Michael Hoey (golfer)
Michael George Hoey (born 13 February 1979) is a retired Northern Irish professional golfer who played on the European Tour and the Challenge Tour. Amateur career. Hoey was born in Ballymoney but played much of his early golf at Shandon Park Golf Club in East Belfast. He won the British Amateur Championship in 2001 and was a member of the victorious 2001 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team. As British Amateur Champion, he was invited to play in the Masters Tournament in 2002, where he missed the cut by a single stroke. He turned professional later that  year. He played his collegiate golf at Clemson University. Professional career. Until 2009, Hoey had struggled to secure his place on the main European Tour and had mostly competed in the second tier Challenge Tour where he has three tournament victories, the 2005 BA-CA Golf Open, the 2007 Tessali-Metaponto Open di Puglia e Basilicata, and the 2008 Banque Populaire Moroccan Classic. He finished 8th on the end of season rankings in 2005, which gave him automatic promotion to the European Tour. Following a largely unsuccessful début season in 2006, he returned to the Challenge Tour the following year . He regained his playing privileges on the European Tour for the 2009 season at final qualifying school. Early in 2009, Hoey finished runner-up to Retief Goosen in the Africa Open on the Sunshine Tour. Then in April, he claimed his first European Tour title, at the Estoril Open de Portugal where he defeated Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño on the third hole of a sudden death playoff. The win also gave him a one-year exemption on the European Tour. He won twice in 2011, including his most prestigious title to date at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He picked up  his fourth victory on the European Tour in 2012 at the Trophée Hassan II. In July 2013, Hoey won his fifth European Tour title at the M2M Russian Open, prevailing by four strokes from Alexandre Kaleka and Matthew Nixon. His victory was set up by a third round score of 65, which took him into the lead heading into the final round. Hoey represented Ireland, alongside Gareth Maybin at the 2007 Omega Mission Hills World Cup where they finished in 24th position. In February 2022, Hoey announced his retirement from professional golf, becoming a referee on the European Tour . Professional wins (8). European Tour wins (5). Dual-ranking event with the Challenge Tour European Tour playoff record (1–0) Challenge Tour wins (4). Dual-ranking event with the European Tour Challenge Tour playoff record (1–1) Results in major championships. CUT = missed the half-way cut DQ = disqualified WD = withdrew "T" = tied Results in World Golf Championships. "T" = Tied Team appearances. Amateur Professional