Craig Spence

Who is Craig Spence?

Craig A. Spence is an Australian professional golfer.

Spence was born in Colac, Victoria and first played golf at the age of 10. Around the age of 15 he began competing at an amateur level. He then went on to the Victorian Institute of Sport, winning two Victorian Amateurs back to back. He turned professional in 1996 and joined the PGA Tour of Australasia.

In 1999 Spence made his professional breakthrough with victory in the Ericsson Australian Masters. Having opened up with a 9 under par first round, he finished by hitting a 6 iron two two feet for a birdie on the final hole to win by a single stroke over Australia's most successful golfer, playing partner Greg Norman. Following that win Spence received invites to tournaments around the world, on five of the major tours. He managed to record top 5 finishes in events on all of those tours.

At the end of 1999, Spence earned his PGA Tour card for the 2000 season with a top 10 finish at the tour's Qualifying School. His rookie year on the PGA Tour was a struggle and he missed out on keeping a full card for 2001, finishing 129th on the money list. He made just two cuts the following season to lose all playing rights on the tour. He spent two more years in the United States competing mostly on mini-tours while receiving invites to a limited number of second tier Nationwide Tour events. He also continued to play on the PGA Tour of Australasia with limited success.