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Ian Woosnam

Welsh professional golfer (born 1958)

Field	Value
name	Ian Woosnam
OBE
image	Ian Woosnam at Royal Troon cropped.jpg
caption	Woosnam in 2009
fullname	Ian Harold Woosnam
nickname	Woosie
birth_date
birth_place	Oswestry, England
death_date
height	1.63m
weight	168 lb
nationality
residence	Jersey
spouse
children	3
yearpro	1976
tour	European Senior Tour
extour	European Tour
PGA Tour Champions
prowins	52
pgawins	2
eurowins	29 (6th-all-time)
auswins	2
champwins	1
seneurowins	5
otherwins	16
majorwins	1
masters	Won: 1991
usopen	T2: 1989
open	T3: 1986, 2001
pga	6th: 1989
wghofid	ian-woosnam
wghofyear	2017
award1	European Tour
Order of Merit winner
year1	1987, 1990
award2	European Tour
Golfer of the Year
year2	1987
award3	European Seniors Tour
Order of Merit winner
year3	2008
award4	European Seniors Tour
Rookie of the Year
year4	2008
awardssection
module	{{Infobox person	embed=yes
signature	Ian_Woosnam_signature.jpg

OBE PGA Tour Champions Order of Merit winner](harry-vardon-trophy-winners) Golfer of the Year](european-tour-golfer-of-the-year) Order of Merit winner](european-seniors-tour-order-of-merit-winners) Rookie of the Year](european-seniors-tour-rookie-of-the-year) Ian Harold Woosnam (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. Woosnam's major championship win was at the 1991 Masters Tournament. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2017.

Early life

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

Woosnam started playing at the Llanymynech Golf Club, which straddles the Wales-England border. He is short for a male golfer at , 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

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. 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 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 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." Woosnam did dismiss his caddie two weeks later when, after a night drinking on the town, 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 capture the trophy in three different decades, having previously won the World Match Play Championship 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.

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 in the 2007 New Years Honours List.
In September 2010, he was inducted to the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame.

Personal life

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

Professional wins (52)

PGA Tour wins (2)

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	USA Jim Hallet
2	14 Apr 1991	Masters Tournament	−11 (72-66-67-72=277)	1 stroke	ESP José María Olazábal

PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)

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

European Tour wins (29)

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	SCO Bill Longmuir
2	5 Jun 1983	Silk Cut Masters	−15 (68-69-67-65=269)	3 strokes	SCO Bernard Gallacher
3	8 Jul 1984	Scandinavian Enterprise Open	−4 (71-70-69-70=280)	3 strokes	USA Peter Teravainen
4	21 Sep 1986	Lawrence Batley International T.P.C.	−11 (71-71-66-69=277)	7 strokes	SCO Ken Brown, ESP José María Cañizares
5	12 Apr 1987	Jersey Open	−9 (68-67-72-72=279)	1 stroke	USA Bill Malley
6	26 Apr 1987	Cepsa Madrid Open	−19 (67-67-69-66=269)	3 strokes	AUS Wayne Grady
7	11 Jul 1987	Bell's Scottish Open	−20 (65-65-66-68=264)	7 strokes	AUS Peter Senior
8	20 Sep 1987	Trophée Lancôme	−24 (65-64-69-66=264)	2 strokes	ZWE Mark McNulty
9	30 May 1988	Volvo PGA Championship	−14 (67-70-70-67=274)	2 strokes	ESP Seve Ballesteros, ENG Mark James
10	21 Aug 1988	Carroll's Irish Open	−10 (68-70-70-70=278)	7 strokes	ESP Seve Ballesteros, ENG Nick Faldo,
ESP Manuel Piñero, IRL Des Smyth
11	11 Sep 1988	Panasonic European Open	−20 (65-66-64-65=260)	3 strokes	ENG Nick Faldo
12	25 Jun 1989	Carroll's Irish Open (2)	−10 (70-67-71-70=278)	Playoff	IRL Philip Walton
13	4 Mar 1990	Amex Med Open	name=weather	Shortened to 54 holes due to weather.}}	2 strokes	ESP Miguel Ángel Martín, ARG Eduardo Romero
14	7 Jul 1990	Torras Monte Carlo Open	−18 (66-67-65-60=258)	5 strokes	ITA Costantino Rocca
15	14 Jul 1990	Bell's Scottish Open (2)	−15 (72-62-67-68=269)	4 strokes	ZWE Mark McNulty
16	30 Sep 1990	Epson Grand Prix of Europe	−13 (65-67-67-72=271)	3 strokes	ZWE Mark McNulty, ESP José María Olazábal
17	3 Mar 1991	Fujitsu Mediterranean Open (2)	−5 (70-71-71-67=279)	1 stroke	ENG Michael McLean
18	14 Apr 1991	Masters Tournament	−11 (72-66-67-72=277)	1 stroke	ESP José María Olazábal
19	6 Jul 1991	Torras Monte Carlo Open (2)	−15 (67-66-61-67=261)	4 strokes	SWE Anders Forsbrand
20	4 Jul 1992	The European Newspaper Monte Carlo Open (3)	−15 (66-65-66-64=261)	2 strokes	ZWE Mark McNulty, SWE Johan Ryström
21	22 Aug 1993	Murphy's English Open	−19 (71-67-65-66=269)	2 strokes	ITA Costantino Rocca
22	19 Sep 1993	Trophée Lancôme (2)	−13 (64-70-68-65=267)	2 strokes	SCO Sam Torrance
23	1 May 1994	Air France Cannes Open	−17 (72-70-63-66=271)	5 strokes	SCO Colin Montgomerie
24	18 Sep 1994	Dunhill British Masters (2)	−17 (71-70-63-67=271)	4 strokes	ESP Seve Ballesteros
25	28 Jan 1996	Johnnie Walker Classic1	−16 (69-68-69-66=272)	Playoff	SCO Andrew Coltart
26	4 Feb 1996	Heineken Classic1	−11 (69-71-65-72=277)	1 stroke	IRL Paul McGinley, FRA Jean van de Velde
27	13 Jul 1996	Scottish Open (3)	+1 (70-74-70-75=289)	4 strokes	SCO Andrew Coltart
28	25 Aug 1996	Volvo German Open	name=weather}}	6 strokes	DEU Thomas Gögele, SWE Robert Karlsson,
ENG Iain Pyman, ESP Fernando Roca
29	26 May 1997	Volvo PGA Championship (2)	−13 (67-68-70-70=275)	2 strokes	NIR Darren Clarke, RSA Ernie Els,
ENG Nick Faldo

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	SCO Bill Longmuir	Won with par on third extra hole
2	1987	Suze Open	ESP Seve Ballesteros	Lost to par on first extra hole
3	1989	Wang Four Stars	AUS Craig Parry	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
4	1989	Carroll's Irish Open	IRL Philip Walton	Won with birdie on second extra hole
5	1993	Honda Open	ENG Paul Broadhurst, SWE Johan Ryström,
SCO Sam Torrance	Torrance won with birdie on first extra hole
6	1996	Johnnie Walker Classic	SCO Andrew Coltart	Won with birdie on third extra hole
7	1997	Dubai Desert Classic	AUS Richard Green, AUS Greg Norman	Green won with birdie on first extra hole
8	1999	Linde German Masters	ESP Sergio García, IRL Pádraig Harrington	García won with birdie on second extra hole
Woosnam eliminated by par on first hole

Asia Golf Circuit wins (1)

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	NIR David Feherty, SCO Sam Torrance

Korean Tour wins (1)

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

Korean Tour playoff record (1–0)

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

Safari Circuit wins (2)

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	ENG Gordon J. Brand, SCO Brian Marchbank
2	9 Mar 1986	555 Kenya Open	−11 (70-64-67-72=273)	Playoff	SCO Bill Longmuir

Other wins (11)

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	ENG John Hay
2	31 Oct 1982	Cacharel World Under-25 Championship	+2 (71-69-74-76=290)	5 strokes	ENG Keith Waters
3	18 Oct 1987	Suntory World Match Play Championship	1 up	SCO Sandy Lyle
4	21 Nov 1987	World Cup
(with WAL David Llewellyn)	−2 (143-145-138-148=574)	Playoff	− Sandy Lyle and Sam Torrance
5	21 Nov 1987	World Cup Individual Trophy	−14 (67-70-65-72=274)	5 strokes	SCO Sandy Lyle
6	6 Dec 1987	Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge	−14 (67-71-68-68=274)	4 strokes	ENG Nick Faldo
7	1988	Welsh National PGA Championship	−3 (137)
8	23 Sep 1990	Suntory World Match Play Championship (2)	4 and 2	ZIM Mark McNulty
9	3 Nov 1991	World Cup Individual Trophy (2)	−15 (70-69-67-67=273)	3 strokes	GER Bernhard Langer
10	13 Nov 1991	PGA Grand Slam of Golf	−9 (69-66=135)	4 strokes	AUS Ian Baker-Finch
11	14 Oct 2001	Cisco World Match Play Championship (3)	2 and 1	IRL Pádraig Harrington

Other playoff record (1–2)

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

Champions Tour wins (1)

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

Champions Tour playoff record (1–0)

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

European Senior Tour wins (5)

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	ESP Domingo Hospital
2	6 Jul 2008	Russian Seniors Open	−12 (67-67-70=204)	3 strokes	PAR Ángel Franco
3	7 Jun 2009	Irish Seniors Open	−2 (74-70-67=211)	Playoff	USA Bob Boyd
4	19 Jun 2011	Berenberg Bank Masters	−9 (71-70-66=207)	2 strokes	CHI Ángel Fernández
5	12 Oct 2014	Dutch Senior Open	−11 (71-69-68=208)	5 strokes	ENG Philip Golding, ENG David J. Russell,
ENG George Ryall

European Senior Tour playoff record (1–1)

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

Japan PGA Senior Tour wins (1)

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	JPN Gohei Sato

Major championships

Wins (1)

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

Results timeline

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	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

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

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

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

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

CUT = missed the halfway cut

WD = withdrew

"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament	1999	2000
Match Play	R64
Championship
Invitational		T33

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.

Tournament	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
The Tradition							T43	T52	T57	T56	T12	NT	WD
Senior PGA Championship	T16	T37				T59	CUT	CUT	T63			NT
Senior Players Championship									T41
U.S. Senior Open	T23	T22						4	T37			NT
The Senior Open Championship	T13	T19	T8	T16	T10	CUT	75	T44	T45	WD	T36	NT	T24	T29	CUT	CUT	T70

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)

Notes

References

Reason, Mark. (25 May 2003). "In the footsteps of the famous five". The Daily Telegraph.
Babineau, Jeff. (2017-09-27). "Mallon, Woosnam, Love, Ochoa, Longhurst enter World Golf Hall of Fame".
"Ian Woosnam". BBC Wales.
(18 September 2006). "Ian Woosnam – captain". BBC Sport.
(2021-02-08). "115th Open Turnberry 1986".
Ostler, Scott. (7 December 1987). "There's a Price Paid for 'Guilt Premium' Offered by South Africa". Los Angeles Times.
Diaz, Jamie. (15 April 1991). "Golf; Woosnam Wins on 18th Green". The New York Times.
Garrity, John. (22 April 1991). "Fight to the finish".
(27 December 1991). "Woosnam to take it easy next year". New Straits Times.
(2004). "The Emotionally Intelligent Manager". Jossey-Bass Publishing.
(5 August 2001). "Woosnam fires caddie". CBC Sports Golf.
"Volvo World Match Play Championship Facts and Figures". PGA European Tour.
(1 June 2008). "Woosnam celebrates Polish victory". BBC Sport.
(8 December 2008). "BBC Wales Sport Personality winners". BBC Sport.
Carey, Paul. (30 December 2006). "Golf: Woosie ends year with OBE". Western Mail (Wales).
"Inductees to Roll of Honour". Welsh Sports Hall of Fame.
Casey, Phil. (29 July 2006). "New treatment puts Woosnam back in title hunt". The Independent.

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