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Ian Woosnam

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Ian Woosnam
OBE
Woosnam in 2009
Personal information
Full nameIan Harold Woosnam
NicknameWoosie
Born (1958-03-02) 2 March 1958 (age 66)
Oswestry, England
Height1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight168 lb (76 kg; 12.0 st)
Sporting nationality Wales
ResidenceJersey
Spouse
Glendryth
​
(m. 1983)​
Children3
Career
Turned professional1976
Current tour(s)European Senior Tour
Former tour(s)European Tour
PGA Tour Champions
Professional wins52
Highest ranking1 (7 April 1991)[1]
(50 weeks)
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
European Tour29 (6th-all-time)
PGA Tour of Australasia2
PGA Tour Champions1
European Senior Tour5
Other16
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters TournamentWon: 1991
PGA Championship6th: 1989
U.S. OpenT2: 1989
The Open ChampionshipT3: 1986, 2001
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame2017 (member page)
European Tour
Order of Merit winner		1987, 1990
European Tour
Golfer of the Year		1987
European Seniors Tour
Order of Merit winner		2008
European Seniors Tour
Rookie of the Year		2008

Ian Harold Woosnam OBE (born 2 March 1958) is a Welsh professional golfer. Nicknamed "Woosie", Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, all of whom have 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.[2] Woosnam's major championship win was at the 1991 Masters Tournament. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.[3]

Early life

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Woosnam was born in the town of Oswestry, Shropshire in England, and his family lived in the nearby village of St Martin's in Shropshire.

Amateur career

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Woosnam started playing at the unique Llanymynech Golf Club, which straddles the Wales-England border.[4] He is short for a male golfer at 1.64 m (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in), 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

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Woosnam turned professional in 1976 and first played the European Tour in 1979. 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.[5] 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. He has won 28 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 antiapartheid campaigners for playing a tournament in Sun City in apartheid South Africa, in contravention of the United Nations cultural moratorium.[6]

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.[7][8]

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.[9]

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 at the time not to dismiss him stating: "It is the biggest mistake he will make in his life. He won't do it again. He's a good caddie. I am not going to sack him. He's a good lad."[10] Woosnam did dismiss his caddie two weeks later when, after a night drinking on the town, Byrne failed to turn up to tee-time.[11]

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 capture the trophy in three different decades, having previously won the World Match Play Championship in 1987 and 1990.[5] 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.[12]

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.[13] 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.

Honours

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Personal life

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Woosnam was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in early 1987.[17]

Professional wins (52)

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PGA Tour wins (2)

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Legend
Major championships (1)
Other PGA Tour (1)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 24 Mar 1991 USF&G Classic −13 (73-67-68-67=275) Playoff United States Jim Hallet
2 14 Apr 1991 Masters Tournament −11 (72-66-67-72=277) 1 stroke Spain José María Olazábal

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1991 USF&G Classic United States Jim Hallet Won with par on second extra hole

European Tour wins (29)

[edit]
Legend
Major championships (1)
Flagship events (1)
Other European Tour (27)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 29 Aug 1982 Ebel Swiss Open −16 (68-68-66-70=272) Playoff Scotland Bill Longmuir
2 5 Jun 1983 Silk Cut Masters −15 (68-69-67-65=269) 3 strokes Scotland Bernard Gallacher
3 8 Jul 1984 Scandinavian Enterprise Open −4 (71-70-69-70=280) 3 strokes United States Peter Teravainen
4 21 Sep 1986 Lawrence Batley International T.P.C. −11 (71-71-66-69=277) 7 strokes Scotland Ken Brown, Spain José María Cañizares
5 12 Apr 1987 Jersey Open −9 (68-67-72-72=279) 1 stroke United States Bill Malley
6 26 Apr 1987 Cepsa Madrid Open −19 (67-67-69-66=269) 3 strokes Australia Wayne Grady
7 11 Jul 1987 Bell's Scottish Open −20 (65-65-66-68=264) 7 strokes Australia Peter Senior
8 20 Sep 1987 Trophée Lancôme −24 (65-64-69-66=264) 2 strokes Zimbabwe Mark McNulty
9 30 May 1988 Volvo PGA Championship −14 (67-70-70-67=274) 2 strokes Spain Seve Ballesteros, England Mark James
10 21 Aug 1988 Carroll's Irish Open −10 (68-70-70-70=278) 7 strokes Spain Seve Ballesteros, England Nick Faldo,
Spain Manuel Piñero, Republic of Ireland Des Smyth
11 11 Sep 1988 Panasonic European Open −20 (65-66-64-65=260) 3 strokes England Nick Faldo
12 25 Jun 1989 Carroll's Irish Open (2) −10 (70-67-71-70=278) Playoff Republic of Ireland Philip Walton
13 4 Mar 1990 Amex Med Open −6 (68-68-74=210)* 2 strokes Spain Miguel Ángel Martín, Argentina Eduardo Romero
14 7 Jul 1990 Torras Monte Carlo Open −18 (66-67-65-60=258) 5 strokes Italy Costantino Rocca
15 14 Jul 1990 Bell's Scottish Open (2) −15 (72-62-67-68=269) 4 strokes Zimbabwe Mark McNulty
16 30 Sep 1990 Epson Grand Prix of Europe −13 (65-67-67-72=271) 3 strokes Zimbabwe Mark McNulty, Spain José María Olazábal
17 3 Mar 1991 Fujitsu Mediterranean Open (2) −5 (70-71-71-67=279) 1 stroke England Michael McLean
18 14 Apr 1991 Masters Tournament −11 (72-66-67-72=277) 1 stroke Spain José María Olazábal
19 6 Jul 1991 Torras Monte Carlo Open (2) −15 (67-66-61-67=261) 4 strokes Sweden Anders Forsbrand
20 4 Jul 1992 The European Newspaper Monte Carlo Open (3) −15 (66-65-66-64=261) 2 strokes Zimbabwe Mark McNulty, Sweden Johan Ryström
21 22 Aug 1993 Murphy's English Open −19 (71-67-65-66=269) 2 strokes Italy Costantino Rocca
22 19 Sep 1993 Trophée Lancôme (2) −13 (64-70-68-65=267) 2 strokes Scotland Sam Torrance
23 1 May 1994 Air France Cannes Open −17 (72-70-63-66=271) 5 strokes Scotland Colin Montgomerie
24 18 Sep 1994 Dunhill British Masters (2) −17 (71-70-63-67=271) 4 strokes Spain Seve Ballesteros
25 28 Jan 1996 Johnnie Walker Classic1 −16 (69-68-69-66=272) Playoff Scotland Andrew Coltart
26 4 Feb 1996 Heineken Classic1 −11 (69-71-65-72=277) 1 stroke Republic of Ireland Paul McGinley, France Jean van de Velde
27 13 Jul 1996 Scottish Open (3) +1 (70-74-70-75=289) 4 strokes Scotland Andrew Coltart
28 25 Aug 1996 Volvo German Open −20 (64-64-65=193)* 6 strokes Germany Thomas Gögele, Sweden Robert Karlsson,
England Iain Pyman, Spain Fernando Roca
29 26 May 1997 Volvo PGA Championship (2) −13 (67-68-70-70=275) 2 strokes Northern Ireland Darren Clarke, South Africa Ernie Els,
England Nick Faldo

*Note: Tournament shortened to 54 holes due to rain.
1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia

European Tour playoff record (3–5)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1982 Ebel European Masters Swiss Open Scotland Bill Longmuir Won with par on third extra hole
2 1987 Suze Open Spain Seve Ballesteros Lost to par on first extra hole
3 1989 Wang Four Stars Australia Craig Parry Lost to birdie on first extra hole
4 1989 Carroll's Irish Open Republic of Ireland Philip Walton Won with birdie on second extra hole
5 1993 Honda Open England Paul Broadhurst, Sweden Johan Ryström,
Scotland Sam Torrance 		Torrance won with birdie on first extra hole
6 1996 Johnnie Walker Classic Scotland Andrew Coltart Won with birdie on third extra hole
7 1997 Dubai Desert Classic Australia Richard Green, Australia Greg Norman Green won with birdie on first extra hole
8 1999 Linde German Masters Spain Sergio García, Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington García won with birdie on second extra hole
Woosnam eliminated by par on first hole

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 1 Mar 1987 United Airlines Hong Kong Open −9 (70-71-65-69=275) 4 strokes Northern Ireland David Feherty, Scotland Sam Torrance

Korean Tour wins (1)

[edit]
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 1 Jun 1997 Hyundai Motor Masters −8 (71-74-67-68=280) Playoff Scotland Sandy Lyle

Korean Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1997 Hyundai Motor Masters Scotland Sandy Lyle Won with birdie on second extra hole

Safari Circuit wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 24 Mar 1985 Zambia Open −10 (71-72-69-70=282) 2 strokes England Gordon J. Brand, Scotland Brian Marchbank
2 9 Mar 1986 555 Kenya Open −11 (70-64-67-72=273) Playoff Scotland Bill Longmuir

Other wins (11)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 18 Aug 1979 News of the World Under-23 Match Play Championship 4 and 3 England John Hay
2 31 Oct 1982 Cacharel World Under-25 Championship +2 (71-69-74-76=290) 5 strokes England Keith Waters
3 18 Oct 1987 Suntory World Match Play Championship 1 up Scotland Sandy Lyle
4 21 Nov 1987 World Cup
(with Wales David Llewellyn) 		−2 (143-145-138-148=574) Playoff  Scotland − Sandy Lyle and Sam Torrance
5 21 Nov 1987 World Cup Individual Trophy −14 (67-70-65-72=274) 5 strokes Scotland Sandy Lyle
6 6 Dec 1987 Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge −14 (67-71-68-68=274) 4 strokes England Nick Faldo
7 1988 Welsh National PGA Championship −3 (137)
8 23 Sep 1990 Suntory World Match Play Championship (2) 4 and 2 Zimbabwe Mark McNulty
9 3 Nov 1991 World Cup Individual Trophy (2) −15 (70-69-67-67=273) 3 strokes Germany Bernhard Langer
10 13 Nov 1991 PGA Grand Slam of Golf −9 (69-66=135) 4 strokes Australia Ian Baker-Finch
11 14 Oct 2001 Cisco World Match Play Championship (3) 2 and 1 Republic of Ireland Pádraig Harrington

Other playoff record (1–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1987 World Cup
(with Wales David Llewellyn) 		 Scotland − Sandy Lyle and Sam Torrance Won with par on second extra hole
2 1992 World Cup Individual Trophy Australia Brett Ogle Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3 1996 Johnnie Walker Super Tour South Africa Ernie Els Lost to par on first extra hole

Champions Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 3 May 2015 Insperity Invitational −11 (71-66-68=205) Playoff United States Tom Lehman, United States Kenny Perry

Champions Tour playoff record (1–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2015 Insperity Invitational United States Tom Lehman, United States Kenny Perry Won with birdie on first extra hole

European Senior Tour wins (5)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 1 Jun 2008 Parkridge Polish Seniors Championship −14 (71-68-63=202) 1 stroke Spain Domingo Hospital
2 6 Jul 2008 Russian Seniors Open −12 (67-67-70=204) 3 strokes Paraguay Ángel Franco
3 7 Jun 2009 Irish Seniors Open −2 (74-70-67=211) Playoff United States Bob Boyd
4 19 Jun 2011 Berenberg Bank Masters −9 (71-70-66=207) 2 strokes Chile Ángel Fernández
5 12 Oct 2014 Dutch Senior Open −11 (71-69-68=208) 5 strokes England Philip Golding, England David J. Russell,
England George Ryall

European Senior Tour playoff record (1–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 2009 Irish Seniors Open United States Bob Boyd Won with birdie on third extra hole
2 2016 Acorn Jersey Open Austria Gordon Manson, England Gary Wolstenholme Manson won with birdie on third extra hole

Japan PGA Senior Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 15 Nov 2009 PGA Handa Cup Philanthropy Senior Tournament −4 (75-70-68-71=284) 3 strokes Japan Gohei Sato

Major championships

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Wins (1)

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Year Championship 54 holes Winning score Margin Runner-up
1991 Masters Tournament 1 shot lead −11 (72-66-67-72=277) 1 stroke Spain José María Olazábal

Results timeline

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Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Masters Tournament CUT T14
U.S. Open T2
The Open Championship CUT CUT CUT T16 T3 T8 T25 T49
PGA Championship 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
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 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament T40 CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT 44 CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship T68 T3 T37 T72 CUT
PGA Championship CUT T51 CUT CUT
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT
U.S. Open
The Open Championship
PGA Championship
Tournament 2019 2020 2021
Masters Tournament CUT CUT
PGA Championship
U.S. Open
The Open Championship NT
  Win
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

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Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 1 0 0 1 1 7 32 13
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 2 3 18 9
U.S. Open 0 1 0 1 2 4 10 7
The Open Championship 0 0 2 4 5 10 23 17
Totals 1 1 2 6 10 24 83 46
  • 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

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Tournament 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
The Players Championship CUT T15 CUT T39 CUT T23 CUT WD WD CUT T66 T70
  Did not play

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

Results in World Golf Championships

[edit]
Tournament 1999 2000
Match Play R64
Championship
Invitational T33
  Did not play

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

Results in senior major championships

[edit]

Results are not in chronological order.

Tournament 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
The Tradition T43 T52 T57 T56 T12 NT WD
Senior PGA Championship T16 T37 T59 CUT CUT T63 NT
U.S. Senior Open T23 T22 4 T37 NT
Senior Players Championship T41
The Senior Open Championship T13 T19 T8 T16 T10 CUT 75 T44 T45 WD T36 NT T24 T29 CUT CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

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

Team appearances

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Week 14 1991 Ending 7 Apr 1991" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  2. ^ Reason, Mark (25 May 2003). "In the footsteps of the famous five". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  3. ^ "Love III gets Hall of Fame call: Woosnam, Mallon, Ochoa, Longhurst also included in Class of 2017". PGA Tour. 18 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Ian Woosnam". BBC Wales. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  5. ^ a b "Ian Woosnam – captain". BBC Sport. 18 September 2006.
  6. ^ Ostler, Scott (7 December 1987). "There's a Price Paid for 'Guilt Premium' Offered by South Africa". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ^ Diaz, Jamie (15 April 1991). "Golf; Woosnam Wins on 18th Green". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Garrity, John (22 April 1991). "Fight to the finish". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014.
  9. ^ "Woosnam to take it easy next year". New Straits Times. 27 December 1991. p. 44 – via Google News.
  10. ^ Caruso, David; Salovey, Peter (2004). The Emotionally Intelligent Manager. Jossey-Bass Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7879-7071-0.
  11. ^ "Woosnam fires caddie". CBC Sports Golf. 5 August 2001. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  12. ^ "Volvo World Match Play Championship Facts and Figures". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  13. ^ "Woosnam celebrates Polish victory". BBC Sport. 1 June 2008. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  14. ^ "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners". BBC Sport. 8 December 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  15. ^ Carey, Paul (30 December 2006). "Golf: Woosie ends year with OBE". Western Mail (Wales). Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  16. ^ "Inductees to Roll of Honour". Welsh Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011.
  17. ^ Casey, Phil (29 July 2006). "New treatment puts Woosnam back in title hunt". The Independent. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
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