Mateusz Gradecki (born 4 June 1994) is a Polish

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 ...

who plays 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 ...

. He won the 2022

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 ev ...

, becoming the first

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 ...

winner and only the second

winner to hail from Poland.

Amateur career

Gradecki was born in

Trzebnica Trzebnica (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Trebnitz, cs, Třebnice, szl, Trzebńica) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in west-central Poland. It is the seat of Trzebnica County, and of the smaller administrative district (gmina) called G ...

and grew up in

Oborniki Śląskie Oborniki Śląskie (german: Obernigk) is a town in southwestern Poland. It is located in the northeastern part of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship and is part of Trzebnica County. It is the seat of the administrative district ( gmina) called Gmina O ...

. His father Krzysztof owned the Eko supermarket chain and has been featured on lists of the 100 richest Poles. He also built the Gradi Golf Club in Brzeźno, where his son practices. Gradecki attended

East Tennessee State University East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...

from 2013 to 2017 and played with the

East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's golf The East Tennessee State Buccaneers are the 16 intercollegiate athletics teams that represent East Tennessee State University (ETSU), located in Johnson City, Tennessee. ETSU's teams include men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, so ...

team alongside compatriot

Adrian Meronk Adrian Meronk (born 31 May 1993) is a Polish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He won the 2022 Horizon Irish Open, becoming the first Polish golfer to win on the European Tour. Amateur career Meronk was born in Germany. He at ...

. Gradecki represented Poland in the

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. Eise ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and 2016. He won the Polish Amateur five times and finished third at the 2017

Wrocław Open The Wrocław Open (formerly known as KGHM Dialog Polish Indoors) was a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour. It was held at the Hala Orbita in W ...

Professional career

Gradecki turned professional early 2018 and joined the

Pro Golf Tour The Pro Golf Tour, formerly the EPD Tour (European Professional Development Tour), is a developmental professional golf tour based in Germany. It is a third-level tour, the highest level of men's golf in Europe being the European Tour, and the sec ...

. In September, he won the New Golf Club Matchplay Championship in Germany and finished fifth in the Order of Merit to get promotion to the

. He had a disappointing rookie season and made only four cuts. Back on the Pro Golf Tour, he won the 2019 Open Prestigia and the 2021 Red Sea Egyptian Classic. On the Challenge Tour again for the 2021 season, he finished 68th in the Challenge Tour Order of Merit to keep his card, after recording several top-10 finishes including a season best of tied 6th at the Sydbank Esbjerg Challenge. In April 2022, Gradecki won the co-sanctioned

in South Africa to become the first Pole to win on the

, and only the second

winner to hail from Poland, after

. In July, he lost a playoff at the

German Challenge The Big Green Egg German Challenge is a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour held at Wittelsbacher Golf Club in Neuburg an der Donau, Bavaria, Germany. Title sponsor Big Green Egg signed a sponsorship agreement for the German Challenge through 2 ...

Alejandro del Rey Alejandro is the Spanish form of the name Alexander. Alejandro has multiple variations in different languages, including Aleksander ( Czech, Polish), Alexandre ( French), Alexandros (Greek), Alsander ( Irish), Alessandro ( Italian), Aleksandr ...

of Spain, who won with a birdie at the second playoff hole.

Amateur wins

*2011 Polish Amateur *2012 Polish Amateur *2013 Polish Amateur *2014 Faldo Series Poland *2015 Polish Amateur *2016 Polish Amateur *2017 MVK Turkish International Amateur Open Championship Source:

Professional wins (4)

Sunshine Tour wins (1)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

Challenge Tour wins (1)

¹Co-sanctioned by the

Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1)

Pro Golf Tour wins (3)

Team appearances

Amateur *

European Boys' Team Championship The European Boys' Team Championship (Jean-Louis Dupont Trophy) is a European amateur team golf championship for men up to 18 organized by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1980 and it has been played annually since. ...

(representing Poland): 2009 *

(representing Poland):

, 2016 *

European Amateur Team Championship The European Amateur Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for men organised by the European Golf Association which was introduced in 1959. The championship was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has bee ...

(representing Poland):

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

Professional *

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

(representing Poland):

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 ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gradecki, Mateusz Polish male golfers East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's golfers Sportspeople from Lower Silesian Voivodeship People from Oborniki Śląskie 1994 births Living people