Marcus Fraser (golfer)
Marcus Fraser is an Australian professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia and Asian Tour.
Career
Born in Corowa, New South Wales, Fraser spent his early years working at a supermarket. He completed a distinguished amateur career in 2002, finishing as the top individual in the Eisenhower Trophy world teams event.He turned professional in 2002 and completed his first seasons playing on Europe's second tier Challenge Tour. In 2003, he won three tournaments in one month, the Danish Open, the Talma Finnish Challenge and the Russian Open, which was also a European Tour event. The last of those wins secured his card on the European Tour for 2004. He has maintained his playing status since by consistently finishing inside the top 120 on the Order of Merit, with a best of 25th place in 2012. Fraser has played in over 200 events on the European Tour and his best world ranking position was 51st. He is one of the shortest driving guys on Tour, averaging 271 yards off the tee in 2016.
On 25 April 2010, Fraser won the 2010 Ballantine's Championship with a closing 69 to finish four shots clear. Fraser claimed his first victory in seven years, completing a wire-to-wire win during a weather reduced 54 hole event.
In June 2012, Fraser lost out in a playoff to Danny Willett at the BMW International Open in Cologne. He led after a 64 during round one, but finished with a bogey on the 72nd hole to fall into a playoff. Fraser three-putted the fourth extra hole to lose the tournament when Willett made his chip and putt for par.
Fraser won his third European Tour title at the inaugural Maybank Championship Malaysia in February 2016. He capitalised on a late collapse by leader Lee Soo-min, who had led by two with three holes to play. He won by two strokes, as Lee dropped four strokes in his final three holes, to end a winless drought of almost six years, during which he played in 119 events.
He played in the first Olympic Golf Tournament since 1904 representing Australia with Scott Hend, due to the retirements of compatriots Jason Day, Adam Scott and Marc Leishman. After one round, he led the tournament, posting an 8-under-par 63, setting an Olympic record. Fraser shot a two-under 69 in the second round, holding the 36-hole lead. He had a bad weekend but was still able to finish T5.
Amateur wins (3)
- 1999 Victoria Amateur Championship
- 2001 Asia Pacific Championship
- 2002 New Zealand Amateur Championship
Professional wins (6)
European Tour wins (3)
1Dual-ranking event with the Challenge Tour
2Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour
3Co-sanctioned by the Korean Tour
European Tour playoff record
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
1 | 2003 | BMW Russian Open | Martin Wiegele | Won with par on second extra hole |
2 | 2008 | Sportsbet Australian Masters | Rod Pampling | Lost to par on third extra hole |
3 | 2012 | BMW International Open | Danny Willett | Lost to par on fourth extra hole |
4 | 2013 | Ballantine's Championship | Brett Rumford, Peter Whiteford | Rumford won with eagle on first extra hole |
Asian Tour wins (2)
1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
2Co-sanctioned by the Korean Tour
Asian Tour playoff record
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
1 | 2013 | Ballantine's Championship | Brett Rumford, Peter Whiteford | Rumford won with eagle on first extra hole |
Challenge Tour wins (3)
1Dual-ranking event with the European TourChallenge Tour playoff record
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
1 | 2003 | Talma Finnish Challenge | Tony Edlund | Won with eagle on third extra hole |
2 | 2003 | BMW Russian Open | Martin Wiegele | Won with par on second extra hole |
Von Nida Tour wins (1)
- 2003 Volvo Trucks Classic
Playoff record
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
1 | 2008 | Sportsbet Australian Masters | Rod Pampling | Lost to par on third extra hole |
2 | 2011 | Australian PGA Championship | Robert Allenby, Greg Chalmers | Chalmers won with par on first extra hole |
Results in major championships
CUT = missed the half-way cut"T" = tied
Results in World Golf Championships
Results not in chronological order before 2015.Tournament | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
Championship | T45 | T24 | T60 | 60 | T58 | |||
Match Play | R32 | T51 | ||||||
Invitational | T58 | T38 | ||||||
Champions | T63 | T42 | T70 |
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
Team appearances
Amateur- Nomura Cup : 2001
- Eisenhower Trophy : 2002
- Bonallack Trophy : 2002