |
| Championship | | T44 | 73 | T12 | T4 | | T72 | T51 |
| Match Play | | R64 | R64 | R32 | R32 | | | |
| Invitational | T51 | | 73 | T9 | T58 | | | |
| Champions | | | T60 | T39 | | T60 | T38 | T70 |
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = tied Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

## Team appearances

Professional
* World Cup (representing South Africa): 2006, 2008, 2009
* Presidents Cup (representing the International team): 2013