Jesper Parnevik

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Jesper Parnevik
Personal information
Full name Jesper Bo Parnevik
Nickname Spaceman
Born 7 March 1965 (1965-03-07) (age 46)
Stockholm, Sweden
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Nationality  Sweden
Residence Jupiter, Florida, U.S.
Career
College Palm Beach Junior College
Turned professional 1986
Current tour(s) PGA Tour
European Tour
Professional wins 14
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour 5
European Tour 4
Best results in Major Championships
Masters Tournament T20: 2001
U.S. Open T14: 1998
The Open Championship 2nd/T2: 1994, 1997
PGA Championship T5: 1996

Jesper Bo Parnevik (Swedish pronunciation: [jɛspər paɳəviːk]; born 7 March 1965) is a Swedish professional golfer. He spent 38 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings in 2000 and 2001.[1]

Contents

[edit] Early years

Parnevik was born and brought up Botkyrka, a southern suburb of Stockholm, Sweden.[2] He is the son of the Swedish entertainer Bo Parnevik. At age 15, Parnevik spent 10 days in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina getting a sense of life in the United States. He moved to Palm Beach County, Florida to attended Palm Beach Junior College in Lake Worth on a golf scholarship.[3]

[edit] Career

Parnevik turned professional in 1986 and scored four wins in his early years on the European Tour. Based in Florida, he joined the PGA Tour in the mid-90s, subsequently winning five events. His playing career also includes three Ryder Cup appearances - in 1997, 1999, and 2002. He has twice been a runner-up in The Open — in 1994 and 1997. His career best world ranking of seventh, which he attained on 14 May 2000, was the highest world ranking achieved by a Swedish golfer until Henrik Stenson reached the top five in February 2007.[4]

In late 2000, Parnevik underwent hip surgery after speaking with Greg Norman who had undergone similar surgery.[5]

Parnevik finished second in the Valero Texas Open in October 2007, losing to Justin Leonard in a playoff. In 2009, after a tie for 17th finish at the SAS Masters in Sweden, Parnevik underwent further hip surgery in Vail, Colorado, United States[6] which cut short his 2009 season on the PGA Tour. He also cited the hip injury as the reason for his withdrawal from the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament ("Q-School") in December 2009.

In 2010, Parnevik missed cuts in his first three tournaments and had to withdraw again after a first round 68 at the Northern Trust Open because of an ailing back. He had emergency surgery where it was discovered that he had a broken lumbar vertebrae that might be career ending. He is seeking advice from a physiotherapist.[7]

Parnevik played the 2011 PGA Tour season on a fully exempt status for his Top 50 All-Time Earnings ranking. He was allowed to reuse this one-time exemption after being able to play only five tournaments in 2010.[8] He will play the 2012 season on a Medical Extension.

[edit] Style

Parnevik is known for his distinctive and eccentric taste in clothes and fashion as well as his playing achievements. His on-course trademark was the upturned bill on his baseball cap. While on the European Ryder Cup team, he received a customized team cap with the Ryder Cup logo on the bottom of the bill instead of the front, so that it could be seen with the bill turned up. He has since stopped wearing the flipped-bill hat, but retains a flamboyant sense of fashion, such as disco-style purple trousers and other golf apparel designed by Johan Lindeberg. He has been politely described as "eclectic", and has been known to change outfits at the halfway stage of a round of tournament golf. Beginning in 2006, one of his new on-course fashion statements was a necktie worn under a vest. He is also known for eating volcanic dust as a dietary supplement.[9] Parnevik's nickname on tour is "Spaceman".

[edit] Life outside golf

Parnevik has an eclectic acting career including a cameo in the 2007 comedy, Who's Your Caddy,[10] in which he plays himself. An allegedly thoughtful historian in his free time, and a man with varied tastes, he was recently asked with whom he'd like to have dinner. He quickly replied that it would have to be a choice between Albert Einstein and Elvis Presley. When told he could only have one, he shot back, "OK, Elvis Einstein."

Parnevik is credited with having introduced fellow professional golfer Tiger Woods to Swedish au pair Elin Nordegren (previously employed by Parnevik), whom Woods would eventually marry. Parnevik subsequently stated in 2009 that he regrets his responsibility for this introduction after reports of Woods's infidelity surfaced that year.[11]

[edit] Professional wins (14)

[edit] European Tour wins (4)

No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of
Victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 10 Jul 1993 Bell's Scottish Open -9 (64-66-70-71=271) 5 strokes United States Payne Stewart
2 6 Aug 1995 Volvo Scandinavian Masters -18 (67-67-69-67=270) 5 strokes Scotland Colin Montgomerie
3 15 Sep 1996 Trophée Lancôme -12 (66-69-66-67=268) 5 strokes Scotland Colin Montgomerie
4 2 Aug 1998 Volvo Scandinavian Masters -11 (67-65-71-70=273) 3 strokes Northern Ireland Darren Clarke

[edit] PGA Tour wins (5)

No. Date Tournament Winning Score Margin of
Victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 18 Jan 1998 Phoenix Open -15 (68-68-66-67=269) 3 strokes United States Tommy Armour III, United States Brent Geiberger,
United States Steve Pate, United States Tom Watson
2 25 Apr 1999 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic -23 (65-63-67-70=265) 2 strokes United States Jim Furyk
3 23 Jan 2000 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic -27 (69-67-66-64-65=331) 1 stroke South Africa Rory Sabbatini
4 14 May 2000 GTE Byron Nelson Classic -16 (70-65-68-66=269) Playoff United States Davis Love III, United States Phil Mickelson
5 11 Mar 2001 Honda Classic -18 (65-67-66-72=270) 1 stroke United States Mark Calcavecchia, Australia Geoff Ogilvy,
New Zealand Craig Perks

[edit] Other wins (5)

[edit] Results in major championships

Tournament 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
The Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP T21 T31 CUT
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP T48 T14 T17
The Open Championship T21 2 T24 T44 T2 T4 T10
PGA Championship DNP CUT T20 T5 T45 CUT T10
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
The Masters T40 T20 T39 DNP DNP CUT DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open CUT T30 T54 CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP T74
The Open Championship T36 T9 T28 DQ DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
PGA Championship T51 T13 CUT T34 CUT T28 CUT DNP DNP

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

[edit] Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ 69 Players Who Have Reached The Top-10 In World Ranking
  2. ^ Birth info from article in Allehanda.se, 14 March 2010 (referenced 10 July 2011) (Swedish)
  3. ^ Rubenstein, Lorne (August 9, 1998). "Parnevik may soon be a major player". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1683&dat=19980809&id=PqcaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hS4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6416,7749894. 
  4. ^ Henrik Stenson Wins the WGC-Accenure Match Play and Reaches World Number 5, Official World Golf Ranking site, 26 February 2007.
  5. ^ Parnevik to undergo 'Norman' hip surgery
  6. ^ Parnevik's hip surgery will likely end his season
  7. ^ Parnevik has broken vertebrae, career in jeopardy
  8. ^ Parnevik attempts comeback
  9. ^ http://golf.com/gdc/news/article.asp?id=31387
  10. ^ Who's Your Caddy - at IMDB.com
  11. ^ Parnevik regrets Woods introduction

[edit] External links

European Ryder Cup team – 1997
Europe
Won: 14.5 – 13.5
Miguel Ángel Martín qualified for the team, but was forced to withdraw though injury, with his place being taken by José María Olazábal.
European Ryder Cup team – 1999
Europe
Lost: 13.5 – 14.5
European Ryder Cup team – 2002
Europe
Won: 15.5 – 12.5
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jesper_Parnevik&oldid=465577082"
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