J. C. Ritchie
South African professional golfer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Juan Carlo "J. C." Ritchie (born 24 February 1994) is a South African professional golfer. He plays on the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour where he has won 11 times.
| J. C. Ritchie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||
| Full name | Juan Carlo Ritchie | ||||
| Born | 24 February 1994 Standerton, South Africa | ||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg; 16.8 st) | ||||
| Sporting nationality |  South Africa | ||||
| Career | |||||
| Turned professional | 2014 | ||||
| Current tours | European Tour Sunshine Tour | ||||
| Former tour | Challenge Tour | ||||
| Professional wins | 16 | ||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||
| Sunshine Tour | 11 | ||||
| Challenge Tour | 7 (Tied-2nd all-time) | ||||
| Other | 2 | ||||
| Best results in major championships | |||||
| Masters Tournament | DNP | ||||
| PGA Championship | DNP | ||||
| U.S. Open | CUT: 2020 | ||||
| The Open Championship | T40: 2021 | ||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||
| |||||
Professional career
Ritchie's first win on the Sunshine Tour was at Royal Harare Golf Club in the 2017 Zimbabwe Open where he beat Trevor Fisher Jnr at the second hole of a playoff.[1] He was third in the 2018 BMW SA Open and also finished third in the 2017–18 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit. In August 2018 he won the Sun Carnival City Challenge.[2] In March 2019, partnered with Jaco Prinsloo, he won the Sunshine Tour Team Championship and the following week won the Limpopo Championship at the first hole of a playoff with Steve Surry.[3] The following month he won the Zanaco Masters in Zambia, again at the first hole of a playoff against Rhys Enoch. He had two further wins in early 2020, retaining the Team Championship and the Limpopo Championship in successive weeks.
In May 2021, Ritchie won the Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open, beating Jacques Blaauw in a sudden-death playoff.[4] He successfully defended this title in February 2022, winning by one shot ahead of Christopher Mivis.[5] The following week, he won the Jonsson Workwear Open, winning by six shots, again ahead of Mivis.[6]
Ritchie won three times on the Challenge Tour in 2025, earning him an automatic promotion to the European Tour for the remainder of 2025 and all of 2026.[7] He went on to finish season as the rankings winner.[8]
Professional wins (16)
Sunshine Tour wins (11)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 Apr 2017 | Zimbabwe Open | 74-67-67-64=272 | −16 | Playoff | Trevor Fisher Jnr |
| 2 | 10 Aug 2018 | Sun Carnival City Challenge | 64-72-72=208 | −8 | 1 stroke | Alex Haindl, Toto Thimba Jnr |
| 3 | 2 Mar 2019 | Team Championship (with Jaco Prinsloo) |
61-66-62=189 | −27 | 1 stroke | Jacques Blaauw and Merrick Bremner |
| 4 | 10 Mar 2019 | Limpopo Championship | 66-69-70-65=270 | −18 | Playoff |  Steve Surry |
| 5 | 7 Apr 2019 | Zanaco Masters | 70-68-66-70=274 | −18 | Playoff |  Rhys Enoch |
| 6 | 25 Jan 2020 | Gauteng Team Championship (2) (with Jaco Prinsloo) |
61-68-62=191 | −25 | 2 strokes | Jaco Ahlers and Vaughn Groenewald |
| 7 | 2 Feb 2020 | Limpopo Championship1 (2) | 66-69-67-67=269 | −19 | 2 strokes | Wilco Nienaber |
| 8 | 2 May 2021 | Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open1 | 71-69-68-66=274 | −14 | Playoff | Jacques Blaauw |
| 9 | 20 Feb 2022 | Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open1 (2) | 69-66-67-68=270 | −18 | 1 stroke |  Christopher Mivis |
| 10 | 27 Feb 2022 | Jonsson Workwear Open1 | 61-63-65-71=260 | −26 | 6 strokes | Christopher Mivis |
| 11 | 15 Nov 2025 | Stella Artois Players Championship | 65-68-65-69=267 | −17 | 2 strokes | Oliver Bekker, Christiaan Burke |
1Co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour
Sunshine Tour playoff record (4–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2017 | Zimbabwe Open | Trevor Fisher Jnr |
Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 2 | 2019 | Limpopo Championship | Steve Surry |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 2019 | Zanaco Masters | Rhys Enoch |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 2021 | Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open | Jacques Blaauw |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
Challenge Tour wins (7)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Feb 2020 | Limpopo Championship1 | 66-69-67-67=269 | −19 | 2 strokes | Wilco Nienaber |
| 2 | 2 May 2021 | Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open1 | 71-69-68-66=274 | −14 | Playoff | Jacques Blaauw |
| 3 | 20 Feb 2022 | Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open1 (2) | 69-66-67-68=270 | −18 | 1 stroke | Christopher Mivis |
| 4 | 27 Feb 2022 | Jonsson Workwear Open1 | 61-63-65-71=260 | −26 | 6 strokes | Christopher Mivis |
| 5 | 20 Jul 2025 | German Challenge | 66-66-66-66=264 | −24 | 8 strokes | Joshua Berry, Tom Lewis |
| 6 | 14 Sep 2025 | Open de Portugal | 70-66-67-66=269 | −15 | 1 stroke |  David Law |
| 7 | 21 Sep 2025 | Italian Challenge Open | 69-63-68-68=268 | −20 | 2 strokes |  Robin Petersson, Christofer Rahm |
1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour
Challenge Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2021 | Bain's Whisky Cape Town Open | Jacques Blaauw |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
IGT Pro Tour wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 Aug 2013 | IGT Winter Challenge State Mines CC | −8 (72-65-71=208) | 2 strokes | Rhys West |
| 2 | 13 Aug 2014 | Race to Asian Q-School Irene Country Club | −17 (65-67-67=199) | 5 strokes | Jason Smith (a) |
Results in major championships
Results not in chronological order in 2020.
| Tournament | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | ||
| PGA Championship | ||
| U.S. Open | CUT | |
| The Open Championship | NT | T40 |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Results in World Golf Championships
| Tournament | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | T68 | |||
| Match Play | NT1 | |||
| Invitational | ||||
| Champions | 76 | NT1 | NT1 |
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied