| Ian Baker-Finch | |
|---|---|
| Personal information | |
| Full name | Ian Michael Baker-Finch |
| Nickname | Finchy, The Dark Shark, IBF |
| Born | (1960-10-24)24 October 1960 (age 65) Nambour,Queensland, Australia |
| Height | 193 cm (6 ft 4 in)[1] |
| Sporting nationality |  Australia |
| Residence | North Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Career | |
| Turned professional | 1979 |
| Former tours | PGA Tour European Tour Japan Golf Tour PGA Tour of Australasia |
| Professional wins | 17 |
| Highestranking | 10 (29 September 1991)[2] |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 2 |
| European Tour | 2 |
| Japan Golf Tour | 3 |
| PGA Tour of Australasia | 10 |
| Other | 1 |
| Best results in major championships (wins: 1) | |
| Masters Tournament | T6:1992 |
| PGA Championship | T34: 1989 |
| U.S. Open | T13: 1992 |
| The Open Championship | Won:1991 |
| Signature | |
 | |
Ian Michael Baker-Finch (born 24 October 1960) is an Australian golfer andsports commentator best known for winningThe Open Championship in 1991.[3]
Baker-Finch was born inNambour,Queensland, Australia. He grew up in the same Queensland neighborhood as fellow golfersGreg Norman andWayne Grady.[4]
Baker-Finch turned professional in 1979.[5] He creditsJack Nicklaus as his greatest influence, saying that he based his game on Nicklaus' book,Golf My Way.
Baker-Finch began his professional career on thePGA Tour of Australasia, winning his first professional tournament, theNew Zealand Open, in 1983.[5] That victory earned him an entry toThe Open Championship in 1984. He would make headlines by taking the 36-hole lead, holding onto the lead after three rounds but then shooting a disastrous last round 79 to finish ninth, much in the manner ofBobby Clampett who had endured a similar collapse two years previously.
Baker-Finch joined theEuropean Tour, winning the 1985Scandinavian Enterprise Open and finishing in the top-20 on the order of merit in both 1985 and 1986. At the same time he continued to play in Australasia in theNorthern Hemisphere winter, picking up several further tournament titles there and occasionally played on theJapan Golf Tour.
Baker-Finch first played on thePGA Tour as an invitee in 1985 and began to do so regularly in 1989, having qualified for tour membership by finishing third in the 1988World Series of Golf. He won his first PGA Tour title at the 1989Southwestern Bell Colonial, gaining him a two-year exemption on Tour. In 1990, he finished 16th on the PGA Tour money list, on the strength of three runner-up finishes and two third-place finishes.
Despite his steady career, with wins on four continents, including Asia, Baker-Finch was not generally counted as a member of the elite group of international golfers. When he won the1991 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, closing with a 64-66[5] to beatMike Harwood by two strokes, he was considered a surprise champion. He had three other runner-up finishes that year as well and again qualified for theTour Championship with a 13th-place finish on the money list. He ranked briefly in the top 10 of theOfficial World Golf Ranking that year.[6]
Baker-Finch had a 10-year exemption from the PGA Tour for his Open Championship win, leaving him exempt until 2001. He achieved a runner-up finish inThe Players Championship in 1992, but otherwise never came close to contending on the PGA Tour again. He picked up wins in Australia in 1992 and 1993 but his form then went into a steep and accelerating decline. He began to lose confidence in his game and tinkered with his swing often. His last top-10 finish on the PGA Tour was a tie for 10th in the 1994Masters Tournament.
Baker-Finch then famously suffered a complete collapse of his game.[7] The problems were often psychological: he would hit shots flawlessly on the practice range, and then go to the first tee and hit a weak drive into the wrong fairway. In the 1995 Open Championship atSt Andrews, he notoriouslyhooked his first round tee shot at the first out-of-bounds on the left side of the fairway shared with the 18th, with attention focused on him as his playing partner wasArnold Palmer, competing in his final Open. In 1995 and 1996 he missed the cut, withdrew after one round or was disqualified in all 29 PGA Tour events that he entered.
Baker-Finch later said: "I lost my confidence. I got to the point where I didn't even want to be out on the golf course because I was playing so poorly. I would try my hardest but when I came out to play, I managed to find a way to miss the cut time and time again. It became a habit."[8]
After shooting a 92 in the first round of the 1997 Open atRoyal Troon, an extraordinarily bad score by tournament professional standards, Baker-Finch admitted that he cried in the locker room that afternoon. He withdrew from the championship after one round and retired from tournament golf.[8]
In 2013, in a return to tournament form, Baker-Finch together withBart Bryant won the age 60 to 69 exhibition portion of theChampions TourLegends of Golf tournament.
After his game deserted him, Baker-Finch turned his interests to careers in broadcasting and golf course design and management.[5] He was hired byESPN andABC Sports to comment on golf tournaments in 1998, and did so until 2006. During this time, Baker-Finch served as the lead analyst for ESPN and as a hole announcer for ABC, though on many occasions he filled in as ABC's lead analyst. In 2007, he was hired byCBS Sports as a hole announcer, a position he held until his retirement on August 3, 2025.[9][10] During this era, Baker-Finch served asGary Player's captain's assistant for the International team in thePresidents Cup in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
Reporting for CBS at the 2007Barclays tournament, Baker-Finch was one of the thousands gathered around the 18th green asRich Beem hit his approach shot. The errant shot hit straight on Baker-Finch's cheek and knocked him down, causing him to fall on his back behind the green. Baker-Finch recovered before Beem got to his ball.[11]
Baker-Finch and his wife, Jennie, have two daughters Hayley and Laura; they live inNorth Palm Beach, Florida.[9]
| Legend |
|---|
| Major championships (1) |
| Other PGA Tour (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 May1989 | Southwestern Bell Colonial | −10 (65-70-65-70=270) | 4 strokes |  David Edwards |
| 2 | 21 Jul1991 | The Open Championship | −8 (71-71-64-66=272) | 2 strokes | Mike Harwood |
PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1991 | New England Classic | Bruce Fleisher | Lost to birdie on seventh extra hole |
| Legend |
| Major championships (1) |
| Other European Tour (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Aug1985 | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | −14 (68-72-68-66=274) | 2 strokes | Graham Marsh |
| 2 | 21 Jul1991 | The Open Championship | −8 (71-71-64-66=272) | 2 strokes | Mike Harwood |
European Tour playoff record (0–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1986 | Bell's Scottish Open |  David Feherty, Christy O'Connor Jnr | Feherty won with birdie on second extra hole |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 Oct1987 | Polaroid Cup Golf Digest Tournament | −9 (74-67-68-66=275) | 4 strokes |  Kazushige Kono |
| 2 | 10 Apr1988 | Pocari Sweat Open | −7 (73-68-66-70=277) | 2 strokes | Graham Marsh |
| 3 | 17 Apr 1988 | Bridgestone Aso Open | −6 (75-73-68-66=282) | 1 stroke | Tadami Ueno |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 Nov 1983 | New Zealand Open | E (71-66-72-71=280) | 3 strokes |  Stuart Reese |
| 2 | 13 May 1984 | Town and Country WA-RAC Western Australian Open | −16 (70-67-67-68=272) | 4 strokes | Terry Gale |
| 3 | 21 Oct 1984 | National Panasonic New South Wales Open | −15 (69-70-68-70=277) | 13 strokes | Peter Senior |
| 4 | 16 Dec 1984 | Coca-Cola Queensland PGA Championship | −3 (69-74-70-72=285) | 1 stroke | Ossie Moore |
| 5 | 10 Feb 1985 | Victorian Open | −9 (73-65-72-69=279) | 2 strokes | Rodger Davis |
| 6 | 8 Feb1987 | Robert Boyd Transport Australian Match Play Championship | 5 and 4 | Ossie Moore | |
| 7 | 21 Feb1988 | Australian Masters | −9 (69-70-71-73=283) | Playoff | Roger Mackay,Craig Parry |
| 8 | 16 Dec1990 | Coolum Classic[a] | −17 (66-67-67-71=271) | 5 strokes |  Stephen Bennett,Rodger Davis |
| 9 | 26 Jan1992 | Vines Classic | −12 (71-67-66-72=276) | 1 stroke | Jeff Maggert,Frank Nobilo |
| 10 | 22 Nov1993 | Ford Australian PGA Championship | −9 (69-69-73-64=275) | Playoff | Peter Fowler,Grant Waite |
PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (2–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1984 | Victorian PGA Championship | Wayne Riley | Lost to birdie on second extra hole |
| 2 | 1988 | Australian Masters | Roger Mackay,Craig Parry | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1993 | Ford Australian PGA Championship | Peter Fowler,Grant Waite | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| Year | Championship | 54 holes | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | The Open Championship | Tied for lead | −8 (71-71-64-66=272) | 2 strokes | Mike Harwood |
| Tournament | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | CUT | T7 | T6 | T54 | T10 | CUT | CUT | ||||||
| U.S. Open | T44 | T13 | T19 | CUT | CUT | CUT | ||||||||
| The Open Championship | T9 | T20 | CUT | CUT | CUT | T30 | T6 | 1 | T19 | T70 | CUT | CUT | CUT | WD |
| PGA Championship | T34 | T57 | CUT | T69 | 66 | CUT | CUT |
CUT = missed the half way cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
| Tournament | Wins | 2nd | 3rd | Top-5 | Top-10 | Top-25 | Events | Cuts made |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 4 |
| U.S. Open | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| The Open Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 7 |
| PGA Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 |
| Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 35 | 18 |
| Tournament | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | CUT | T46 | T41 | T2 | T39 | T69 | WD | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place