Ian Woosnam

Ian Harold Woosnam (born 2 March 1958) is a Welsh professional golfer. In 1976, as a teenager, Woosnam turned pro. He picked up his first European Tour win at the 1982 Swiss Open; this began a decade of success. Woosnam led the European Tour's Order of Merit in 1987 and 1990, ultimately winning 29 tournaments on tour, among the most ever. Woosnam's career reached its peak in 1991, as he won the Masters and spent most of the year ranked number one in the world. After the age of 50, Woosnam has continued his success, winning events on the Champions Tour, European Senior Tour, and Japan Senior Tour. In 2017, at the age 59, Woosnam was inducted the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Early life

Woosnam was born in Oswestry, Shropshire, England, to Welsh parents. His family lived in the nearby village of St Martin's.

Amateur career

Woosnam started playing at the Llanymynech Golf Club, which straddles the Wales-England border. He is short for a male golfer at 1.64m (5ft4+1⁄2in), but he is a powerful hitter. He played as an amateur in regional competitions in the English county of Shropshire alongside Sandy Lyle.

Professional career

In 1976, Woosnam turned professional. Three years later, in 1979, he first played the European Tour. Woosnam spent his early years on tour driving around the continent in a camper van, living on a diet of baked beans to save money. After three modest seasons, his career took off in 1982 when he won the Swiss Open and came eighth on the Order of Merit. It was the first of ten consecutive years where Woosnam finished in the top ten of the Order of Merit. In addition, he led the Order of Merit in 1987 and 1990; in the former year he set a world record for global tournament earnings of £1,062,662. He has won 29 official money events on the European Tour and many other events around the world.

Woosnam placed third in the 1986 Open Championship. In 1987, Woosnam was criticised by anti-apartheid campaigners for playing a tournament in Sun City in apartheid South Africa, in contravention of the United Nations cultural moratorium.

In 1991, he reached the top of the Official World Golf Ranking, eventually spending a total of 50 weeks as World Number 1 (7 April 1991 – 21 March 1992). In the same year, he emulated his British rivals, Sandy Lyle and Nick Faldo, by winning the Masters Tournament; the first person representing Wales to ever win a major championship.

After winning the Torras Monte Carlo Golf Open in 1991, Woosnam had a decline in form in the second half of the year and said that he was suffering from exhaustion after playing in too many tournaments across the world. In December 1991, his sterling silver Masters trophy, a $9,000 copy of the original, was stolen from a British train.

Woosnam's last official European Tour victory was in the 1997 Volvo PGA Championship. In the late 1990s, his form began to fade, but he nearly made a spectacular comeback at The Open Championship in 2001, when he finished third despite suffering a two-stroke penalty for starting the final round with 15 clubs in his bag instead of the allowable maximum of 14. While his caddie, Miles Byrne, was responsible for this error, Woosnam decided not to dismiss him, but did fire him two weeks later when, after a night drinking, Byrne failed to turn up to tee-time.

Later in 2001, at the age of 43, Woosnam became the oldest player to win the World Match Play Championship (not an official European Tour event at the time) when he beat Pádraig Harrington 2 & 1 in the final. Woosnam also became the first player to win the event in three different decades, having previously won in 1987 and 1990. Woosnam had a record outward nine holes of 28 (-7) in the 2001 final against Harrington, which tied the tournament record of seven successive birdies in a match.

Woosnam was a member of eight consecutive European Ryder Cup teams from 1983 to 1997. Despite not winning a singles match he accumulated an overall record of 14 wins, 12 losses and 5 halves in 31 matches. He was a vice captain for the 2002 European team and was elected as captain for the 2006 Ryder Cup, leading Europe to victory over the U.S. 18½–9½ at the K Club, County Kildare, Ireland.

On 1 June 2008, Woosnam won his first stroke play title in 11 years at the Parkridge Polish Seniors Championship at Kraków Valley Golf and Country Club, finishing with a course record 63. The tournament was his third appearance on European Seniors Tour, which he joined after turning 50 years old in March 2008. Woosnam went on to win the European Seniors Tour Order of Merit that year becoming the only person to have won the Order of Merit on both the European Seniors Tour and the regular European Tour.

Awards and honours

• In 1987, Woosnam won BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year awards. He won the award again in 1990 and 1991.
• Woosnam was awarded an OBE at the 2007 New Years Honours List.
• In September 2010, he was inducted to the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame.
• In 2017, Woosnam was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Personal life

In 1983, Woosnam married Glendryth. They have three children.

In 1987, Woosnam was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). In 1993, Woosnam was charged with a DUI in Shropshire, England. According to the police, he was charged "after crashing his luxury car."

Professional wins (52)

PGA Tour wins (2)

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

European Tour wins (29)

1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia

European Tour playoff record (3–5)

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

Korean Tour wins (1)

Korean Tour playoff record (1–0)

Safari Circuit wins (2)

Other wins (11)

Other playoff record (1–2)

Champions Tour wins (1)

Champions Tour playoff record (1–0)

European Senior Tour wins (5)

European Senior Tour playoff record (1–1)

Japan PGA Senior Tour wins (1)

Major championships

Wins (1)

Results timeline

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

CUT = missed the half way cut (3rd round cut in 1982 and 1984 Open Championships) WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 15 (1989 Masters – 1992 Open Championship)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1992 U.S. Open – 1992 Open Championship)

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied

Results in senior major championships

Results are not in chronological order.

CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Team appearances

• World Cup (representing Wales): 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987 (team and individual winner), 1990, 1991 (individual winner), 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003
• Hennessy Cognac Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1982 (winners), (representing Wales) 1984
• Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1983, 1985 (winners), 1987 (winners), 1989 (tied – cup retained), 1991, 1993, 1995 (winners), 1997 (winners), 2006 (winners, non-playing captain)
• Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Wales): 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2000
• Four Tours World Championship (representing Europe): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990
• Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2000, 2002 (winners)
• UBS Cup (representing the Rest of the World): 2001, 2002, 2003 (tie), 2004
• Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2006 (winners)

See also

• List of golfers with most European Tour wins
• List of golfers with most European Senior Tour wins

Notes

External links

• at theEuropean Tourofficial site
• at thePGA Tourofficial site
• at theOfficial World Golf Rankingofficial site