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Ian Woosnam

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Image:Woosnam 2003 edition.jpg Ian Harold Woosnam (born March 2, 1958) is a British golfer who represents Wales. He was born in the town of Oswestry in England, and his family lived in the nearby village of St Martins in Shropshire. He started playing at the unique Llanymynech Golf Club - which is partly in Wales and partly in England. Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, who all won majors, and made Europe competitive in the Ryder Cup. His peers in this group were Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle. He now lives in Jersey.

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[edit] Career outline

Woosnam is short for a male golfer at 5 ft 4½ in (1.64 m), but he is a powerful hitter. He played as an amateur in regional competitions in the English county of Shropshire alongside Sandy Lyle. Woosnam turned professional in 1976 and first played the European Tour in 1979. After three modest seasons his career took off in 1982 when he won the Swiss Open and came eighth on the Order of Merit (prize money list). He also finished in the top ten on the Order of Merit every year from 1983 to 1991 and again in 1993, 1996, and 1997, making thirteen times in all. In 1987 and 1990 he was first, and in the former year he set a world record for global tournament earnings of £1,062,662.

Woosnam was 3rd in the 1986 Open Championship. In 1991, he reached the top of the Official World Golf Rankings, eventually spending a total of 50 weeks as World Number 1. In the same year he emulated his British rivals, Sandy Lyle and Nick Faldo, by winning the US Masters; the first person representing Wales to ever win a major. He has won 28 official money events on the European Tour and many other events around the world.

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. He fired his caddie two weeks later when, after a night drinking on the town, he failed to turn up. That same year Woosnam became the first player to capture the Wentworth World Match Play Championship in three decades.

Woosnam was a member of eight consecutive European Ryder Cup teams from 1983 to 1997. Despite not winning a singles match he accumulated an excellent 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 by thrashing U.S.A. 18½-9½. This will be a one-off assignment as Nick Faldo was elected for 2008 at the same time.

Woosnam was awarded an O.B.E. in 1992.

[edit] European Tour wins

The Masters didn't count as a European Tour event in 1991. Note that the list of Woosnam's European Tour wins on the European Tour's official site includes several items which are not individual wins in official tournaments.

[edit] Other wins

[edit] Results in major championships

Tournament 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP CUT T14
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T2
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T16 T3 T8 T25 T49
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP T30 CUT WD 6
Tournament 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament T30 1 T19 T17 T46 T17 T29 T39 T16 T14
U.S. Open T21 T55 T6 T52 CUT T21 T79 CUT CUT DNP
The Open Championship T4 T17 T5 T51 CUT T49 CUT T24 T57 T24
PGA Championship T31 T48 CUT T22 T9 CUT T36 CUT T29 CUT
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Masters Tournament T40 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship T68 T3 T37 72 DNP CUT DNP
PGA Championship CUT T51 CUT DNP CUT DNP DNP

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

[edit] Team appearances

  • World Cup (Wales): 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987 (team and individual winner), 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003.
  • Hennessy Cognac Cup: 1982 (winner), 1984
  • Ryder Cup: 1983, 1985 (winner), 1987 (winner), 1989 (tied - cup retained), 1991, 1993, 1995 (winner), 1997 (winner). Vice Captain 2002 (winner), Captain 2006 (winner).
  • Alfred Dunhill Cup (Wales): 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2000
  • Four Tours World Championship: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990
  • Seve Trophy: (Great Britain & Ireland): 2000, 2002 (winner)
  • UBS Cup: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


Official World Golf Rankings | World No. 1's in Men's Golf
Severiano Ballesteros | Fred Couples | David Duval | Ernie Els | Nick Faldo | Bernhard Langer | Tom Lehman | Greg Norman | Nick Price | Vijay Singh | Tiger Woods | Ian Woosnam
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