Michael George Wilfred Hoey (born 13 February 1979) is a retired Northern Irish professional golfer who played on the European Tour and the Challenge Tour.
Amateur career Hoey was born in Ballymoney but played much of his early golf at Shandon Park Golf Club in East Belfast. He won the British Amateur Championship in 2001 and was a member of the victorious 2001 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team. As British Amateur Champion, he was invited to play in the Masters Tournament in 2002, where he missed the cut by a single stroke. He turned professional later that year. He played his collegiate golf at Clemson University.
Professional career Until 2009, Hoey had struggled to secure his place on the main European Tour and had mostly competed in the second tier Challenge Tour where he has three tournament victories, the 2005 BA-CA Golf Open, the 2007 Tessali-Metaponto Open di Puglia e Basilicata, and the 2008 Banque Populaire Moroccan Classic. He finished 8th on the end of season rankings in 2005, which gave him automatic promotion to the European Tour. Following a largely unsuccessful début season in 2006, he returned to the Challenge Tour the following year. He regained his playing privileges on the European Tour for the 2009 season at final qualifying school.
Early in 2009, Hoey finished runner-up to Retief Goosen in the Africa Open on the Sunshine Tour. Then in April, he claimed his first European Tour title, at the Estoril Open de Portugal where he defeated Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño on the third hole of a sudden death playoff. The win also gave him a one-year exemption on the European Tour. He won twice in 2011, including his most prestigious title to date at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He picked up his fourth victory on the European Tour in 2012 at the Trophée Hassan II.
In July 2013, Hoey won his fifth European Tour title at the M2M Russian Open, prevailing by four strokes from Alexandre Kaleka and Matthew Nixon. His victory was set up by a third round score of 65, which took him into the lead heading into the final round.
Hoey represented Ireland, alongside Gareth Maybin at the 2007 Omega Mission Hills World Cup where they finished in 24th position.
In February 2022, Hoey announced his retirement from professional golf, becoming a referee on the European Tour.
Amateur wins 1998 Irish Amateur Open Championship 2001 Amateur Championship
Professional wins (8) European Tour wins (5) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up15 Apr 2009Estoril Open de Portugal−7 (66-76-69-66=277)Playoff Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño222 May 2011Madeira Islands Open1−10 (72-68-67-71=278)2 strokes Jamie Elson, Chris Gane32 Oct 2011Alfred Dunhill Links Championship−22 (66-66-66-68=266)2 strokes Rory McIlroy425 Mar 2012Trophée Hassan II−17 (74-67-65-65=271)3 strokes Damien McGrane528 Jul 2013M2M Russian Open−16 (70-67-65-70=272)4 strokes Alexandre Kaleka, Matthew Nixon 1Dual-ranking event with the Challenge Tour
European Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12009Estoril Open de Portugal Gonzalo Fernández-CastañoWon with par on third extra hole
Challenge Tour wins (4) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up14 Sep 2005BA-CA Golf Open−19 (67-64-67-67=265)1 stroke Steven Jeppesen222 Apr 2007Tessali-Metaponto Open di Puglia e Basilicata−13 (66-67-68-71=272)Playoff Liam Bond34 May 2008Banque Populaire Moroccan Classic−12 (67-70-71-68=276)1 stroke Greig Hutcheon, Julien Quesne422 May 2011Madeira Islands Open1−10 (72-68-67-71=278)2 strokes Jamie Elson, Chris Gane 1Dual-ranking event with the European Tour
Challenge Tour playoff record (1–1) No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result12007Tessali-Metaponto Open di Puglia e Basilicata Liam BondWon with birdie on first extra hole22021B-NL Challenge Trophy Alfredo García-Heredia, Marcus Helligkilde, Haraldur MagnúsGarcía-Heredia won with birdie on seventh extra holeMagnús eliminated by par on third holeHoey eliminated by birdie on first hole
Results in major championships
Tournament200120022003200420052006200720082009Masters TournamentCUTU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipCUTPGA Championship Tournament20102011201220132014Masters TournamentU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipCUTWDPGA ChampionshipDQ
CUT = missed the half-way cut DQ = disqualified WD = withdrew "T" = tied
Results in World Golf Championships Tournament20112012Match PlayChampionshipInvitationalT71ChampionsT62
"T" = Tied
Team appearances Amateur European Youths' Team Championship (representing Ireland): 1998, 2000 European Amateur Team Championship (representing Ireland): 1999, 2001 Palmer Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1999 Walker Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2001 (winners)
Professional World Cup (representing Ireland): 2007 European Championships (representing Ireland): 2018
See also 2005 Challenge Tour graduates 2008 European Tour Qualifying School graduates List of golfers with most Challenge Tour wins
References
External links