- published: 25 Mar 2011
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Trevor John Immelman (born 16 December 1979) is a South African professional golfer and winner of the 2008 Masters Tournament.
Immelman was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Born into a golfing family (his father, Johan, is the former commissioner of the Sunshine Tour in South Africa), he took up golf at the age of five. He attended Hottentots Holland High School. He won the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 1998.
Immelman turned professional in 1999. In 2000 he played mainly on the second tier professional tour in Europe, the Challenge Tour, and finished tenth on the Order of Merit. He became a full member of the European Tour in 2001 and has made the top twenty of the Order of Merit three times. He has four wins on the European Tour, and in 2004 became the first man to successfully defend the South African Open title since Gary Player in the 1970s.
In 2003 Immelman won the WGC-World Cup for South Africa in partnership with Rory Sabbatini. In 2005 he was a member of the losing International Team at the Presidents Cup. He has been playing with increasing frequency on the PGA Tour after receiving a 2 year PGA Tour exemption for 2006 and 2007 on account of this Presidents Cup appearance. In 2006 Immelman won his first PGA Tour event at the Cialis Western Open, a result that moved him into the top 15 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He won the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit in 2002/03.