Richard Sterne was born on August 27th, 1981 in South Africa. He started playing golf at the age of 4 and had a very promising amateur career. He won both the national stroke play and match play titles at junior and senior level. He came runner up in the boys Junior World Championship (15 - 17).

He turned pro in 2001 and started his career playing on the Challenge Tour. In 2002 he finishing 28th at the Qualifying School to earn his place on the European Tour. In 2004 it looked like he was going to lose his card until he won his first tournament in Madrid.