Wilco Nienaber (born 7 April 2000) is a South African

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 ...

. He won the 2021

Dimension Data Pro-Am The Dimension Data Pro-Am is an annual golf tournament on the Southern African Sunshine Tour, founded in 1996. The tournament was co-sanctioned by the European Tour for the first two years. In 2020 it was co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour a ...

. He plays on 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 ...

and is known for his long distance off the tee.

Amateur career

Nienaber won several amateur events in Africa and represented South Africa at the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Eisenhower Trophy The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eisen ...

in Ireland, where he finished 3 under par individually. He made his European Tour debut as an amateur in December 2018 at the South African Open at Randpark Golf Club, north of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, where he opened with two rounds of 69 to make the cut. His best ranking on the

World Amateur Golf Ranking 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 p ...

was 28th.

Professional career

Nienaber turned professional in the middle of 2019. His

debut as a professional was made in late November 2019 at the

Alfred Dunhill Championship The Alfred Dunhill Championship is a men's professional golf tournament which is played in South Africa. It is part of the Southern African Sunshine Tour and is one of several events in South Africa that are co-sanctioned by the more prestigious ...

at Leopard Creek CC, Malelane, South Africa, where he finished tied 24th, earning €14,000. In February 2020, also in his homeland of South Africa, he came close to his first professional win, finishing runner-up in the

Limpopo Championship The Limpopo Championship is a golf tournament on the Sunshine Tour played at Euphoria Golf & Lifestyle Estate in Modimolle, Limpopo province, South Africa. It was first played in March 2019 with prize money of R1,500,000. J. C. Ritchie won the e ...

on the

Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe. History The ...

. In August 2020, Nienaber recorded his first top-10 on the European Tour; finishing 4th in the

Hero Open The Hero Open was a professional golf tournament played on the European Tour. The event was created as part of the tour's overhaul in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It was originally planned as a revival of the English Open, but afte ...

at Forest of Arden CC,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In September 2020, 14 months after turning professional, Nienaber advanced to 270th on the Official World Golf Ranking. In the second round of the

Joburg Open The Joburg Open is a men's professional golf tournament that is held in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is an event on the Southern Africa-based Sunshine Tour and co-sanctioned by the European Tour, which attracts a larger prize fund and stronger ...

in November 2020 at Randpark Golf Club in

Johannesburg, South Africa Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, Nienaber hit his drive on the 597-yard, par-5 4th hole a European Tour season record 439 yards. It was also 16 yards longer than the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

season record at the time. He eventually finished in second place; two shots behind Joachim B. Hansen, and reached a career best 209th on the Official World Golf Ranking. In May 2021, Nienaber claimed his first professional victory at the

. He beat

Henric Sturehed Henric Sturehed (born 9 October 1990) is a Swedish professional golfer who has played on the European Tour. Professional career Sturehed had his breakthrough competing on the 2017 MENA Golf Tour where he won the season-ending MENA Tour Champion ...

in a playoff and advanced to 135th on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Amateur wins

*2017 Northern Cape Amateur Open, Central Gauteng Open Stroke Play *2018 Free State Open, Western Province Amateur Strokeplay *2019 Gauteng North Open, South African Amateur Championship Source:

Professional wins (1)

Sunshine Tour wins (1)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

Sunshine Tour playoff record (1–0)

Challenge Tour wins (1)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

Sunshine Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the South African Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the Vod ...

Challenge Tour playoff record (1–0)

Results in major championships

"T" = tied

Results in World Golf Championships

¹Cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

pandemic
NT = No tournament

Team appearances

Amateur *

(representing South Africa):

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nienaber, Wilco South African male golfers Sunshine Tour golfers European Tour golfers Sportspeople from Bloemfontein 2000 births Living people