Ian Woosnam

Ian Woosnam (March 2, 1958, Oswestry, England) is a British golf player who represents Wales. Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within a couple of years 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.

Career outline

Woosnam is short for a male golfer at 5 ft 4 1/2in (1.64m), 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 PGA 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. 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.

Related Topics:
English - Shropshire - 1976 - PGA European Tour - Swiss Open

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Woosnam was 3rd in the 1986 British Open. 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 twenty eight official money events on the European Tour and many other events around the world.

Related Topics:
1986 - British Open - 1991 - Official World Golf Rankings - Nick Faldo - Masters - Major

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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 three despite suffering a two stroke penalty for starting the final round with fifteen clubs in his bag. He fired his caddie for this mistake. That same year Woosnam became the first player to capture the Wentworth World Match Play Championship in three decades.

Related Topics:
The Open Championship - World Match Play Championship

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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 has been elected as captain for 2006. This will be a one-off assignment in the first instance, as Nick Faldo was elected for 2008 at the same time.

Related Topics:
Ryder Cup - 2002 - 2006 - Nick Faldo - 2008

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

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