Matthew Nixon (born 12 June 1989) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

Amateur career

Nixon was a top amateur golfer nationwide from an early age; he won the

Boys Amateur Championship The Boys Amateur Championship is a golf tournament which is held annually in the United Kingdom. The competition is organised and run by The R&A. History The Boys Amateur Championship was first played at Royal Ascot in 1921. In 1921 boys had to ...

in 2006 at the age of 17, and played in the

Jacques Léglise Trophy The Jacques Léglise Trophy is an annual amateur boys' team golf competition between Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. It was first played in 1977, as a one-day match before the Boys Amateur Championship, but since 1996 it has b ...

that year. He played for the national side from 2006 onwards, and was ranked as high as 14th in the

World Amateur Golf Rankings The World Amateur Golf Ranking for men was introduced by The R&A, the governing body of the sport of golf outside the United States and Mexico, on 23 January 2007. It is based on the results of over 2,600 amateur tournaments per year (and amateurs ...

. In the USA, he was ranked 7th in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking. He broke the course record at Pannal Golf Club, Harrogate, England on 24 August 2005, shooting 63, 9-under-par at age 16. He reached the semi-finals of

The Amateur Championship The Amateur Championship (sometimes referred to as the British Amateur or British Amateur Championship outside the UK) is a golf tournament which has been held annually in the United Kingdom since 1885 except during the two World Wars, and in 19 ...

in 2010, losing to the eventual winner

Jin Jeong Jeong Yeon-jin ( ko, 정연진; born 2 February 1990), better known as Jin Jeong, is a South Korean professional golfer. Jeong was born in Busan and moved to Melbourne, Australia in 2006. He has enjoyed a highly successful amateur career. In 2 ...

of South Korea.

Professional career

Nixon entered the

qualifying school In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

for the

European Tour The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fift ...

in autumn of 2010, and came through all three stages to earn his playing rights for 2011, prompting him to turn professional. After a promising start to the season, he failed to make a cut between July and November but returned to Qualifying School at the end of the year to regain his card. He also secured his European Tour card at Qualifying School in 2012, 2016 and 2017. In 2018, Nixon had a strong year, finishing 13th at the

Commercial Bank Qatar Masters The Qatar Masters was a European Tour golf tournament held at Doha Golf Club in Doha, Qatar. When founded in 1998, it was one of two European Tour events to be staged in the Arabian Peninsula, but was at one point, one of six. From 2005 to 2007 ...

, tied for 18th at the

BMW International Open The BMW International Open is an annual men's professional golf tournament on the European Tour held in Germany. History Founded in 1989, it was held near BMW's home city of Munich every year until 2012. From 1989 to 1993 and from 1997 to 2011 i ...

, ninth at the

Porsche European Open The European Open is a European Tour golf tournament. Founded in 1978, up to 1994 it was played at various courses in England, including Sunningdale and Walton Heath, except for the 1979 event, which was held at Turnberry in Scotland. Between ...

and eighth at the

Andalucía Valderrama Masters Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

. Nixon contributes a regular column to the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...

''.

Amateur wins

*2006

*2008 Rudersdal Open (Denmark)

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing Great Britain and Ireland): 2006 *

St Andrews Trophy The St Andrews Trophy is a biennial men's team golf tournament contested between teams of amateur golfers representing Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. It takes its name from St Andrews in Scotland. It was first played in 1 ...

(representing Great Britain and Ireland): 2010

References

External links