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 into 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 1.64 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
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)
| 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 | Jim Hallet |
| 2 | 14 Apr 1991 | Masters Tournament | −11 (72-66-67-72=277) | 1 stroke | José María Olazábal |
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1991 | USF&G Classic | 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 | Bill Longmuir |
| 2 | 5 Jun 1983 | Silk Cut Masters | −15 (68-69-67-65=269) | 3 strokes | Bernard Gallacher |
| 3 | 8 Jul 1984 | Scandinavian Enterprise Open | −4 (71-70-69-70=280) | 3 strokes | Peter Teravainen |
| 4 | 21 Sep 1986 | Lawrence Batley International T.P.C. | −11 (71-71-66-69=277) | 7 strokes | Ken Brown, José María Cañizares |
| 5 | 12 Apr 1987 | Jersey Open | −9 (68-67-72-72=279) | 1 stroke | Bill Malley |
| 6 | 26 Apr 1987 | Cepsa Madrid Open | −19 (67-67-69-66=269) | 3 strokes | Wayne Grady |
| 7 | 11 Jul 1987 | Bell's Scottish Open | −20 (65-65-66-68=264) | 7 strokes | Peter Senior |
| 8 | 20 Sep 1987 | Trophée Lancôme | −24 (65-64-69-66=264) | 2 strokes | Mark McNulty |
| 9 | 30 May 1988 | Volvo PGA Championship | −14 (67-70-70-67=274) | 2 strokes | Seve Ballesteros, Mark James |
| 10 | 21 Aug 1988 | Carroll's Irish Open | −10 (68-70-70-70=278) | 7 strokes | Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Manuel Piñero, Des Smyth |
| 11 | 11 Sep 1988 | Panasonic European Open | −20 (65-66-64-65=260) | 3 strokes | Nick Faldo |
| 12 | 25 Jun 1989 | Carroll's Irish Open (2) | −10 (70-67-71-70=278) | Playoff | Philip Walton |
| 13 | 4 Mar 1990 | Amex Med Open | −6 (68-68-74=210) | 2 strokes | Miguel Ángel Martín, Eduardo Romero |
| 14 | 7 Jul 1990 | Torras Monte Carlo Open | −18 (66-67-65-60=258) | 5 strokes | Costantino Rocca |
| 15 | 14 Jul 1990 | Bell's Scottish Open (2) | −15 (72-62-67-68=269) | 4 strokes | Mark McNulty |
| 16 | 30 Sep 1990 | Epson Grand Prix of Europe | −13 (65-67-67-72=271) | 3 strokes | Mark McNulty, José María Olazábal |
| 17 | 3 Mar 1991 | Fujitsu Mediterranean Open (2) | −5 (70-71-71-67=279) | 1 stroke | Michael McLean |
| 18 | 14 Apr 1991 | Masters Tournament | −11 (72-66-67-72=277) | 1 stroke | José María Olazábal |
| 19 | 6 Jul 1991 | Torras Monte Carlo Open (2) | −15 (67-66-61-67=261) | 4 strokes | Anders Forsbrand |
| 20 | 4 Jul 1992 | The European Newspaper Monte Carlo Open (3) | −15 (66-65-66-64=261) | 2 strokes | Mark McNulty, Johan Ryström |
| 21 | 22 Aug 1993 | Murphy's English Open | −19 (71-67-65-66=269) | 2 strokes | Costantino Rocca |
| 22 | 19 Sep 1993 | Trophée Lancôme (2) | −13 (64-70-68-65=267) | 2 strokes | Sam Torrance |
| 23 | 1 May 1994 | Air France Cannes Open | −17 (72-70-63-66=271) | 5 strokes | Colin Montgomerie |
| 24 | 18 Sep 1994 | Dunhill British Masters (2) | −17 (71-70-63-67=271) | 4 strokes | Seve Ballesteros |
| 25 | 28 Jan 1996 | Johnnie Walker Classic1 | −16 (69-68-69-66=272) | Playoff | Andrew Coltart |
| 26 | 4 Feb 1996 | Heineken Classic1 | −11 (69-71-65-72=277) | 1 stroke | Paul McGinley, Jean van de Velde |
| 27 | 13 Jul 1996 | Scottish Open (3) | +1 (70-74-70-75=289) | 4 strokes | Andrew Coltart |
| 28 | 25 Aug 1996 | Volvo German Open | −20 (64-64-65=193) | 6 strokes | Thomas Gögele, Robert Karlsson, Iain Pyman, Fernando Roca |
| 29 | 26 May 1997 | Volvo PGA Championship (2) | −13 (67-68-70-70=275) | 2 strokes | Darren Clarke, Ernie Els, 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 | Bill Longmuir | Won with par on third extra hole |
| 2 | 1987 | Suze Open | Seve Ballesteros | Lost to par on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1989 | Wang Four Stars | Craig Parry | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 4 | 1989 | Carroll's Irish Open | Philip Walton | Won with birdie on second extra hole |
| 5 | 1993 | Honda Open | Paul Broadhurst, Johan Ryström, Sam Torrance |
Torrance won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 6 | 1996 | Johnnie Walker Classic | Andrew Coltart | Won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 7 | 1997 | Dubai Desert Classic | Richard Green, Greg Norman | Green won with birdie on first extra hole |
| 8 | 1999 | Linde German Masters | Sergio García, 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 | David Feherty, 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 | Sandy Lyle |
Korean Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1997 | Hyundai Motor Masters | 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 | Gordon J. Brand, Brian Marchbank |
| 2 | 9 Mar 1986 | 555 Kenya Open | −11 (70-64-67-72=273) | Playoff | 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 | John Hay | |
| 2 | 31 Oct 1982 | Cacharel World Under-25 Championship | +2 (71-69-74-76=290) | 5 strokes | Keith Waters |
| 3 | 18 Oct 1987 | Suntory World Match Play Championship | 1 up | Sandy Lyle | |
| 4 | 21 Nov 1987 | World Cup (with 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 | Sandy Lyle |
| 6 | 6 Dec 1987 | Nedbank Million Dollar Challenge | −14 (67-71-68-68=274) | 4 strokes | Nick Faldo |
| 7 | 1988 | Welsh National PGA Championship | −3 (137) | ||
| 8 | 23 Sep 1990 | Suntory World Match Play Championship (2) | 4 and 2 | Mark McNulty | |
| 9 | 3 Nov 1991 | World Cup Individual Trophy (2) | −15 (70-69-67-67=273) | 3 strokes | Bernhard Langer |
| 10 | 13 Nov 1991 | PGA Grand Slam of Golf | −9 (69-66=135) | 4 strokes | Ian Baker-Finch |
| 11 | 14 Oct 2001 | Cisco World Match Play Championship (3) | 2 and 1 | Pádraig Harrington | |
Other playoff record (1–2)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1987 | World Cup (with David Llewellyn) |
Scotland − Sandy Lyle and Sam Torrance | Won with par on second extra hole |
| 2 | 1992 | World Cup Individual Trophy | Brett Ogle | Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
| 3 | 1996 | Johnnie Walker Super Tour | 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 | Tom Lehman, Kenny Perry |
Champions Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponents | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015 | Insperity Invitational | Tom Lehman, 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 | Domingo Hospital |
| 2 | 6 Jul 2008 | Russian Seniors Open | −12 (67-67-70=204) | 3 strokes | Ángel Franco |
| 3 | 7 Jun 2009 | Irish Seniors Open | −2 (74-70-67=211) | Playoff | Bob Boyd |
| 4 | 19 Jun 2011 | Berenberg Bank Masters | −9 (71-70-66=207) | 2 strokes | Ángel Fernández |
| 5 | 12 Oct 2014 | Dutch Senior Open | −11 (71-69-68=208) | 5 strokes | Philip Golding, David J. Russell, George Ryall |
European Senior Tour playoff record (1–1)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2009 | Irish Seniors Open | Bob Boyd | Won with birdie on third extra hole |
| 2 | 2016 | Acorn Jersey Open | Gordon Manson, Gary Wolstenholme | Manson won with birdie on third extra hole |
Japan PGA Senior Tour wins (1)
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 | 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 | 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 |
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 |
| 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
| 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 | 2015 | 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)
