{{short description|Austrian professional golfer (born 1978)}} {{Infobox golfer | name = Martin Wiegele | image = Martin Wiegele.JPG | imagesize = 200px | caption = | fullname = | nickname = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1978|7|11|df=y}} | birth_place = Graz, Austria | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|1978|7|11|df=y}} --> | death_place = | height = {{height|m=1.82|precision=0}} | weight = | nationality = {{AUT}} | residence = Graz, Austria | spouse = Claudia Wiegele | partner = | children = | college = | yearpro = 2003 | tour = Challenge Tour | extour = European Tour | prowins = 5 | pgawins = <!-- Number of PGA Tour wins --> | eurowins = 1 | japwins = <!-- Number of Japan Golf Tour wins --> | asiawins = <!-- Number of Asian Tour wins --> | sunwins = <!-- Number of Sunshine Tour wins --> | auswins = <!-- Number of PGA Tour of Australasia wins --> | nwidewins = <!-- Number of Nationwide Tour wins --> | chalwins = 4 | champwins = <!-- Number of Champions Tour wins --> | seneurowins = <!-- Number of European Seniors Tour wins --> | otherwins = <!-- Number of other wins --> | majorwins = <!-- Number of Major Championship wins --> | masters = DNP | usopen = DNP | open = T70: 2008 | pga = DNP | wghofid = <!-- World Golf Hall of Fame member ID --> | wghofyear = <!-- World Golf Hall of Fame year inducted --> | award1 = | year1 = | awardssection = <!-- location of awards page or section --> }} '''Martin Wiegele''' (born 11 July 1978) is an Austrian professional golfer.
== Career == Wiegele was born in Graz. He turned professional in 2003 when he joined the second tier Challenge Tour. He enjoyed some success during his first season finishing fourth on the end of season rankings to graduate to the top level European Tour for 2004. He almost won his first European Tour event he ever played, losing a playoff against Marcus Fraser in the 2003 BMW Russian Open. He could not keep his European Tour card and had to go back to the Challenge Tour. He struggled for form during the next few seasons due to massive swing changes, before picking up his first big victory at the 2007 Lexus Open. He went on to be medalist at the European Tour Qualifying School at the end of the season to regain his place at the top level.
Having finished 142nd on the Order of Merit in 2008, Wiegele returned to the Challenge Tour in 2009. He picked up his second tournament victory on the Challenge Tour in 2010 at the Kärnten Golf Open, before winning his first European Tour title at the Saint-Omer Open two weeks later which gave him a one-year exemption on the main tour. He gained his Tour card for the 2012 season by finishing 83rd in the 2011 Race to Dubai, a season in which he finished tied for third in the Barclays Scottish Open.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2010/jun/20/martin-wiegele-saint-omer-open |title=Martin Wiegele wins Saint-Omer Open to take first European Tour title |newspaper=The Guardian |agency=Associated Press |date=20 June 2010 |accessdate=21 June 2010}}</ref>
Wiegele missed most of the 2012 season because of two hip surgeries, and lost his full playing rights on the European Tour after his 2013 season. Hip problems and poor form since has kept him outside the world top-1000 most of the time from 2013 to early 2017. In June 2017, he was a surprise winner of the KPMG Trophy, his best performance since 2011.
Because of his ongoing hip injury, he received a total hip replacement in early 2018.
==Amateur wins== *1997 Austrian Amateur Closed Championship *2000 Austrian Amateur Closed Championship *2001 Austrian Amateur Closed Championship *2002 Slovak Amateur Open Championships, Austrian Amateur Closed Championship
==Professional wins (5)== ===European Tour wins (1)=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No.!! Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!Margin of<br>victory!!Runners-up |- |align=center|1 |20 Jun 2010 |Saint-Omer Open<sup>1</sup> |−7 (66-71-72-68=277) |2 strokes |{{flagicon|ENG}} Robert Dinwiddie, {{flagicon|SWE}} Pelle Edberg,<br>{{flagicon|ENG}} Jamie Elson, {{flagicon|ENG}} Matt Haines,<br>{{flagicon|FRA}} Raphaël Jacquelin |} <sup>1</sup>Dual-ranking event with the Challenge Tour
'''European Tour playoff record (0–1)''' {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent!!Result |-style="background:#F2C1D1;" |align=center|1 |2003 |BMW Russian Open |{{flagicon|AUS}} Marcus Fraser |Lost to par on second extra hole |}
===Challenge Tour wins (4)=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No.!! Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!Margin of<br>victory!!Runner(s)-up |- |align=center|1 |align=right|19 Aug 2007 |Lexus Open |−10 (68-71-73-66=278) |Playoff |{{flagicon|SCO}} George Murray |- |align=center|2 |align=right|6 Jun 2010 |Kärnten Golf Open |−13 (62-76-71-66=275) |1 stroke |{{flagicon|NED}} Floris de Vries, {{flagicon|ENG}} Daniel Denison,<br>{{flagicon|AUS}} Matthew Zions |- |align=center|3 |align=right|20 Jun 2010 |Saint-Omer Open<sup>1</sup> |−7 (66-71-72-68=277) |2 strokes |{{flagicon|ENG}} Robert Dinwiddie, {{flagicon|SWE}} Pelle Edberg,<br>{{flagicon|ENG}} Jamie Elson, {{flagicon|ENG}} Matt Haines,<br>{{flagicon|FRA}} Raphaël Jacquelin |- |align=center|4 |align=right|11 Jun 2017 |KPMG Trophy |−19 (68-69-66-66=269) |1 stroke |{{flagicon|ESP}} Pedro Oriol |} <sup>1</sup>Dual-ranking event with the European Tour
'''Challenge Tour playoff record (1–1)''' {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No.!!Year!!Tournament!!Opponent!!Result |-style="background:#F2C1D1;" |align=center|1 |2003 |BMW Russian Open |{{flagicon|AUS}} Marcus Fraser |Lost to par on second extra hole |-style="background:#D0F0C0;" |align=center|2 |2007 |Lexus Open |{{flagicon|SCO}} George Murray |Won with par on first extra hole |}
===Alps Tour wins (1)=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" !No.!! Date!!Tournament!!Winning score!!Margin of<br>victory!!Runners-up |- |align=center|1 |align=right|4 May 2008 |Gösser Open |−12 (71-67-66=204) |Playoff |{{flagicon|ITA}} Emanuele Lattanzi, {{flagicon|ITA}} Andrea Rota |}
==Results in major championships== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;text-align:center;" !Tournament !2008 |- |align=left|Masters Tournament |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |- |align=left|U.S. Open |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |- |align=left|The Open Championship |T70 |- |align=left|PGA Championship |style="background:#eeeeee;"| |} <!-- {{legend|yellow|Top 10}} --> {{legend|#eeeeee|Did not play}} CUT = missed the half-way cut<br> "T" = tied
==Team appearances== '''Amateur''' *European Boys' Team Championship (representing Austria): 1995, 1996<ref>{{cite web |title=European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association |url=http://www.ega-golf.ch/page/european-boys-team-championship |access-date=22 January 2023}}</ref> *European Amateur Team Championship (representing Austria): 1997, 1999, 2001 *European Youths' Team Championship (representing Austria): 1998<ref>{{cite web |title=EGA Events, Results, European Team Championships, European Youths' Team Championship |url=https://www.ega-golf.ch/page/european-youths-team-championship |accessdate=10 January 2023 |publisher=European Golf Association}}</ref> *Eisenhower Trophy (representing Austria): 2000, 2002 *Bonallack Trophy (representing Europe): 2002 *St Andrews Trophy (representing the Continent of Europe): 2002
'''Professional''' *World Cup (representing Austria): 2004, 2016 *Ponte Veccio Challenge: 2011
==See also== *2007 European Tour Qualifying School graduates *List of golfers with most Challenge Tour wins
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{official website|http://www.wiegele-golf.com/}} *{{EuroTour player|26010}} *{{OWGR|7869}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiegele, Martin}} Category:Austrian male golfers Category:European Tour golfers Category:Sportspeople from Graz Category:1978 births Category:Living people