Rodger Miles Davis (born 18 May 1951) is an Australian professional golfer.
Career Davis was born in Sydney, Australia.
In 1974, Davis turned professional and spent his regular career playing mainly on the PGA Tour of Australasia and the European Tour.
He won the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit in 1990 and 1991. He made the top ten of the European Tour Order of Merit four times in the late 1980s and early 1990s. His seven European Tour wins included two of Europe's most prestigious tournaments; the British PGA Championship, which he won in 1986 at Wentworth Club, and the season ending Volvo Masters, which he claimed in 1991. His best finish on the PGA Tour was a tie for fifth at the 1986 NEC World Series of Golf.
Davis was ranked in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for 29 weeks between 1987 and 1992. In the 1987 Open Championship, Davis shot a first round of 64 at Muirfield to lead the tournament by three strokes after the opening round. He finished the championship in a tie for 2nd place with American Paul Azinger, a stroke behind the champion Nick Faldo. The 1987 Open Championship is Davis' best finish in a major championship.
Davis represented Australia in team competitions several times, and was a member of his country's winning three-man team at the 1986 Alfred Dunhill Cup.
As a senior, he played mainly on the U.S.-based Champions Tour (2001–05), where he won once, the 2003 Toshiba Senior Classic. He played on the European Seniors Tour in 2011 and 2012.
Amateur wins this list may be incomplete 1973 Lake Macquarie Amateur
Professional wins (41) European Tour wins (7) Legend Tour Championships (1) Other European Tour (6) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up111 Jul 1981State Express Classic−5 (70-68-74-71=283)2 strokes Greg Norman226 May 1986Whyte & Mackay PGA Championship−7 (70-72-71-68=281)Playoff Des Smyth312 Jun 1988Wang Four Stars National Pro-Celebrity−13 (69-63-71-72=275)1 stroke José María Cañizares, Eamonn Darcy429 Apr 1990Peugeot Spanish Open−11 (74-69-68-66=277)1 stroke Nick Faldo, Peter Fowler, Bernhard Langer517 Jun 1990Wang Four Stars−17 (67-72-65-67=271)Playoff Mike Clayton, Bill Malley, Mark McNulty627 Oct 1991Volvo Masters−4 (68-73-68-71=280)1 stroke Nick Faldo72 May 1993Air France Cannes Open−13 (68-64-69-70=271)Playoff Mark McNulty
European Tour playoff record (3–2) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11986Whyte & Mackay PGA Championship Des SmythWon with bogey on third extra hole21986German Open Bernhard LangerLost to birdie on fifth extra hole31990Wang Four Stars Mike Clayton, Bill Malley, Mark McNultyWon with birdie on seventh extra holeMalley and McNulty eliminated by par on first hole41991Mercedes German Masters Bernhard LangerLost to par on first extra hole51993Air France Cannes Open Mark McNultyWon with par on first extra hole
PGA Tour of Australasia wins (14) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up114 Aug 1977Nedlands Masters−11 (69-69-67-72=277)2 strokes Allen Cooper29 Oct 1977McCallum's South Coast Open−13 (67-66-69-69=271)4 strokes Terry Gale318 Feb 1979Victorian Open +3 (75-73-70-73=291)Playoff Geoff Parslow, Gary Player410 Nov 1985Victorian PGA Championship−18 (68-66-69-67=270)7 strokes Ossie Moore516 Nov 1986National Panasonic Australian Open−10 (67-71-72-68=278)1 stroke Ian Baker-Finch, Graham Marsh, Bob Shearer630 Nov 1986(1987 season)Air New Zealand Shell Open−13 (63-65-67-72=267)3 strokes Bob Shearer, Curtis Strange77 Dec 1986(1987 season)Nissan-Mobil New Zealand Open−18 (67-62-65-68=262)8 strokes Bob Shearer84 Dec 1988Bicentennial Classic−17 (68-67-68-68=271)Playoff Fred Couples919 Nov 1989Ford New South Wales Open−15 (71-65-71-70=277)9 strokes Bradley Hughes1014 Jan 1990Daikyo Palm Meadows Cup−17 (64-67-71-69=271)Playoff Curtis Strange1120 Jan 1991SxL Sanctuary Cove Classic−10 (70-70-67-71=278)1 stroke Frank Nobilo1210 Mar 1991AMP New Zealand Open (2)−11 (67-66-73-67=273)2 strokes Frank Nobilo1312 Jan 1992SxL Sanctuary Cove Classic (2)−5 (72-67-67-77=283)2 strokes Grant Waite1413 Dec 1992Coolum Classic−17 (68-70-68-65=271)7 strokes Mike Clayton
PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (3–1) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result11979Victorian Open Geoff Parslow, Gary PlayerWon with birdie on second extra hole21980Australian Masters Gene LittlerLost to bogey on first extra hole31988Bicentennial Classic Fred CouplesWon with par on second extra hole41990Daikyo Palm Meadows Cup Curtis StrangeWon with eagle on second extra hole
Other Australasian wins (5) 1977 Rosebud Invitational 1978 South Australia Open, Nedlands Masters, West Australia Open, Mandurah Open
Other wins (1) 1998 Mauritius Open
Champions Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner-up123 Mar 2003Toshiba Senior Classic−16 (65-64-68=213)4 strokes Larry Nelson
PGA of Australia Legends Tour wins (12) note: this list is probably incomplete 2009 (1) Handa Australian Senior Open 2013 (5) Pak 'n' Save North Shore Legends Pro-Am (with Tim Elliot), Mini Jumbuk PGA Legends Pro-Am, National Australia Bank Kooyonga Legends Pro-Am (with Bryan Wearne), Bargara Legends Pro-Am, Suttons Hyundai Arncliffe Legends Pro-Am 2014 (2) New Zealand PGA Senior Championship, Rosnay Legends Pro-Am (with David Merriman) 2015 (3) City of Greater Bendigo Heathcote Legends Pro-Am, Bermagui Legends Pro-Am (with Mike Harwood), Coca-Cola Australian PGA Seniors Championship 2019 (1) Brisbane Legends Pro-Am (with Peter Lonard) Source:
Other senior wins (1) 2013 Citi & BOQ Charity Invitational (with Hugh Dolan) Source:
Results in major championships Tournament197719781979Masters TournamentU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipT52T525PGA Championship
Tournament1980198119821983198419851986198719881989Masters Tournament29U.S. OpenT36T47The Open ChampionshipT38T39CUTT26CUTCUTT2T20CUTPGA ChampionshipCUTT52
Tournament199019911992199319941995199619971998Masters Tournament63U.S. OpenT46CUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTT12CUTT24CUTT33T44PGA ChampionshipCUTCUT
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3The Open Championship 0 1 0 2 2 5 19 12PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1Totals 0 1 0 2 2 5 29 18 Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (1977 Open Championship – 1981 Open Championship) Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)
Team appearances World Cup (representing Australia): 1985, 1987, 1991, 1993 Dunhill Cup (representing Australia): 1986 (winners), 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993 Four Tours World Championship (representing Australasia): 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990 (winners), 1991 UBS Cup (representing the Rest of the World): 2002, 2003 (tie), 2004
References
External links