Ryan Palmer
Personal information
Full name	Ryan Hunter Palmer
Born	(1976-09-19) September 19, 1976 (age 35) Amarillo, Texas
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12.5 st)
Nationality	United States
Residence	Colleyville, Texas
Spouse	Jennifer Palmer
Career
College	University of North Texas Texas A&M University
Turned professional	2000
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	4
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	3
Nationwide Tour	1
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament	10th: 2011
U.S. Open	T21: 2011
The Open Championship	T30: 2011
PGA Championship	T19: 2011

Ryan Hunter Palmer (born September 19, 1976) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.

Palmer was born in Amarillo, Texas. He played college golf at the University of North Texas (one year) and then at Texas A&M University (three years).^[1] He graduated in 2000 and turned professional.

Palmer played on the mini-tours (Tightlies Tour and Hooters Tour) from 2000 to 2002.^[1] He played the Nationwide Tour in 2003, winning the Clearwater Classic and finishing 6th on the money list to earn his 2004 PGA Tour card.

Palmer's first career PGA Tour win came at the 2004 FUNAI Classic at the Walt Disney World Resort. Four years later, he earned his second career win during the PGA Tour Fall Series, at the 2008 Ginn sur Mer Classic where wet, rainy conditions made the course play tough all week. He won by making a ten foot putt for birdie on the final hole on Sunday to finish seven under par and win by one stroke over five players. He was 143rd on the money list entering the week, but this win secured his playing status on Tour for 2009 and 2010.

In January 2010, Palmer won his third career PGA Tour title at the Sony Open in Hawaii. A final round 66 secures his victory by one stroke over Robert Allenby.^[2]

Palmer came close to winning a fourth career title at his hometown event the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Texas in May 2011. Palmer entered the final round leading by one stroke, but as the final round progressed in windy conditions he had to hole a birdie putt on the last to enter a playoff with Keegan Bradley. On the first playoff hole, the 18th, both players hit their tee shots out to the right amongst the trees. Bradley played his approach to just short of the green whereas Palmer hooked his approach shot into the water. Palmer pitched up close to the hole and made bogey but Bradley was able to win with a pitch and putt par.^[3]

Professional wins (4)[link]

PGA Tour wins (3)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Oct 24, 2004	FUNAI Classic at the Walt Disney World Resort	-22 (68-68-68-62=266)	3 strokes	Briny Baird, Vijay Singh
2	Nov 2, 2008	Ginn sur Mer Classic	-7 (67-71-72-71=281)	1 stroke	Ken Duke, Michael Letzig, George McNeill, Vaughn Taylor, Nicholas Thompson
3	Jan 17, 2010	Sony Open in Hawaii	-15 (65-66-68-66=265)	1 stroke	Robert Allenby

PGA Tour playoff record (0-1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	2011	HP Byron Nelson Championship	Keegan Bradley	Lost to par on first extra hole

Nationwide Tour wins (1)[link]

• 2003 Clearwater Classic

Results in major championships[link]

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

See also[link]

• 2003 Nationwide Tour graduates

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ryan Palmer at the PGA Tour official site
• Ryan Palmer at the Official World Golf Ranking official site

Kevin Na 나상욱
Personal information
Full name	Kevin Sangwook Na
Born	(1983-09-15) September 15, 1983 (age 28) Seoul, South Korea[1]
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	167 lb (76 kg; 11.9 st)
Nationality	South Korea  United States
Residence	Las Vegas, Nevada[1]
Career
College	None
Turned professional	2001
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	5
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	1
Asian Tour	1
Nationwide Tour	1
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament	T12: 2012
U.S. Open	CUT: 2010, 2011
The Open Championship	T27: 2010
PGA Championship	T10: 2011

Kevin Sangwook Na (born September 15, 1983) is a Korean American professional golfer currently playing on the PGA Tour.

Personal life[link]

Na was born in Seoul, South Korea.^[1] His family emigrated to the United States when he was eight years old. He turned professional at age 17 in 2001.^[2] He later naturalized as an American citizen.^[3] Na lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[1]

Professional career[link]

Na has played on the Asian Tour (with a win at the 2002 Volvo Masters of Asia), European Tour, Nationwide Tour (with a win at the 2006 Mark Christopher Charity Classic), and PGA Tour (with a win at the 2011 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open). In 2009 he had nine top-10 finishes and finished in 19th place on the money list, securing his entry to The Masters and the U.S. Open for the first time.

In February 2011, Na was in contention to win his first PGA Tour title at the Northern Trust Open. He entered the final round in a tie for 2nd at -9, one stroke behind the Australian Aaron Baddeley. However a run of four bogeys in the first ten holes ended Na's chances of victory. He would eventually fight back on the back nine and a vital birdie on the par-five 17th sealed a top-three finish, behind eventual winner Baddeley and the Fijian Vijay Singh.

On April 14, 2011, Na played the worst ever par 4 hole on the PGA Tour since the tour began recording hole-by-hole scores in 1983, making a 16 on the ninth hole at the Valero Texas Open. Na needed extra shots after an unplayable lie from his tee shot and was then given a two stroke penalty after his ball hit a tree and rebounded back onto him. It was initially scored as a 15 but changed to 16 on review. Na ended up shooting an eight-over-par round of 80, which saw him shoot four-under for his other 17 holes.^[4]

On October 1, 2011, Na apparently whiffed his tee shot on the par-4 15th hole in the third round of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, missing high and to the outside of the ball. Tour officials, though, ruled Na was not intending to hit the ball and did not count the swing as a stroke, and Na finished with a 5-under 66 to remain tied for the tournament lead.^[5] The following day, Na earned his first PGA Tour victory at the 211th attempt, having been on tour for eight years. He shot a final round 65 with birdies at 15, 16 and 17 to win by two strokes from Nick Watney and earn $792,000 in prize money. Na also broke the tournament scoring record of 21-under par when he finished the week at 23-under par. This victory earned Na a two year exemption on tour.^[6]

Professional wins (5)[link]

PGA Tour wins (1)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner-up
1	Oct 2, 2011	Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open	-23 (67-63-66-65=261)	2 strokes	Nick Watney

Nationwide Tour wins (1)[link]

• 2006 Mark Christopher Charity Classic

Asian Tour wins (1)[link]

• 2002 Volvo Masters of Asia

Other wins (2)[link]

• 2002 Long Beach Open
• 2005 Tommy Bahama Challenge (with Tim Clark, Geoff Ogilvy, Justin Rose)

Results in major championships[link]

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
Yellow background for top-10.

See also[link]

• 2003 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kevin Na at the PGA Tour official site
• Kevin Na at the Official World Golf Ranking official site

Byron Nelson
Personal information
Full name	John Byron Nelson, Jr.
Nickname	Lord Byron
Born	(1912-02-04)4 February 1912 Waxahachie, Texas
Died	26 September 2006(2006-09-26) (aged 94) Roanoke, Texas
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Nationality	United States
Career
Turned professional	1932
Retired	1946
Former tour(s)	PGA Tour
Professional wins	64
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	52 (6th all time)
Other	12
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 5)
Masters Tournament	Won: 1937, 1942
U.S. Open	Won: 1939
The Open Championship	5th: 1937
PGA Championship	Won: 1940, 1945
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1974 (member page)
Vardon Trophy	1939
PGA Tour leading money winner	1944, 1945
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year	1944, 1945
Bob Jones Award	1974
PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award	1997
Payne Stewart Award	2000
Congressional Gold Medal	2006
(For a full list of awards, see here)

John Byron Nelson, Jr. (February 4, 1912 – September 26, 2006) was an American PGA Tour golfer between 1935 and 1946.

Nelson and two other well-known golfers of the time, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, were born within seven months of each other in 1912.^[1][2] Although he won many tournaments in the course of his relatively brief career, he is mostly remembered today for having won 11 consecutive tournaments and 18 total tournaments in 1945. He retired officially at the age of 34 to be a rancher, later becoming a commentator and lending his name to the HP Byron Nelson Championship, the first PGA Tour event to be named for a professional golfer. In 1974, Byron Nelson received the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf.^[3]

Nelson became the second recipient of the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame^[3] in 1974. He received the 1994 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA's highest honor. Nelson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2006.

Early life and career[link]

Born near Waxahachie, Texas, Byron Nelson was the son of Madge Allen Nelson and John Byron Nelson, Sr. His parents set a precedent for him not only in their long lives — Madge Nelson lived to age 98, and her husband to age 77 — but also in their religious commitment. Madge, who had grown up Baptist, was baptized in the Church of Christ at age 18, and John Byron Sr., raised Presbyterian, was baptized in the Church of Christ soon after meeting Madge. The senior Byron Nelson went on to serve as an elder in the Roanoke Church of Christ, and the younger Byron Nelson was a committed member of that congregation — even performing janitorial services there from time to time long after he became famous — he later placed his membership at the Hilltop Church of Christ in Roanoke from 1989 until 2000, when he moved his membership to the Richland Hills Church of Christ in North Richland Hills, Texas in later life.^[4]

When Nelson was 11 years old, the family moved to Fort Worth, where he barely survived typhoid fever after losing nearly half his body weight to the disease, which also left him unable to sire children. Soon after his baptism at age 12, he started caddying at Glen Garden Country Club.^[4] On his caddying days, Nelson said, "I knew nothing about caddying at first, but it wasn't difficult to learn. The other caddies, though, didn't like to see any new ones, because that might mean they wouldn't get a job sometime."^[5] An article on Nelson in Sports Illustrated noted that initially caddies were not permitted to play at the club: "[H]e would often practice in the dark, putting his white handkerchief over the hole so he could find it in the darkness."^[6] The club later changed its policy and sponsored the Glen Garden Caddy Tournament, where a 14-year-old Nelson beat fellow caddy and future golf great Ben Hogan by a single stroke after a nine-hole playoff.^[4][6] Nelson and Hogan were rivals but close friends in their teen years, and for the first part of their professional careers as well, but Nelson's early success was difficult for the struggling Hogan to deal with, and they gradually grew apart, while retaining mutual respect.^[7]

In 1934, Nelson was working as a golf pro in Texarkana, Texas, when he met future wife Louise Shofner, to whom he was married for 50 years, before she died in 1985 after two severe strokes.^[4]

Championship heyday[link]

Father of the modern golf swing[link]

After turning professional in 1932, Nelson served as a club professional in Texas, and played as many significant tournaments as he could afford, to develop his game. Money was tight, as Texas was hit very hard by the Great Depression. A pair of top-three finishes in important Texas events encouraged him. He then took a club professional's job at the Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey in 1935. He worked hard on his game, having earlier realized that with the technological change from hickory to steel shafts, which was gathering momentum in the early 1930s, that the golf swing would have to adapt as well. Nelson was among the first of a new generation of players who developed a full swing with increased leg drive leading the downswing; this is the forerunner of modern golf technique as practised by top players, right to the present day. Nelson is sometimes credited as being the father of the modern golf swing. He refined the changes for a couple of years, and then took his game to the highest level of competition, the PGA Tour.^[8] Nelson waited until 1935 to post his first significant victory, at the New Jersey State Open. He followed this up with a win at the Metropolitan Open the following year. He reportedly won this tournament with "$5 in my pocket".^[9]

In 1937, Nelson was hired as the head professional at the Reading Country Club in Reading, Pennsylvania, and worked there until 1940, when he took a new job as head pro at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.^[10]

Wins major championships[link]

Nelson won his first major event at The Masters in 1937, winning by two shots over Ralph Guldahl. During this tournament he shot a first-round 66, which stood as a record as the lowest first round in Masters' history until Raymond Floyd had 65 en route to winning the 1976 event.^[11] Nelson would subsequently win four more major tournaments, the U.S. Open in 1939, the PGA Championship in 1940 and 1945, and a second Masters in 1942. Nelson had a blood disorder that caused his blood to clot four times slower than normal, which kept him out of military service during World War II. It has sometimes mistakenly been reported that he had hemophilia; this is not true.^[12]

During World War II, Nelson gave hundreds of golf exhibitions across the country to raise money for charitable causes.^[8]

In his career, Nelson won 52 professional events. Nelson won the Vardon Trophy in 1939.^[13] He played on the U.S. Ryder Cup teams in 1937 and 1947 and was non-playing captain of the team in 1965.^[13] After 1946, Nelson curtailed his schedule, although he continued to make regular appearances at The Masters as a competitor, played occasional Tour events, appeared in a few overseas tournaments, and later served as a ceremonial starter for many years.^[13]

Record-breaking year[link]

In 1945 Nelson enjoyed a record-breaking year, winning 18 of 35 PGA tournaments including 11 in a row.^[13] Both records are still yet to be beaten. Nelson however lost many chances at major championships during this year, and previous years, because of the war, and only won the 1945 PGA Championship.^[13] There has been debate to how impressive these results are, as it was believed to be a weakened tour due to the war.^[14] But in reality many of the leading golfers of that time, including Sam Snead and Ben Hogan still played a full or at least part schedule that year.^[14] Both Snead and Hogan won multiple times on the tour in 1945.^[14] During this year Nelson finished second another 7 times, set a record for the scoring average (68.33 for 18 holes) that was only recently broken (by Tiger Woods in 2000), a record 18 hole score (62), and a record 72-hole score (259, which beat the previous record set by Ben Hogan earlier that year).^[14] This year is now known as the greatest single year by a player on the PGA Tour, as Arnold Palmer said: "I don't think that anyone will ever exceed the things that Byron did by winning 11 tournaments in a row in one year."^[15] Even more recently, Tiger Woods referred to the year as "one of the greatest years in the history of the sport."^[15]

Cut streak[link]

Nelson's record of 113 consecutive cuts made is second only to Tiger Woods' 142. The PGA Tour defines a "cut" as receiving a paycheck, even if an event has no cut per se. In Nelson's era, only the top 20 in a tournament received a check. In reality, Nelson's "113 consecutive cuts made" are representative of his unequaled 113 consecutive top 20 tournament finishes.

Coach and mentor[link]

Among the rising golf talents Nelson coached and mentored, from the 1950s to the 1970s, are Ken Venturi, Marty Fleckman, and Tom Watson.

Death and legacy[link]

Nelson died Tuesday, September 26, 2006.^[16] According to a family friend, Nelson died at his Roanoke, Texas home around noon. He was survived by Peggy, his wife of nearly 20 years, sister Margaret Ellen Sherman, and brother Charles, a professor emeritus at Abilene Christian University, where Byron Nelson had been a trustee and benefactor. Nelson met his second wife, the former Peggy Simmons, when she volunteered at the Bogie Busters celebrity golf tournament in Dayton, Ohio in 1985.^[17]

Nelson was often referred to as "Lord Byron", after the English poet by that name, in recognition of his reputation for gentlemanly conduct, a nickname given him by Atlanta sports journalist O. B. Keeler.^[16] Many of his obituaries referenced this reputation.^[18][19]

Nelson has several successful years as a television golf commentator. Nelson had a significant role in the development of Tom Watson as a world-class player in the mid-1970s, and had earlier mentored Ken Venturi in the 1950s, while he was a rising star.^[20]

Nelson was ranked as the fifth greatest golfer of all time by Golf Digest magazine in 2000. On this list, Jack Nicklaus was first, Nelson's longtime rivals Ben Hogan and Sam Snead were second and third respectively, and Bobby Jones was fourth.^[21] A 2009 Sports Illustrated panel ranked him seventh on its list of all-time greatest golfers, behind Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Jones, Hogan, Snead, and Arnold Palmer.^[22]

The "Iron Byron" electro-mechanical machine or robot, developed by Battelle Memorial Institute and True Temper Sports and used by the United States Golf Association and golf manufacturers to compare and test clubs and balls for conformity to standards, was named for Nelson, honoring the consistency of his swing.

In Jack Nicklaus's 1978 book On and Off the Fairway, Nicklaus wrote that Nelson was the straightest golfer he ever saw. The two never played competitively, but a 14-year-old Nicklaus was in the crowd of youngsters at the 1954 U.S. Junior Amateur, when Nelson gave an exhibition hitting golf shots.^[23]

Posthumous honors[link]

State Highway 114 Business through Roanoke, Texas is named Byron Nelson Boulevard, in honor of Nelson's residence; the street he lived on was recently changed to Eleven Straight Lane in honor of his 1945 record. In Irving, Texas a street immediately adjacent to the Four Seasons Resort and Club, where the HP Byron Nelson Championship is played each year, is named Byron Nelson Lane. A street in Southlake, Texas, Byron Nelson Parkway, was named in his honor, as was a street in a residential neighborhood in McAllen, Texas.

On October 16, 2006, President George W. Bush approved H.R. 4902 awarding Byron Nelson the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest award that can be bestowed by the Legislative Branch of the United States government. The resolution cites Mr. Nelson's "significant contributions to the game of golf as a player, a teacher, and a commentator." Representative Michael C. Burgess (R-TX) sponsored the resolution, originally proposed March 8, 2006, well before Nelson's death.^[24] Senate Resolution 602 memorialized Nelson on September 29, 2006.

On April 23, 2007 the Northwest Independent School District named their second high school Byron Nelson High School. This is the first high school named in honor of Byron Nelson, and opened in the fall of 2009. The school is located in Trophy Club, Texas, near Nelson's hometown of Roanoke.^[25]

Orange County Choppers built three choppers in dedication which were auctioned off.

Professional wins[link]

PGA Tour wins (52)[link]

• 1935 (1) New Jersey State Open
• 1936 (1) Metropolitan Open
• 1937 (2) Masters Tournament, Belmont Country Club Match Play
• 1938 (2) Thomasville Open, Hollywood Open
• 1939 (4) Phoenix Open, North and South Open, U.S. Open, Western Open
• 1940 (3) Texas Open, Miami Open, PGA Championship
• 1941 (3) Greater Greensboro Open, Tam O'Shanter Open, Miami Open
• 1942 (3) Oakland Open, Masters Tournament, Tam O'Shanter Open
• 1944 (8) San Francisco Victory Open, Knoxville War Bond Tournament, New York Red Cross Tourney, Minneapolis Four-Ball (with Harold "Jug" McSpaden), Tam O'Shanter Open, Nashville Open, Texas Victory Open, San Francisco Open
• 1945 (18) Phoenix Open, Corpus Christi Open, New Orleans Open, Miami International Four-Ball (with Harold "Jug" McSpaden), Charlotte Open, Greater Greensboro Open, Durham Open, Atlanta Open, Montreal Open, Philadelphia Inquirer Open, Chicago Victory National Open, PGA Championship, Tam O'Shanter Open, Canadian Open, Knoxville Invitational, Esmeralda Open, Seattle Open, Glen Garden Open
• 1946 (6) Los Angeles Open, San Francisco Open, New Orleans Open, Houston Open, Columbus Invitational, Chicago Victory National Open
• 1951 (1) Bing Crosby Pro-Am

Major championships are shown in bold.

Source:^[26]

Other wins (12)[link]

• 1937 Central Pennsylvania Open
• 1939 Massachusetts Open
• 1940 Ohio Open
• 1941 Ohio Open, Seminole Pro-Am
• 1942 Toledo Open, Ohio Open
• 1943 Kentucky Open
• 1944 New York Open, Beverly Hills Open
• 1948 Texas PGA Championship
• 1955 French Open

Major championships[link]

Wins (5)[link]

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1937	Masters Tournament	4 shot deficit	-5 (66-72-75-70=283)	2 strokes	Ralph Guldahl
1939	U.S. Open	5 shot deficit	+8 (72-73-71-68=284)	Playoff 1	Denny Shute, Craig Wood
1940	PGA Championship	n/a	1 up	n/a	Sam Snead
1942	Masters Tournament (2)	2 shot lead	-6 (68-67-72-73=280)	Playoff 2	Ben Hogan
1945	PGA Championship (2)	n/a	4 & 3	n/a	Sammy Byrd

Note: The PGA Championship was match play until 1958
¹ Defeated Craig Wood and Denny Shute in a 36-hole playoff - Nelson (68-70=138), Wood (68-73=141), Shute (76) (eliminated after first 18)
² Defeated Ben Hogan in an 18-hole playoff - Nelson (69), Hogan (70)

Results timeline[link]

NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for Top 10.

Awards[link]

• Vardon Trophy: 1939
• PGA Tour Money Winner: 1944, 1945
• Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year: 1944, 1945
• Bob Jones Award: 1974
• World Golf Hall of Fame: 1974
• Old Tom Morris Award: 1994
• PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award: 1997
• Payne Stewart Award: 2000
• Congressional Gold Medal: 2006

See also[link]

Golf portal

• Golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• Golfers with most major championship wins
• Most PGA Tour wins in a year
• Longest PGA Tour win streaks
• Byron Nelson Award
• Harold "Jug" McSpaden

References[link]

External links[link]

• Memorial Page for Byron Nelson, Hilltop Church of Christ, Roanoke, Texas (includes biographical sketch, quotations, photographs, and links to obituaries)
• Byron Nelson profile
• Byron Nelson profile at Golf Legends
• Byron Nelson's Congressional Medal
• Tribute to Byron Nelson
• HP Byron Nelson Championship Web site - golf tournament named after Byron Nelson
• HP Byron Nelson Championship Media Guide - contains biographical information
• Golf legend Nelson dies, Dallas Morning News, September 26, 2006
• American Golf Legend Nelson Dies BBC Sport, September 26, 2006

Byron Nelson in the Ryder Cup v t e United States Ryder Cup captains 1927 Walter Hagen 1929 Walter Hagen 1931 Walter Hagen 1933 Walter Hagen 1935 Walter Hagen 1937 Walter Hagen 1947 Ben Hogan 1949 Ben Hogan 1951 Sam Snead 1953 Lloyd Mangrum 1955 Chick Harbert 1957 Jack Burke, Jr. 1959 Sam Snead 1961 Jerry Barber 1963 Arnold Palmer 1965 Byron Nelson 1967 Ben Hogan 1969 Sam Snead 1971 Jay Hebert 1973 Jack Burke, Jr. 1975 Arnold Palmer 1977 Dow Finsterwald 1979 Billy Casper 1981 Dave Marr 1983 Jack Nicklaus 1985 Lee Trevino 1987 Jack Nicklaus 1989 Raymond Floyd 1991 Dave Stockton 1993 Tom Watson 1995 Lanny Wadkins 1997 Tom Kite 1999 Ben Crenshaw 2002 Curtis Strange 2004 Hal Sutton 2006 Tom Lehman 2008 Paul Azinger 2010 Corey Pavin v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1937 Ed Dudley • Ralph Guldahl • Tony Manero • Byron Nelson • Henry Picard • Johnny Revolta • Gene Sarazen • Denny Shute • Sam Snead Walter Hagen (non-playing captain) Won: 8 – 4 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1947 Herman Barron • Jimmy Demaret • E. J. Harrison • Herman Keiser • Lloyd Mangrum • Byron Nelson • Ed Oliver • Sam Snead • Lew Worsham Ben Hogan (playing captain) Won: 11 – 1 v t e United States Ryder Cup team – 1965 Julius Boros • Billy Casper • Tommy Jacobs • Don January • Tony Lema • Gene Littler • Dave Marr • Arnold Palmer • Ken Venturi Byron Nelson (non-playing captain) Won: 19.5 – 12.5 Johnny Pott: Made the team, but did not participate in the event due to a back injury.

Ian Poulter
Personal information
Full name	Ian James Poulter
Born	(1976-01-10) 10 January 1976 (age 36) Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England, UK
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	189 lb (86 kg; 13.5 st)
Nationality	England
Residence	Orlando, Florida, U.S. Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Career
Turned professional	1995
Current tour(s)	PGA Tour (joined 2005) European Tour (joined 2000)
Professional wins	15
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	1
European Tour	11
Japan Golf Tour	1
Asian Tour	2
PGA Tour of Australasia	1
Challenge Tour	1
Other	1
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament	7th: 2012
U.S. Open	T12: 2006
The Open Championship	2nd: 2008
PGA Championship	T9: 2006
Achievements and awards
Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year	2000

Ian Poulter at the 2009 Telus World Skins Game, Lévis, Canada

Ian James Poulter (born 10 January 1976) is an English professional golfer who is a member of the world's top two professional golf tours, the U.S.-based PGA Tour and the European Tour. He has previously been rated as high as #5 in the world rankings. He is the touring professional for Woburn Golf and Country Club which is situated in Bedfordshire.^{[citation needed]}

Early career[link]

Born in Hitchin, Poulter took up the game at the age of four when his single-handicap father, Terry, gave him a cut-down 3-wood. His older brother Danny is also a professional golfer.^[1] Unable to get a place as a pro at a private club, he became the assistant pro and golf shop manager at the Chesfield Downs Golf Club.^[2] There he was forced by his boss to pay a full green fee every time he wanted to play in a competition. His handicap hence stayed at four, because he did not play in competitions.

Professional career[link]

Poulter turned professional in 1996 gaining his first win at the 1999 Open de Côte d'Ivoire on the European Tour's second tier Challenge Tour; he won promotion to the European Tour itself via the qualifying school later that year. In his first season, he claimed the Italian Open title and was the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year for 2000. Further wins followed in each of the next four seasons, most prestigiously the season ending "tour championship" the Volvo Masters in 2004. He was in the top ten on the Order of Merit in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2009. In 2010, he finished 4th on the Order of Merit, his highest placing so far. After narrowly missing a place in the 2002 European Ryder Cup team, Poulter was a member of the victorious squad in 2004, where he officially scored the winning points for his team. This entitled him to take up membership of the PGA Tour in 2005, and he has divided his time between the two tours since then.^{[citation needed]}

At the 2008 Masters Tournament, Poulter made a hole-in-one at the 16th hole at Augusta National in the first round. At the 2008 Open Championship, Poulter had the clubhouse lead on the last round before being beaten by defending champion Pádraig Harrington. In the 2008 Ryder Cup, Poulter was the highest points scorer on either side as he scored 4 of Europe's 11.5 points. Europe lost the Ryder Cup 16.5-11.5.

In the 2009 Players Championship, he finished in sole possession of second place at eight under-par, four shots behind the winner, Henrik Stenson. In November 2009, Poulter won the Barclays Singapore Open at the Sentosa Club.^[3] He moved into the top-10 of the Official World Golf Rankings in January 2010 with a second place finish at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.^[4]

In February 2010, he won his first tournament on U.S. soil, beating fellow Englishman Paul Casey 4&2 in the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.^[5] The win moved him to 5th in the world rankings.^[6] In November 2010, he won his second title of the year with a one-stroke victory in the UBS Hong Kong Open.^[7]

On 23 February 2011, in Marana, Arizona, Poulter became the first defending champion in nine years to be eliminated in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. He did however enjoy greater success in the European Tour's own match play event, the Volvo World Match Play Championship where he won the title beating Ryder Cup team mate Luke Donald 2&1 in the final. He had previously beaten the world number one Lee Westwood, Francesco Molinari and Nicolas Colsaerts to get to the final. This was Poulter's second tournament win in a match play event and eleventh European Tour victory.^[8] As a result of his win Poulter moved up from 22nd to 14th in the Official World Golf Rankings.^[when?]

Clothing[link]

Poulter is well known for his eccentric dress sense, inspired by his mother who managed the Letchworth branch of UK women's fashion chain Dorothy Perkins.^[2] His most famous pieces include trousers featuring the famous Claret Jug, worn at both the 2005 and 2006 Open Championships. Commentating for the BBC, Seve Ballesteros jibed that this was "the closest [Poulter] would ever get to it". He is an avid fan of the London-based football club Arsenal FC.^[9][10]

He has on several occasions appeared with the team's crest on his shoes, and he even controversially wore the team's shirt during an event, gaining widespread ire for flying in the face of golfing tradition. (immediately after the event the rule was changed to stop future players wearing football jerseys). In addition to his golfing career, Poulter launched Ian Poulter Design (IJP) in 2007.^{[citation needed]}

Controversy[link]

At the Mercedes-Benz Championship in September 2007, Poulter smashed a tee marker in a show of frustration and was fined. Also, in 2006 Poulter paid a £5,000 fine after verbally abusing a marshal at the Irish Open.

In the March issue of Golf World (UK) in 2008, Poulter was quoted saying "Don't get me wrong, I really respect every professional golfer, but I know I haven't played to my full potential and when that happens, it will be just me and Tiger."^[11]

Following the European Team's loss in the 2008 Ryder Cup, Poulter accused Anthony Kim, who was on the American team, of body checking him in the middle of a match, which Kim denied and said it was an accident.^[12]

In April 2010, Poulter was strongly rebuked for using an anti-Semitic slur in one of his Twitter posts. He has since apologised.^[13]

Prior to the USA vs England World Cup Match Poulter tweeted "sorry to disagree but you guys havent got a chance against england, its like england vs usa in basketball, sorry but its the truth." The match finished 1-1.^[14]

In October 2010, Poulter tweeted videos of him with the Ryder Cup trophy at his Florida home, including a video of him and his children eating cereal out of the trophy sparking controversy.^[15]

At the 2011 Masters, Poulter predicted that Tiger Woods would "miss out on a top five finish," (in reference to Woods finding it difficult to return to form). In fact, Woods finished tied for 4th.^[16]

Personal life[link]

Poulter is married to Katie; the couple have four children, and live in Orlando, Florida.^[17] The couple also have a home in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.^[18]

Poulter is an avid car collector, and along with his 2008 purchase of a Ford GT,^[19] he has a Bentley Continental GT, a Ferrari California, and has owned a Ferrari, Nissan Skyline and an Aston Martin DB9. As of December 2011 Poulter has 1.23 million followers on Twitter, which is the second most on the PGA Tour to Tiger Woods with 1.55 million followers. He is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.

Sponsorships[link]

Poulter currently has an endorsement with the following companies: Puma Golf, Mutual of Omaha, Titleist, Cobra, EA Sports, Mastercard, Oakley, Fathead, Audemars Piguet, Marquis Jet.^[20]

Professional wins (15)[link]

PGA Tour wins (1)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner-up
1	21 Feb 2010	WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship	4 and 2		Paul Casey

European Tour wins (11)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	29 Oct 2000	Italian Open	−21 (66-67-65-69=267)	1 stroke	Gordon Brand, Jnr
2	15 Apr 2001	Moroccan Open	−15 (71-67-69-70=277)	2 strokes	David Lynn
3	3 Nov 2002	Italian Open	−19 (61-67-69=197)	2 strokes	Paul Lawrie
4	1 Jun 2003	Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open	−18 (65-67-68-70=270)	3 strokes	Darren Fichardt, Jonathan Lomas, Jarrod Moseley
5	10 Aug 2003	Nordic Open	−22 (68-67-65-66=266)	1 stroke	Colin Montgomerie
6	31 Oct 2004	Volvo Masters Andalucia	−7 (71-67-69-70=277)	Playoff	Sergio García
7	17 Sep 2006	XXXII Banco Madrid Valle Romano Open de Madrid Golf Masters	−22 (67-66-64-69=266)	5 strokes	Ignacio Garrido
8	1 Nov 2009	Barclays Singapore Open (co-sanctioned with Asian Tour)	−10 (66-64-72-72=274)	1 stroke	Liang Wen-chong
9	21 Feb 2010	WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship	4 and 2		Paul Casey
10	21 Nov 2010	UBS Hong Kong Open (co-sanctioned with Asian Tour)	−22 (67-60-64-67=258)	1 stroke	Simon Dyson, Matteo Manassero
11	22 May 2011	Volvo World Match Play Championship	2 and 1		Luke Donald

Challenge Tour wins (1)[link]

• 1999 Open de Côte d'Ivoire

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)[link]

• 2007 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament

Asian Tour wins (2)[link]

• 2009 Barclays Singapore Open (co-sanctioned by the European Tour)
• 2010 UBS Hong Kong Open (co-sanctioned by the European Tour)

PGA Tour of Australasia wins (1)[link]

• 2011 JBWere Masters

Other wins (1)[link]

• 2010 The Shark Shootout (with Dustin Johnson)

Results in major championships[link]

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

World Golf Championships[link]

Wins (1)[link]

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
2010	WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship	n/a	4 & 2	n/a	Paul Casey

Results timeline[link]

¹Cancelled due to 9/11
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No Tournament
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances[link]

• Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 2004 (winners), 2008, 2010 (winners)
• World Cup (representing England): 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
• Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2003 (winners), 2005 (winners), 2011 (winners)