News
Golfer of the Month
12 July 2009
Back to Archive
England’s Nick Dougherty has been named The Race to Dubai Golfer of the Month for June after his memorable, emotionally-charged victory at the BMW International Open.
Dougherty received the honour after successfully securing his third European Tour victory at the Golfclub München Eichenried with a brilliant final round of eight under par 64 to win by a stroke from Argentina’s Rafa Echenique who pushed Dougherty all the way.
Dougherty’s win in Germany was hugely poignant because it was his first win since his mother, Ennis, passed away last year, and the emotive element to his win made it all the more remarkable.
“I just collapsed after my Mum died,” Dougherty said of his form and confidence after winning in Munich. “Up until that point I was playing pretty well. I was going to make The Ryder Cup Team, I had just started to break into the Majors, led the US Open and finished seventh having played with Tiger Woods – everything felt very comfortable.
“Then my world turned upside down in 2008. Having been blessed to not having anything really significant in a bad way happen to me, it hit me like a ton of bricks and I wasn’t prepared for it, and it was horrible.
“But I sat down and, in time, started to heal and I collected myself and I realised that I
I have potential to be a great player. There are things I have to work on, but days like I had in Munich are not a coincidence. It was a long time coming, but it came at the right time and to be recognised as the Golfer of the Month just tops it off nicely.”
There were several outstanding achievements by European Tour Members in June, in addition to Dougherty’s triumph, however, Dougherty was the unanimous choice of the voting panel comprising members of the Association of Golf Writers, television and radio commentators. Dougherty joins Rory McIlroy (January), Geoff Ogilvy (February), Søren Kjeldsen (March), Angel Cabrera (April) and Shane Lowry (May) as a winner of The 2009 Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Month Award.
The Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year will be selected following the Dubai World Championship at the Earth Course, Jumeirah Golf Estates, from November 19-22, 2009, where the winner of The Race to Dubai will be confirmed.
