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Alex Čejka

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Alexander Čejka (born 2 December 1970) is a Czech-German professional golfer.

Alex Čejka
Čejka in 2012
Personal information
Full nameAlexander Čejka
Born (1970-12-02) 2 December 1970 (age 54)
Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight170 lb (77 kg)
Sporting nationality Germany
ResidenceMunich, Germany
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Career
Turned professional1989
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions
European Senior Tour
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
European Tour
Web.com Tour
Professional wins18
Highest ranking33 (7 September 2003)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
European Tour4
Korn Ferry Tour1
Challenge Tour4
PGA Tour Champions3
European Senior Tour3
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament26th: 2004
PGA Championship4th: 2003
U.S. OpenT8: 2010
The Open ChampionshipT11: 1996

Čejka was born in Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia. He left the country with his parents as a refugee at the age of nine, eventually settling in Munich, where he lived for many years, becoming a West German citizen. Čejka lives in Las Vegas and also has a home in Prague.

Professional career

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Čejka turned professional in 1989 and played on the European Tour from 1992 to 2002. His biggest tournament win was the Turespaña Masters Open de Andalucía at Islantilla Golf Club in 1995. That year he came 6th on the European Tour's Order of Merit. Since 2003 he played mainly on the U.S. based PGA Tour. In 2003 he reached as high as No. 33 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Čejka took a five-shot lead into the final round of the 2009 Players Championship after rounds of 66, 67 and 72. He shot a 42 on the front nine, however, en route to a 79 and an eight-stroke loss to Henrik Stenson.

He represented Germany in the World Cup 12 times, including in 2011 at Mission Hills Haikou in Hainan Island, teaming with partner Martin Kaymer to tie for second, two strokes behind the winning United States team of Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland. Čejka teamed with Kaymer in four World Cup appearances.

In 2012 Čejka finished 177th on the PGA Tour and moved to the Web.com Tour. He finished 64th in 2013, then 6th in 2014 to earn a return to the PGA Tour.

Čejka won his first PGA Tour event in his 287th Tour start, the 2015 Puerto Rico Open. Two players bogeyed the 18th hole ensuring a five-man playoff; Čejka won with a birdie at the first playoff hole.[2] He is the first golfer born in the Czech Republic to win a PGA Tour event and first non-American to win the Puerto Rico Open. At the time, he was also the third oldest first-time winner on the PGA Tour since 1970.[3]

 
Čejka at the 2015 PGA Championship (Whistling Straits)

He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[4]

With most of the sports world on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Čejka played on the Arizona-based Outlaw Tour, one of the few professional golf tours in operation during the pandemic, where he won two events.[5]

In May 2021, Čejka won his first tournament on the PGA Tour Champions at the Regions Tradition. Čejka won this major tournament in a playoff over Steve Stricker.[6] Three weeks later, Čejka won his second PGA Tour Champions major tournament of 2021 at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Čejka shot a final-round 67 Sunday to beat Tim Petrovic by four shots.[7]

In July 2023, Čejka won the Senior Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl in Wales on a blustery day with wet conditions. Čejka defeated Pádraig Harrington in a playoff to win the title. This was the third win of his senior PGA Tour Champions career, with all three coming at major championships.[8]

Professional wins (18)

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PGA Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 8 Mar 2015 Puerto Rico Open 70-67-75-69=281 −7 Playoff   Jon Curran,   Emiliano Grillo,
  Tim Petrovic,   Sam Saunders

PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2015 Puerto Rico Open   Jon Curran,   Emiliano Grillo,
  Tim Petrovic,   Sam Saunders 		Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open   Patrick Cantlay,   Kim Meen-whee Cantlay won with par on second extra hole

European Tour wins (4)

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Legend
Tour Championships (1)
Other European Tour (3)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 5 Mar 1995 Turespaña Masters Open de Andalucía 71-68-70-69=278 −6 3 strokes   Costantino Rocca
2 13 Aug 1995 Hohe Brücke Open 61-68-68-70=267 −21 4 strokes   Ignacio Garrido,   Rolf Muntz,
  Ronan Rafferty
3 29 Oct 1995 Volvo Masters 74-66-72-70=282 −2 2 strokes   Colin Montgomerie
4 13 Oct 2002 Trophée Lancôme 64-68-72-68=272 −12 2 strokes   Carlos Rodiles

Web.com Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 15 Feb 2014 Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship 68-68-63=199* −14 3 strokes   Andrew Putnam

*Note: The 2014 Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Challenge Tour wins (4)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 30 Jun 1991 Audi Quattro Trophy   Glyn Krause,   John Oates
2 25 Jul 1993 Audi Open 72-66-71=209* −7 Playoff   Peter Harrison,   Liam White
3 8 Jun 1997 KB Golf Challenge 68-70-65-68=271 −17 2 strokes   Michele Reale
4 16 Jun 2002 Galeria Kaufhof Pokal Challenge 66-69-68-68=271 −17 2 strokes   John E. Morgan,   Marcel Siem

*Note: The 1993 Audi Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

Challenge Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 1993 Audi Open   Peter Harrison,   Liam White Won with par on second extra hole
White eliminated by par on first hole

Outlaw Tour wins (2)

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  • 2020 Arrowhead Classic, Parker Open[5]

Other wins (2)

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PGA Tour Champions wins (3)

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Legend
PGA Tour Champions major championships (3)
Other PGA Tour Champions (0)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 9 May 2021 Regions Tradition 68-69-66-67=270 −18 Playoff   Steve Stricker
2 30 May 2021 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship 67-70-68-67=272 −8 4 strokes   Tim Petrovic
3 30 Jul 2023 The Senior Open Championship 68-71-74-76=289 +5 Playoff   Pádraig Harrington

PGA Tour Champions playoff record (2–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2021 Regions Tradition   Steve Stricker Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 2023 The Senior Open Championship   Pádraig Harrington Won with birdie on second extra hole

European Senior Tour wins (3)

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Legend
Senior major championships (2)
Other European Senior Tour (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 30 May 2021 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship 67-70-68-67=272 −8 4 strokes   Tim Petrovic
2 31 Jul 2022 JCB Championship 69-66-70=205 −11 2 strokes   Paul McGinley
3 30 Jul 2023 The Senior Open Championship 68-71-74-76=289 +5 Playoff   Pádraig Harrington

European Senior Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2023 The Senior Open Championship   Pádraig Harrington Won with birdie on second extra hole

Results in major championships

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Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament 44
U.S. Open T50
The Open Championship T11 CUT
PGA Championship T52 T65
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament 26
U.S. Open T61 T60
The Open Championship CUT T13 CUT CUT CUT
PGA Championship 4 CUT CUT
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament T35
U.S. Open T8 CUT T41 T60
The Open Championship
PGA Championship WD
Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Masters Tournament
PGA Championship CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship NT T75
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" = tied
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 1 1 7 6
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 3
PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 1 1 7 3
Totals 0 0 0 1 2 4 25 15
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (twice)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

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Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The Players Championship T33 T12 CUT T9
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
The Players Championship T58 CUT 74 T9 T79 CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

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Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Match Play R16 R32 R64
Championship T55 NT1 T12 T28
Invitational T42 T9

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament

Senior major championships

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Wins (3)

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Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
2021 Regions Tradition 1 shot deficit −18 (68-69-66-67=270) Playoff   Steve Stricker
2021 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship 1 shot deficit −8 (67-70-68-67=272) 4 strokes   Tim Petrovic
2023 Senior Open Championship 1 shot deficit +5 (68-71-74-76=289) Playoff   Pádraig Harrington

Results timeline

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Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024
The Tradition 1 DQ T9
Senior PGA Championship 1 13 T12
U.S. Senior Open T26 T13 T9 T16
Senior Players Championship T5 T9
The Senior Open Championship T18 T12 1 T15
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 36 2003 Ending 7 Sep 2003" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Alex Cejka gets 1st PGA Tour victory". ESPN. Associated Press. 8 March 2015.
  3. ^ "Alex Cejka – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  4. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alex Čejka". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019.
  5. ^ a b Myers, Alex (27 April 2020). "Alex Cejka wins second consecutive mini-tour event thanks to wild rally that included a hole-in-one". Golf Digest.
  6. ^ Zenor, John (9 May 2021). "Alex Cejka wins Regions Tradition playoff over Stricker". Toronto Star. Associated Press. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  7. ^ Kelly, Todd (30 May 2021). "Alex Cejka wins second straight major, claims KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship". Golfweek. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  8. ^ Richardson, Savannah Leigh (30 July 2023). "Padraig Harrington falls to Alex Cejka in thrilling Senior Open playoff". SB Nation. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
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