Alexander Čejka (born 2 December 1970) is a Czech-German professional golfer.
Čejka was born in Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia. He left the country with his parents as a refugee at the age of nine, eventually settling in Munich, where he lived for many years, becoming a West German citizen. Čejka lives in Las Vegas and also has a home in Prague.
Professional career Čejka turned professional in 1989 and played on the European Tour from 1992 to 2002. His biggest tournament win was the Turespaña Masters Open de Andalucía at Islantilla Golf Club in 1995. That year he came 6th on the European Tour's Order of Merit. Since 2003 he played mainly on the U.S. based PGA Tour. In 2003 he reached as high as No. 33 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Čejka took a five-shot lead into the final round of the 2009 Players Championship after rounds of 66, 67 and 72. He shot a 42 on the front nine, however, en route to a 79 and an eight-stroke loss to Henrik Stenson.
He represented Germany in the World Cup 12 times, including in 2011 at Mission Hills Haikou in Hainan Island, teaming with partner Martin Kaymer to tie for second, two strokes behind the winning United States team of Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland. Čejka teamed with Kaymer in four World Cup appearances.
In 2012 Čejka finished 177th on the PGA Tour and moved to the Web.com Tour. He finished 64th in 2013, then 6th in 2014 to earn a return to the PGA Tour.
Čejka won his first PGA Tour event in his 287th Tour start, the 2015 Puerto Rico Open. Two players bogeyed the 18th hole ensuring a five-man playoff; Čejka won with a birdie at the first playoff hole. He is the first golfer born in the Czech Republic to win a PGA Tour event and first non-American to win the Puerto Rico Open. At the time, he was also the third oldest first-time winner on the PGA Tour since 1970.
He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
With most of the sports world on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Čejka played on the Arizona-based Outlaw Tour, one of the few professional golf tours in operation during the pandemic, where he won two events.
In May 2021, Čejka won his first tournament on the PGA Tour Champions at the Regions Tradition. Čejka won this major tournament in a playoff over Steve Stricker. Three weeks later, Čejka won his second PGA Tour Champions major tournament of 2021 at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Čejka shot a final-round 67 Sunday to beat Tim Petrovic by four shots.
In July 2023, Čejka won the Senior Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl in Wales on a blustery day with wet conditions. Čejka defeated Pádraig Harrington in a playoff to win the title. This was the third win of his senior PGA Tour Champions career, with all three coming at major championships.
Professional wins (19) PGA Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunners-up18 Mar 2015Puerto Rico Open70-67-75-69=281 −7Playoff Jon Curran, Emiliano Grillo, Tim Petrovic, Sam Saunders
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult12015Puerto Rico Open Jon Curran, Emiliano Grillo, Tim Petrovic, Sam SaundersWon with birdie on first extra hole22017Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Patrick Cantlay, Kim Meen-wheeCantlay won with par on second extra hole
European Tour wins (4) Legend Tour Championships (1) Other European Tour (3) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up15 Mar 1995Turespaña Masters Open de Andalucía71-68-70-69=278−63 strokes Costantino Rocca213 Aug 1995Hohe Brücke Open61-68-68-70=267−214 strokes Ignacio Garrido, Rolf Muntz, Ronan Rafferty329 Oct 1995Volvo Masters74-66-72-70=282−22 strokes Colin Montgomerie413 Oct 2002Trophée Lancôme64-68-72-68=272−122 strokes Carlos Rodiles
Web.com Tour wins (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-up115 Feb 2014Pacific Rubiales Colombia Championship68-68-63=199−143 strokes Andrew Putnam
Challenge Tour wins (4) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up130 Jun 1991Audi Quattro Trophy Glyn Krause, John Oates225 Jul 1993Audi Open72-66-71=209−7Playoff Peter Harrison, Liam White38 Jun 1997KB Golf Challenge68-70-65-68=271−172 strokes Michele Reale416 Jun 2002Galeria Kaufhof Pokal Challenge66-69-68-68=271−172 strokes John E. Morgan, Marcel Siem
Challenge Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult11993Audi Open Peter Harrison, Liam WhiteWon with par on second extra holeWhite eliminated by par on first hole
Outlaw Tour wins (2) 2020 Arrowhead Classic, Parker Open
Other wins (2) 1990 Czech Open 1992 Czech Open
PGA Tour Champions wins (4) Legend PGA Tour Champions major championships (3) Other PGA Tour Champions (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-up19 May 2021Regions Tradition68-69-66-67=270−18Playoff Steve Stricker230 May 2021KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship67-70-68-67=272−84 strokes Tim Petrovic330 Jul 2023The Senior Open Championship68-71-74-76=289+5Playoff Pádraig Harrington412 Oct 2025SAS Championship70-66-71=207−93 strokes Ernie Els
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (2–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12021Regions Tradition Steve StrickerWon with birdie on first extra hole22023The Senior Open Championship Pádraig HarringtonWon with birdie on second extra hole
European Senior Tour wins (3) Legend Senior major championships (2) Other European Senior Tour (1) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin ofvictoryRunner-up130 May 2021KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship67-70-68-67=272−84 strokes Tim Petrovic231 Jul 2022JCB Championship69-66-70=205−112 strokes Paul McGinley330 Jul 2023The Senior Open Championship68-71-74-76=289+5Playoff Pádraig Harrington
European Senior Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12023The Senior Open Championship Pádraig HarringtonWon with birdie on second extra hole
Results in major championships Results not in chronological order in 2020. Tournament1996199719981999Masters Tournament44U.S. OpenT50The Open ChampionshipT11CUTPGA ChampionshipT52T65 Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009Masters Tournament26U.S. OpenT61T60The Open ChampionshipCUTT13CUTCUTCUTPGA Championship4CUTCUT Tournament2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015201620172018Masters TournamentT35U.S. OpenT8CUTT41T60The Open ChampionshipPGA ChampionshipWD Tournament201920202021202220232024Masters TournamentPGA ChampionshipCUTU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipNTT75
CUT = missed the half-way cut WD = withdrew "T" = tied NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 1 1 7 6The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 3PGA Championship 0 0 0 1 1 1 7 3Totals 0 0 0 1 2 4 25 15 Most consecutive cuts made – 4 (twice) Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)
Results in The Players Championship Tournament200420052006200720082009The Players ChampionshipT33T12CUTT9 Tournament2010201120122013201420152016201720182019The Players ChampionshipT58CUT74T9T79CUT
CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships Tournament1999200020012002200320042005Match PlayR16R32R64ChampionshipT55NT1T12T28InvitationalT42T9 1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied NT = No tournament
Senior major championships Wins (3) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunner-up 2021 Regions Tradition 1 shot deficit −18 (68-69-66-67=270) Playoff Steve Stricker 2021 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship 1 shot deficit −8 (67-70-68-67=272) 4 strokes Tim Petrovic 2023 Senior Open Championship 1 shot deficit +5 (68-71-74-76=289) Playoff Pádraig Harrington
Results timeline Results not in chronological order Tournament 2021 2022 2023 2024 20252026Senior PGA Championship113T12T46CUTThe Tradition1DQT9T12T5U.S. Senior OpenT26T13T9T16T26T14Senior Players ChampionshipT5T9T33T20The Senior Open ChampionshipT18T121T15T14T14
CUT = missed the halfway cut DQ = disqualified "T" indicates a tie for a place
Team appearances Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Germany): 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998 World Cup (representing Germany): 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2016 Seve Trophy (representing Continental Europe): 2000 (winners), 2002, 2003
See also 2002 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 2005 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 2006 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates 2006 European Tour Qualifying School graduates 2014 Web.com Tour Finals graduates 2017 Web.com Tour Finals graduates List of golfers with most Challenge Tour wins
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