Roland Thatcher

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Roland Thatcher is a professional golfer born in Hampton, Virginia on April 11, 1977. He had a successful stint at Auburn University in Alabama where he was an All-American and the Southeastern Conference golf champion. Thatcher turned pro in 2000 and played on The Golden Bear Tour. He joined the BUY.COM Tour (now known as the Nationwide Tour) in 2002 after finishing 47th at the PGA Tour Qualifying School. In April he recorded his first Top Ten finish at the Louisiana Open. In October at the Bank of America Monterey Peninsula Classic he won with a final round 74, for his first Nationwide Tour victory. He took home $81,000 and a 2-year Nationwide Tour exemption. He had to withdraw from the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in December and therefore remained on the Nationwide Tour.

In 2003 Thatcher had 4 Top Ten finishes on the Nationwide Tour including a tie for 2nd at the Price Cutter Charity Championship where he earned $48,200. He finished off the year making 11 consecutive cuts. He continued his good play with a tie for 28th at the PGA Qualifying Tournament which earned him fully exempt status on the PGA Tour in 2004.

As a rookie on the PGA Tour Thatcher started off the first half of 2004 with little success but things greatly improved in the second half of the year. At the Reno-Tahoe Open at Montreaux Golf Club he shot 66-68-68 in the first three rounds to hold the third-round lead. He then shot a final round five-over par 77 to finish tied for 6th and took home $109,000. At the Bell Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville, Ontario he finished tied for 26th but had one of the best final rounds at a very tough golf course. He then finished with a tie for 25th place at the 84 Lumber Classic and a tie for 27th at the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. Because of his tough start Thatcher finished out of the Top 125 on the PGA Tour money list and therefore had to go back to Q-School. He played very well at the PGA Qualifying Tournament finishing in the Top 10 and retaining his card for 2005.

In 2005 Thatcher finished tied for 8th at the FedEx St. Jude Classic where he fired a final round 69 and took home the largest paycheck of his career at $142,100. At the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Michigan one of his best moments was being the closest to the pin in the final round at the infamous par 3 17th which is surrounded by some of the rowdiest fans on Tour. He finished tied for 22nd and earned $92,604. Things looked good for Thatcher at this point as he was leading the Tour in the important stat of "Greens in Regulation". However he had a poor finish to the year and ended up 173rd on the money list and therefore had to go back to Q-School. He failed to keep his card finishing outside the Top 30 at the PGA Qualifying Tournament.

Thatcher was therefore back on the Nationwide Tour in 2006. He started the year off well with a Top 10 finish at the Jacob's Creek Open Championship in Adelaide, Australia. He received a sponsor's exemption to the PGA Tour's Shell Houston Open and did well finishing 19th and receiving a $74,000 paycheck. Back on the Nationwide Tour, Thatcher also had Top 10 finishes at the Xerox Classic and the PalmettoPride Classic. He generally played well the whole year as he made 17 of 29 cuts and finished 55th on the final Nationwide Tour money list. At the PGA qualifying Tournament he failed to earn his PGA Tour card and will be a fully exempt member of the Nationwide Tour in 2007.