113-527: Thomas Bjørn (born 18 February 1971) is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour . He is the most successful Danish golfer to have played the game having won fifteen tournaments worldwide on the European Tour. In 1997 he also became the first Dane to qualify for a European Ryder Cup team. He captained the winning European side at the 2018 Ryder Cup . Bjørn started his career playing on
226-435: A "bogey golfer" (handicap around 20) would be expected to play than a "scratch golfer" relative to their handicap. The goal is to play as few strokes per round as possible. A golfer's number of strokes in a hole, course, or tournament is compared to its respective par score, and is then reported either as the number that the golfer was "under-" or "over-par", or if it was "equal to par". A hole in one (or an "ace") occurs when
339-421: A backpack, and often bags have retractable legs that allow the bag to stand upright when at rest. The golf swing is outwardly similar to many other motions involving swinging a tool or playing implement, such as an axe or a baseball bat. However, unlike many of these motions, the result of the swing is highly dependent on several sub-motions being properly aligned and timed. These ensure that the club travels up to
452-415: A ball that has stopped on it; "doglegs", which are changes in the direction of the fairway that often require shorter shots to play around them; bunkers (or sand traps); and water hazards such as ponds or streams. In stroke play competitions each player plays their ball until it is holed no matter how many strokes that may take. In match play it is acceptable to simply pick up one's ball and "surrender
565-454: A best finish of fifth in 2000. He has come close to winning a major championship at the 2003 Open Championship when he was in the lead with 4 holes to play before a slump handed victory to Ben Curtis . At the 2005 PGA Championship , he was tied for the lead before finishing as runner-up to Phil Mickelson in a second-place tie with Steve Elkington . Bjørn picked up his first European Tour win in four years and 10th of his career in 2010 at
678-622: A career best 3rd in the OWGR ranking on 3 November 2013. He finished the 2013 season ranked first on the PGA Tour in greens in regulation, first in ball striking, second among money leaders, third in total driving, fourth in scoring average, and seventh in driving accuracy percentage. On 17 November 2013, he won the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai with a record-breaking performance (an aggregate 263 score at 25-under par), thereby also winning
791-536: A complete round; with most holes having a par of 4, and a smaller number of par-3 and par-5 holes. Additionally, courses may be classified according to their play difficulty, which may be used to calculate a golfer's handicap . The two primary difficulty ratings in the U.S. are the Course Rating, which is the expected score for a zero-handicap "scratch golfer", and the Slope Rating, which is a measure of how much worse
904-530: A five-week break from competitive golf, Bjørn won for the second time that year at the Peugeot Open de España after a final round 66 took him to 21 under and one stroke ahead of the chasing pack. He later said: "I didn’t really expect this after taking five weeks off, but when your confidence has gone like mine did after winning in Perth, it just shows it’s best to take a break and regroup." After his two wins he finished
1017-500: A five-year affair with Bjørn. Bjørn initially cut relations with Leniartek and denied he was the father of her daughter. However, Danish media reported a DNA test had subsequently proved Bjørn was the father of the child – a girl named Isabella. Bjørn is a football fan and a keen follower of Liverpool F.C. Alongside football he also states his other interest to be movies. Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour Co-sanctioned by
1130-424: A full 18. In sudden death, a player who scores lower on a hole than all of their opponents wins the match. If at least two players remain tied after such a playoff using a pre-determined number of holes, then play continues in sudden death format, where the first player to win a hole wins the tournament. Henrik Stenson Henrik Olof Stenson ( pronounced [ˈhɛ̌nːrɪk ˈstěːnsɔn] ; born 5 April 1976)
1243-420: A golf course, and which club is used to accomplish the shot, are always completely at the discretion of the golfer; in other words, there is no restriction whatsoever on which club a golfer may or may not use at any time for any shot. Golf balls are spherical, usually white (although other colours are allowed), and minutely pock-marked by dimples that decrease aerodynamic drag by increasing air turbulence around
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#17328721581441356-410: A golfer sinks their ball into the cup with their first stroke from the tee. Common scores for a hole also have specific terms. In a typical professional tournament or among "scratch" amateur players, "birdie-bogey" play is common; a player will "lose" a stroke by bogeying a hole, then "gain" one by scoring a birdie. Eagles are uncommon but not rare; however, only 18 players have scored an albatross in
1469-453: A great deal of difference in how well the ball is hit and how straight it travels. The general goal of a player making a full swing is to propel the clubhead as fast as possible while maintaining a single "plane" of motion of the club and clubhead, to send the clubhead into the ball along the desired path of travel and with the clubhead also pointing that direction. Accuracy and consistency are typically stressed over pure distance. A player with
1582-627: A half-point in the foursomes against Stewart Cink and David Toms on the Friday, he holed the winning putt and ensured that Europe won the Ryder Cup for a third consecutive time when he beat Vaughn Taylor 4 & 3 in the Sunday singles. He played again in 2008 at Valhalla, tallying a win, a loss and a draw in the foursomes. However he was not as fortunate as two years before, losing the singles on Sunday 3 & 2 to Kenny Perry . In March 2009 Stenson created
1695-439: A higher degree of loft and a comparatively shorter distance. The actual physical length of each club is longer or shorter, depending on the distance the club is intended to propel the ball. Golf clubs have traditionally been arranged into three basic types. Woods are large-headed, long-shafted clubs meant to propel the ball a long distance from relatively "open" lies, such as the teeing ground and fairway. Of particular importance
1808-453: A higher launch angle and a more forgiving nature. A maximum of 14 clubs is allowed in a player's bag at one time during a stipulated round. The choice of clubs is at the golfer's discretion, although every club must be constructed in accordance with parameters outlined in the rules. (Clubs that meet these parameters are usually called "conforming".) Violation of these rules can result in disqualification. The exact shot hit at any given time on
1921-618: A member of Barsebäck Golf & Country Club . He reached a handicap of 5 at age 15, scratch at 18 and played in junior and amateur tournaments in Sweden in his teen years. At age 18, Stenson first represented Sweden in an international championship, at the 1994 European Boys' Team Championship , his team losing in a tight final against England. In 1996, he won the Italian Open Amateur Match-play Championship, beating Robert-Jan Derksen , Netherlands , 5 and 3 in
2034-406: A men's major championship. One of the rarest feats in golf is the condor, which has never occurred in a professional tournament. Only five condors have been verified to have ever occurred, although none of the courses involved were professionally accredited. There are two basic forms of golf play, match play and stroke play. Stroke play is more popular. Two players (or two teams) play each hole as
2147-409: A metal head primarily consisting of a flat, angled striking face. Traditionally the clubhead was forged from iron; modern iron clubheads are investment-cast from a steel alloy. Irons of varying loft are used for a variety of shots from virtually anywhere on the course, but most often for shorter-distance shots approaching the green, or to get the ball out of tricky lies such as sand traps. The third class
2260-483: A player's obligation to contribute to the care of the course. Though there are no penalties for breach of etiquette rules, players generally follow the rules of golf etiquette in an effort to improve everyone's playing experience. Penalty strokes are incurred in certain situations and are counted towards a player's score as if there were extra swing(s) at the ball. Either one or two strokes are added for most rule infractions or for taking relief from various situations, with
2373-473: A record for the lowest score in any major championship. Stenson finished three shots ahead of Mickelson and 14 shots ahead of third-place finisher J. B. Holmes . Stenson became the first male Swede to win a major. In August, Stenson represented Sweden at the 2016 Summer Olympics , where he won the silver medal; entering the final hole of the competition he was level with the eventual winner Justin Rose , but bogeyed
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#17328721581442486-513: A round. At some courses, gas or electric golf carts are used to travel between shots, which can speed-up play and allows participation by individuals unable to walk a whole round. On other courses players generally walk the course, either carrying their bag using a shoulder strap or using a "golf trolley" for their bag. These trolleys may or may not be battery assisted. At many amateur tournaments including U.S. high school and college play, players are required to walk and to carry their own bags, but at
2599-673: A second-place finish at the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond . In 2005 and 2006, Bjørn sponsored the Thomas Bjørn Open , an event on the Challenge Tour played in his home country. In 2007, Bjørn was elected chairman of the European Tour's tournament committee. In May 2022, Bjørn was named vice-captain by Team Europe's captain Henrik Stenson for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome. Bjørn's last name
2712-400: A separate contest against each other in what is called match play . The party with the lower score wins that hole, or if the scores of both players or teams are equal the hole is "halved" (or tied). The game is won by the party that wins more holes than the other. In the case that one team or player has taken a lead that cannot be overcome in the number of holes remaining to be played, the match
2825-459: A site of pilgrimage. In 1764, the standard 18-hole golf course was created at St Andrews when members modified the course from 22 to 18 holes. Golf is documented as being played on Musselburgh Links , East Lothian, Scotland as early as 2 March 1672, which is certified as the oldest golf course in the world by Guinness World Records . The oldest surviving rules of golf were compiled in March 1744 for
2938-467: A storm in the media after stripping to his underwear and golf glove in order to play a recovery shot from a muddy water hazard at the first round of the WGC-CA Championship . On 10 May 2009, Stenson won The Players Championship with a dominating final round score of 66 to finish four ahead of Ian Poulter . The win was his first American stroke play victory. This win again brought him to fifth in
3051-469: A straight drive that travels only 220 yards (200 m) will nevertheless be able to accurately place the ball into a favourable lie on the fairway, and can make up for the lesser distance of any given club by simply using "more club" (a lower loft) on their tee shot or on subsequent fairway and approach shots. However, a golfer with a drive that may go 280 yards (260 m) but often does not fly straight will be less able to position their ball advantageously;
3164-452: A stroke; it is fundamentally important in being able to play a stroke effectively. The stance adopted is determined by what stroke is being played. All stances involve a slight crouch. This allows for a more efficient striking posture whilst also isometrically preloading the muscles of the legs and core; this allows the stroke to be played more dynamically and with a greater level of overall control. When adopting their stance golfers start with
3277-479: A typical par-3 hole is less than 250 yards (230 m) in length, with a par-4 hole ranging between 251–450 yards (230–411 m), and a par-5 hole being longer than 450 yards (410 m); for women these boundaries are lower, and for professionals they are much increased. The rare par-6s can stretch well over 650 yards (590 m). These distances are based on the typical scratch golfer's drive distance of between 240 and 280 yards (220 and 260 m). Although length
3390-420: A win. He held the 54-hole lead going into the final round with a margin of one stroke over Phil Mickelson . The pair played together during the third round and finished it by being six and five shots ahead of the field respectively, setting up a final head-to-head duel on Sunday. Stenson shot a 63 in the final round to tie Johnny Miller for the best ever final round of a major winner. His overall score of 264 set
3503-711: Is The Open Championship , also known as The Open, which was first played in 1860 at the Prestwick Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland. This is one of the four major championships in men's professional golf, the other three being played in the United States: The Masters , the U.S. Open , and the PGA Championship . While the modern game of golf originated in 15th century Scotland , the game's ancient origins are unclear and much debated. Some historians trace
Thomas Bjørn - Misplaced Pages Continue
3616-621: Is a Swedish professional golfer . He is the first male Swedish and Nordic major championship winner, having won the 2016 Open Championship with a major championship record score. His list of wins also includes some of the other most prestigious tournaments around the world; The Players Championship , WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship , the World Cup , the Tour Championship , the DP World Tour Championship Dubai ,
3729-426: Is about two hours for a 9-hole round and four hours for an 18-hole round. Playing a hole on a golf course is initiated by putting a ball into play by striking it with a club on the teeing ground (also called the tee box, or simply the tee). For this first shot on each hole, it is allowed but not required for the golfer to place the ball on a tee prior to striking it. A tee is a small peg that can be used to elevate
3842-412: Is deemed to be won by the party in the lead, and the remainder of the holes are not played. For example, if one party already has a lead of six holes, and only five holes remain to be played on the course, the match is over and the winning party is deemed to have won "6 & 5". At any given point, if the lead is equal to the number of holes remaining, the party leading the match is said to be "dormie", and
3955-424: Is known as "conventional". There are many variations of conventional including overlap, where the golfer overlaps the off hand index finger onto off the dominant pinky; interlock, where the offhand index finger interlocks with the dominant pinky and ring finger; double or triple overlap and so on. Recently, "cross handed" putting has become a popular trend amongst professional golfers and amateurs. Cross handed putting
4068-516: Is not considered an amateur and may not participate in competitions limited solely to amateurs. However, amateur golfers may receive expenses that comply with strict guidelines and they may accept non-cash prizes within the limits established by the Rules of Amateur Status. In addition to the officially printed rules, golfers also abide by a set of guidelines called golf etiquette . Etiquette guidelines cover matters such as safety, fairness, pace of play, and
4181-551: Is sometimes written Björn or Bjorn outside Denmark. The Danish (and Norwegian) letter 'ø' represents approximately the same sound as ' ö ' in German and Swedish. Literally translated, his surname means bear in Danish. Bjørn has three children, Filippa and twins Oliver and Julia with his former wife Pernilla. Bjørn currently resides in London . Perth -born air stewardess Dagmara Leniartek had
4294-441: Is still there today. Every round of golf is based on playing a number of holes in a given order. A "round" typically consists of 18 holes that are played in the order determined by the course layout. Each hole is played once in the round on a standard course of 18 holes. The game can be played by any number of people, although a typical group will have 1–4 people playing the round. The typical amount of time required for pace of play
4407-444: Is the driver or "1-wood", which is the lowest lofted wood club, and in modern times has become highly specialized for making extremely long-distance tee shots, up to 300 yards (270 m), or more, in a professional golfer's hands. Traditionally these clubs had heads made of a hardwood, hence the name, but virtually all modern woods are now made of metal such as titanium, or of composite materials. Irons are shorter-shafted clubs with
4520-407: Is the putter , which evolved from the irons to create a low-lofted, balanced club designed to roll the ball along the green and into the hole. Putters are virtually always used on the green or in the surrounding rough/fringe. A fourth class, called hybrids , evolved as a cross between woods and irons, and are typically seen replacing the low-lofted irons with a club that provides similar distance, but
4633-439: Is the idea that the dominant hand is on top of the grip where the weak hand is on the bottom. This grip restricts the motion in your dominant hand and eliminates the possibility of wrist breakdowns through the putting stroke. Other notable putting styles include "the claw", a style that has the grip directly in between the thumb and index finger of the dominant hand while the palm faces the target. The weak hand placed normally on
Thomas Bjørn - Misplaced Pages Continue
4746-450: Is the primary factor in calculating par, other factors are taken into account; however the number of strokes a scratch golfer should take to make the green remains foremost. Factors affecting the calculation include altitude, gradient of the land from the tee to green, and forced " lay-ups " due to dog-legs (sharp bends) or obstacles (e.g. bunkers, water hazards). Getting the ball onto the green in two strokes less than par, and hence meeting
4859-407: Is typically positioned more to the "front" of the player's stance (closer to the leading foot) for lower-lofted clubs, with the usual ball position for a drive being just behind the arch of the leading foot. The ball is placed further "back" in the player's stance (toward the trailing foot) as the loft of the club to be used increases. Most iron shots and putts are made with the ball roughly centered in
4972-406: Is used to transport golf clubs and the player's other or personal equipment. Golf bags have several pockets designed for carrying equipment and supplies such as tees, balls, and gloves. Golf bags can be carried, pulled on a trolley or harnessed to a motorized golf cart during play. Golf bags usually have both a hand strap and shoulder strap for carrying, others may be carried over both shoulders like
5085-559: The 2023 European Ryder Cup captain. In June, he finished tied-second and tied best male player at the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed , a mixed tournament with men and women playing from different tees, nine strokes behind winner Linn Grant , who became the first female winner on the European Tour . In July, it was confirmed that Stenson had been removed from his position as European Ryder Cup captain, due to his imminent signing with LIV Golf . In his first appearance in
5198-543: The Asian Tour Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour European Tour playoff record (1–3) Co-sanctioned by the European Tour Sunshine Tour playoff record (0–1) Challenge Tour playoff record (1–1) Results not in chronological order in 2020. CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic CUT = missed
5311-552: The Challenge Tour from 1993 to 1995. In 1995 he won four tournaments on the Challenge Tour to earn his card for his debut year on the European Tour in 1996. Bjørn made his breakthrough immediately winning his maiden tour title in his debut season at the Loch Lomond World Invitational . He became the first golfer from Denmark to win a tournament on the European Tour . He finished the 1996 season placed tenth on
5424-696: The Estoril Open de Portugal , winning with a score of 23-under-par, five better than Richard Green . He followed this with three more wins at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters in February 2011, Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in August 2011, winning in a five-man playoff on the fifth extra hole, birdieing the final three holes and Omega European Masters in September 2011. In December 2013, Bjørn won
5537-609: The LIV Golf Invitational Series at Bedminster he won by two strokes from Dustin Johnson and Matthew Wolff . On 22 September 2022, the Swedish Golf Federation announced it was ending its partnership with Henrik Stenson, because of his relations with LIV Golf . In May, it was announced that Stenson had resigned his membership of the European Tour , having been subject to multiple fines and suspension from
5650-594: The Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa . It was Bjørn's 14th career European Tour win. Bjørn was a member of the winning European Ryder Cup teams in 1997, 2002 and 2014. He also captained the 2018 European Ryder Cup team, winning over United States with 17½ points to 10½ at Le Golf National, Paris, France . He made the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for one week in 2001 after
5763-459: The Official World Golf Ranking . The following week he moved up to fourth without playing. Stenson faltered after reaching a career OWGR high. He struggled during most of the 2011 season, when he made 9 of 15 cuts but had no top-10 finishes. His world ranking fell to 230 at the beginning of 2012. On 5 April 2012, Stenson led during the first round of the Masters Tournament with two eagles on
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#17328721581445876-586: The Race to Dubai which he was already leading. Having already won the FedEx Cup Series in September, he thus became the first player to win the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour and the European Tour's Race to Dubai, and the only player (as of 9/2020) to do so in the same season, a "historic double". Stenson described his feat as a "double-double" because in the process of winning these two seasonal points crowns, he also won
5989-645: The South African Open and the Nedbank Golf Challenge . A two-time European Tour Golfer of the Year, he has spent over 300 weeks ranked in the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking with a career high ranking of second. In 2013, Stenson won the U.S. PGA Tour FedEx Cup rankings as well as the European Tour Race to Dubai rankings by winning the season finales of both tours. Stenson
6102-549: The Sunshine Tour European Tour playoff record (3–2) Japan Golf Tour playoff record (1–0) Challenge Tour playoff record (1–0) Other playoff record (1–1) European Senior Tour playoff record (1–0) CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied CUT = missed the halfway cut WD = withdrew "T" indicates a tie for a place Results not in chronological order prior to 2015. Cancelled due to 9/11 WD = Withdrew QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied NT = No tournament Note that
6215-665: The United States Golf Association (USGA). With the aim of simplifying the rules, in 2017 the USGA and R&A undertook a complete rewrite. The new rule book came into effect in January 2019. The underlying principle of the rules is fairness. As stated on the back cover of the official rule book: There are strict regulations regarding the amateur status of golfers. Essentially, anybody who has ever received payment or compensation for giving instruction, or played golf for money,
6328-410: The "general penalty" defined as two-strokes, and disqualification for severe or repeated rule breaches. Examples include: Golf clubs are used to hit a golf ball . Each club is composed of a shaft with a lance (or "grip") on the top end and a club head on the bottom. Long clubs, which have a lower amount of degree loft, are those meant to propel the ball a comparatively longer distance, and short clubs
6441-573: The 36-hole final. In 1998, he played eight tournaments, as an amateur, on the professional Telia Tour , with five top-10 finishes. At the last tournament, the Telia Grand Prix, he led by two strokes with two holes to go, but finished fourth. His achievements during 1998 earned him a place in the Swedish team at the 1998 Eisenhower Trophy in Santiago, Chile , were the Swedish team finished 6th and Stenson
6554-519: The Company of Gentlemen Golfers, later renamed The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers , which was played at Leith , Scotland. The world's oldest golf tournament in existence, and golf's first major, is The Open Championship , which was first played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland, with Scottish golfers winning the earliest majors . Two Scotsmen from Dunfermline , John Reid and Robert Lockhart, first demonstrated golf in
6667-462: The HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009. Amateur Professional Great Britain & Ireland Europe Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit a ball into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games , cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping with
6780-562: The Order of Merit. The follow-up season in 1997 was steady with a number of top ten finishes without a win, however Bjørn did not have long to wait until his next win arrived. He won early in the 1998 season in Perth , Australia taking the Heineken Classic for his second European Tour title. Despite an over par final round of 74, Bjørn won by a single stroke from Ian Woosnam . In April 1998, after
6893-759: The PGA Championship (T3). In Europe he won for the second time the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai and recorded 2nd places at the Volvo World Match Play Championship and BMW International Open , en route to a final 2nd place in the Race to Dubai, behind the winner Rory McIlroy . In 2015, Stenson did not win any professional tournaments but made the cut in all 16 PGA Tour events he entered. He scored four runner-up finishes, including three over
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#17328721581447006-515: The PGA Tour in both driving accuracy and greens in regulation. It was for the first time someone has led the PGA Tour in both these stats since Calvin Peete did it for three straight seasons in 1981, 1982 and 1983. In December 2019, Stenson won the Hero World Challenge by one stroke over Jon Rahm . It was his first tournament win in more than two years. On 15 March, Stenson was announced as
7119-616: The Scots language and the Old English word hlinc ("rising ground, ridge"): traditionally these are coastal sand dunes but sometimes open parkland. This gave rise to the term "golf links", particularly applied to seaside courses and those built on naturally sandy soil inland. The first 18-hole golf course in the United States was on a sheep farm in Downers Grove, Illinois , in 1892. The course
7232-456: The U.S. by setting up a hole in an orchard in 1888, with Reid setting up America's first golf club the same year, Saint Andrew's Golf Club in Yonkers, New York. A golf course consists of either 9 or 18 holes, each with a teeing ground or "tee box" that is set off by two markers showing the bounds of the legal tee area, fairway , rough and other hazards , and the putting green surrounded by
7345-432: The balance in muscles. Putting is considered to be the most important component of the game of golf. As the game of golf has evolved, there have been many different putting techniques and grips that have been devised to give golfers the best chance to make putts. When the game originated, golfers would putt with their dominant hand on the bottom of the grip and their weak hand on top of the grip. This grip and putting style
7458-442: The ball by taking their stance to the side of it and (except when the ball lies in a hazard) grounding the club behind the ball. The golfer then takes their backswing, rotating the club, their arms and their upper body away from the ball, and then begins their swing, bringing the clubhead back down and around to hit the ball. A proper golf swing is a complex combination of motions, and slight variations in posture or positioning can make
7571-590: The ball comes to rest, the golfer strikes it again as many times as necessary using shots that are variously known as a "lay-up", an "approach", a "pitch", or a " chip ", until the ball reaches the green, where the golfer then " putts " the ball into the hole (commonly called "sinking the putt" or "holing out"). The goal of getting the ball into the hole ("holing" the ball) in as few strokes as possible may be impeded by obstacles such as areas of longer grass called "rough" (usually found alongside fairways), which both slows any ball that contacts it and makes it harder to advance
7684-425: The ball in line with the desired path; that the clubface is in line with the swing path; and that the ball hits the centre or "sweet spot" of the clubface. The ability to do this consistently, across a complete set of clubs with a wide range of shaft lengths and clubface areas, is a key skill for any golfer, and takes a significant effort to achieve. Stance refers to how the golfer positions themselves in order to play
7797-559: The ball in motion, which delays "boundary layer" separation and reduces the drag-inducing "wake" behind the ball, thereby allowing the ball to fly farther. The combination of a soft "boundary layer" and a hard "core" enables both distance and spin. A tee is allowed only for the first stroke on each hole, unless the player must hit a provisional tee shot or replay their first shot from the tee. Many golfers wear golf shoes with metal or plastic spikes designed to increase traction, thus allowing for longer and more accurate shots. A golf bag
7910-482: The ball may "hook", "pull", "draw", "fade", "push" or "slice" off the intended line and land out of bounds or in the rough or hazards, and thus the player will require many more strokes to hole out. A golf stroke uses the muscles of the core (especially erector spinae muscles and latissimus dorsi muscle when turning), hamstring , shoulder , and wrist . Stronger muscles in the wrist can prevent them from being twisted during swings, whilst stronger shoulders increase
8023-413: The ball slightly above the ground up to a few centimetres high. Tees are commonly made of wood but may be constructed of any material, including plastic. Traditionally, golfers used mounds of sand to elevate the ball, and containers of sand were provided for the purpose. A few courses still require sand to be used instead of peg tees, to reduce litter and reduce damage to the teeing ground. Tees help reduce
8136-477: The committee may designate a maximum score possible for a hole for the same reasons, while formalizing the surrender or "pick-up" rule. The total distance from the first teeing ground to the 18th green can be quite long; total yardages "through the green" can be in excess of 7,000 yards (6,400 m), and when adding in the travel distance between the green of one hole and the tee of the next, even skilled players may easily travel 5 miles (8.0 km) or more during
8249-454: The competition he earned 2 points for Europe in 5 matches, winning the Friday fourball with Justin Rose by 5 and 4 against Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed , and his single match against Spieth by 3 and 2. In November 2016, Stenson won the Race to Dubai for a second time. Stenson led the European Tour in scoring average (69.14) for the first time in his career in 2016, which he has declared his best overall year to date. In December, Stenson
8362-516: The eighth and fourteenth centuries. A Ming Dynasty scroll by the artist Youqiu dating back to 1368 entitled "The Autumn Banquet" shows a member of the Chinese Imperial court swinging what appears to be a golf club at a small ball with the aim of sinking it into a hole. The game is thought to have been introduced into Europe during the Middle Ages. Another early game that resembled modern golf
8475-415: The event undefeated and untied. In the Sunday singles matches of the event, Stenson defeated Bubba Watson 5 & 4 with six birdies and no bogey through fourteen holes, and tied Tony Finau with best score relative to par at 6-under. Being plagued by elbow injury during the 2018 season, Stenson underwent a minor procedure on his elbow, causing him to miss WGC-HSBC Champions . In 2018, he managed to lead
8588-457: The fairway, rough (tall grass), and various hazards that may be water, rocks, or sand-filled bunkers . Each hole on a course is unique in its specific layout. Many golf courses are designed to resemble their native landscape, such as along a sea coast (where the course is called a links ), within a forest, among rolling hills, or part of a desert . Golf is played for the lowest number of strokes by an individual, known as stroke play , or
8701-576: The final month of the season. He finished as the overall runner-up for the FedEx Cup. On the European Tour he registered a runner-up finish at the BMW International Open, just as he did in 2014. At the 2016 U.S. Open, on Saturday morning Stenson failed to show up at Oakmont to complete his second round, where he was going to miss the cut. The USGA said Stenson did not give a reason for his withdrawal, but he later confirmed on Twitter that he had "minor neck and knee issues". A week later, he became
8814-511: The first written record of golf is James II 's banning of the game in 1457, as an unwelcome distraction to learning archery. James IV lifted the ban in 1502 when he became a golfer himself, with golf clubs first recorded in 1503–1504: "For golf clubbes and balles to the King that he playit with". To many golfers, the Old Course at St Andrews , a links course dating to before 1574, is considered to be
8927-515: The following month at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational behind Tiger Woods . He moved up to 11th in the world rankings after that result. In the year's next major championship, the 2013 PGA Championship , Stenson contended again on Sunday, teeing off in the penultimate group, with fellow country-man Jonas Blixt , two strokes behind the leader Jim Furyk . Despite an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole that moved him to within one stroke of
9040-642: The fourth two-time winner of the BMW International Open and the first to win the event at two different locations (at the Golfclub München Eichenried in 2006; at the Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof in 2016). The 2016 win at the tournament marked his 10th career win on the European Tour. Stenson won the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon for his first major title. Before this win, he had achieved eight top 6-finishes in majors, without
9153-415: The fringe with the pin (normally a flagstick) and cup. The levels of grass are varied to increase difficulty, or to allow for putting in the case of the green. While many holes are designed with a direct line-of-sight from the teeing area to the green, some holes may bend either to the left or to the right. This is commonly called a "dogleg", in reference to a dog's knee. The hole is called a "dogleg left" if
9266-474: The front nine to lead at 6-under-par until the 18th hole. He scored a quadruple-bogey on the par-4 18th hole, tying the Masters' record for the highest score ever on that hole. In 2013, a resurgent Stenson had a watershed season, scoring a number of victories and high-place finishes while cementing a reputation as one of golf's best ball-strikers. In the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield , Stenson finished as
9379-439: The hole angles leftwards and "dogleg right" if it bends right. Sometimes, a hole's direction may bend twice; this is called a "double dogleg". A regular golf course consists of 18 holes, but nine-hole courses are common and can be played twice through for a full round of 18 holes. Early Scottish golf courses were primarily laid out on links land, soil-covered sand dunes directly inland from beaches. The word "links" derives from
9492-475: The hole" after enough strokes have been made by a player that it is mathematically impossible for the player to win the hole. It is also acceptable in informal stroke play to surrender the hole after hitting three strokes more than the "par" rating of the hole (a "triple bogey" – see below); while technically a violation of Rule 3–2, this practice speeds play as a courtesy to others, and avoids "runaway scores" and excessive frustration. Alternatively, in competition,
9605-494: The hole. The primary factor for classifying the par of a relatively straight, hazard-free hole is the distance from the tee to the green, and calculates the number of strokes a skilled golfer is expected to require to reach the green with an additional allowance of 2 putts. As such, the minimum par of any hole is 3; one stroke for the tee shot and two putts. Par 3, 4 and 5 holes are commonplace on golf courses; far more rarely, courses may feature par-6 and even par-7 holes. For men,
9718-492: The interference of the ground or grass on the movement of the club making the ball easier to hit by elevating the ball from the playing surface. When the initial shot on a hole is intended to move the ball a long distance, typically more than 225 yards (210 m), the shot is commonly called a "drive" and is generally made with a long-shafted, large-headed wood club called a "driver". Shorter holes may be initiated with other clubs, such as higher-numbered woods or irons . Once
9831-591: The last hole while Rose made his birdie putt to win by two strokes. Had Stenson won, he would have claimed victories on all six continents on which golf is played, a feat Rose with the Olympic win, joined Hall of Fame members Gary Player , David Graham , Hale Irwin and Bernhard Langer . Stenson won an automatic selection for the 2016 Ryder Cup at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota . In
9944-516: The leaders, Stenson was never quite able to build any momentum in an even-par round that included four bogeys. He finished alone in third place, three strokes behind the champion Jason Dufner . Stenson moved up one place in the world rankings to move back inside the world's top ten. Stenson's good form continued into the 2013 FedEx Cup Playoffs , when he won the Deutsche Bank Championship by two strokes over runner-up, Steve Stricker . It
10057-409: The lowest score on the most individual holes in a complete round by an individual or team, known as match play . Stroke play is the most commonly seen format at all levels, especially at the elite level. The modern game of golf originated in 15th century Scotland . The 18-hole round was created at the Old Course at St Andrews in 1764. Golf's first major , and the world's oldest golf tournament,
10170-413: The match is continued until the party increases the lead by one hole or ties any of the remaining holes, thereby winning the match, or until the match ends in a tie with the lead player's opponent winning all remaining holes. When the game is tied after the predetermined number of holes have been played, it may be continued until one side takes a one-hole lead. The score achieved for each and every hole of
10283-583: The non-dominant side of the body facing the target (for a right-hander, the target is to their left). Setting the stance in regard to the position of the ball, and placing the clubhead behind the ball, is known as being at address; when in this position the player's body and the centerline of the club face are positioned parallel to the desired line of travel, with the feet either perpendicular to that line or slightly splayed outward. The feet are commonly shoulder-width apart for middle irons and putters, narrower for short irons and wider for long irons and woods. The ball
10396-507: The par calculation criteria, is called making "green in regulation" or GIR. Missing a GIR does not necessarily mean a golfer will not make par, but it does make doing so more difficult as it reduces the number of putts available; conversely, making a GIR does not guarantee a par, as the player might require three or more putts to "hole out". Professional golfers typically make between 60% and 70% of greens in regulation. Eighteen-hole courses typically total to an overall par score of 70 to 72 for
10509-426: The professional and top amateur level, as well as at high-level private clubs, players may be accompanied by caddies , who carry and manage the players' equipment and who are allowed by the rules to give advice on the play of the course. The rules of golf are internationally standardised and are jointly governed by The R&A , spun off in 2004 from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (founded 1754), and
10622-447: The putter. Anchored putting, a style that requires a longer putter shaft that can be anchored into the player's stomach or below the chin; the idea is to stabilize one end of the putter thus creating a more consistent pendulum stroke. This style has been banned on professional circuits since 2016. A hole is classified by its par, which gives an indication of the number of strokes a skilled golfer may be expected to need to complete play of
10735-423: The round or tournament is added to produce the total score, and the player with the lowest score wins in stroke play . Stroke play is the game most commonly played by professional golfers. If there is a tie after the regulation number of holes in a professional tournament, a playoff takes place between all tied players. Playoffs either are sudden death or employ a pre-determined number of holes, anywhere from three to
10848-453: The runner-up, three strokes behind Phil Mickelson , with a total of 284 (E) for the tournament. He shot a final round of 70 and held the lead for brief moments during the round, but was beaten by Mickelson's four birdie finish. This was Stenson's best performance in a major championship , bettering his two previous T3 finishes at the same championship. Stenson moved back inside the world's top 20 with this result. Stenson finished runner-up again
10961-795: The same year. Stenson married fellow Swede Emma Löfgren in Dubai ten years after meeting her at the University of South Carolina . In July 2007, his wife gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter named Lisa. In 2010, the couple had their second child, a son named Karl. They live close to Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando, Florida . Emma Löfgren's sister Sarah Skönby, has worked as Stenson's manager since 2008. In 2014, Stenson announced that he had invested in PGA Sweden National , his first venture in golf course ownership. Co-sanctioned by
11074-400: The season finales of both tours (the Tour Championship and the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai ). He was later named European Tour Golfer of the Year . In May 2014, Stenson reached a career high ranking of number two in the world, trailing only Adam Scott . On the PGA Tour, Stenson achieved career-best finishes at the Masters (T14) and U.S. Open (T4) while tying a career-best finish at
11187-526: The sport back to the Roman game of paganica , in which participants used a bent stick to hit a stuffed leather ball. One theory asserts that paganica spread throughout Europe as the Romans conquered most of the continent, during the first century BC, and eventually evolved into the modern game. Others cite chuiwan (捶丸; "chui" means striking and "wan" means small ball) as the progenitor, a Chinese game played between
11300-413: The stance, while a few mid- and short-iron shots are made with the ball slightly behind the centre of the stance to ensure consistent contact between the ball and clubface, so the ball is on its way before the club continues down into the turf. The golfer chooses a golf club, grip, and stroke appropriate to the distance: Having chosen a club and stroke to produce the desired distance, the player addresses
11413-687: The top 10 of the European Tour Order of Merit . Stenson reached the top 20 of the Official World Golf Ranking in 2006 and the top 10 in 2007. In February 2007, Stenson became the first Swede to win one of the World Golf Championships when he beat Geoff Ogilvy 2&1 in the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship . This victory took Stenson to the top of the European Order of Merit and to fifth in
11526-493: The top 5 at all four major championships in his career. He also finished tied for sixth at the U.S. Open. He did not win any tournaments in an otherwise up-and-down year in which he faced several nagging injuries. However, Stenson rebounded with one of the finest performances of his career at the 2018 Ryder Cup . He went 3–0–0 in his matches to join Francesco Molinari as the only players in the combined 24-man field to finish
11639-515: The tour for playing without a conflicting event release. In 2005, Stenson received Elit Sign number 130 by the Swedish Golf Federation based on world ranking achievements. In 2007, Stenson was awarded honorary member of the PGA of Sweden. In January 2014, Stenson was voted winner of the Jerring Award , by the radio audience of Sveriges Radio , as the best performing Swedish athlete of 2013. He
11752-408: The turning force. Weak wrists can also transmit the force to elbows and even neck and lead to injury. (When a muscle contracts, it pulls equally from both ends and, to have movement at only one end of the muscle, other muscles must come into play to stabilize the bone to which the other end of the muscle is attached.) Golf is a unilateral exercise that can break body balances, requiring exercises to keep
11865-405: The varied terrains encountered on different courses is a key part of the game. Courses typically have either 9 or 18 holes , regions of terrain that each contain a cup , the hole that receives the ball. Each hole on a course has a teeing ground for the hole's first stroke, and a putting green containing the cup. There are several standard forms of terrain between the tee and the green, such as
11978-517: The world rankings, which was also the highest a male Swedish player had ever been ranked, surpassing Jesper Parnevik 's previous record of reaching seventh place in May 2000. In all, Stenson spent over 100 weeks in the top 10 of the rankings between 2007 and 2010. Stenson failed to add to his success over the rest of the season and finished in fourth place on the 2007 European Tour Order of Merit. Stenson made his Ryder Cup debut in 2006, and after getting
12091-529: The year 6th on the Order of Merit. After a winless period due to injuries and the birth of his first child, Bjørn returned to the winner's circle in October 1999 at the Sarazen World Open . This was his fourth career European Tour win and after an unspectacular year, he jumped up the standings to finish the season 14th on the Order of Merit. He has finished in the top ten on the Order of Merit eight times with
12204-601: Was known as cambuca in England and chambot in France. The Persian game chowkan is another possible ancient origin, albeit being more polo -like. In addition, kolven (a game involving a ball and curved bats) was played annually in Loenen, Netherlands, beginning in 1297, to commemorate the capture of the assassin of Floris V , a year earlier. The modern game originated in Scotland , where
12317-621: Was named Swedish Golfer of the Year , male or female, professional or amateur, five times; 2006, 2007, 2013, 2014 and 2016. In November 2016, Stenson was awarded the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal , for the most significant Swedish sports achievement of the year. In 2022, Stenson was elected, as its fifth inductee, decided by the board of the Swedish Golf Federation, into the Swedish Golf Hall of Fame, inaugurated
12430-503: Was named European Tour Golfer of the Year for the second time in his career. In August 2017, Stenson broke the aggregate scoring record at the Wyndham Championship (258), en route to winning the tournament by one stroke over Ollie Schniederjans . At the 2018 Masters Tournament , Stenson finished tied for fifth place after 4 even rounds of 69, 70, 70 and 70 with total score −9. This result meant that he has managed to finish in
12543-673: Was named the 2023 European Ryder Cup captain, but his captaincy was later terminated. Stenson was born in Gothenburg . At age 12, he had his first golf lesson with local pro Richard Bayliss at Gullbringa Gullbringa Golf & Country Club, in Kungälv, north of Gothenburg in September 1988. With parents not playing golf at the time, he first tried the game after following a friend to the course. A natural left-hander , Stenson learned to play golf right-handed. In 1991, he moved with his parents to Bjärred outside Malmö in southern Sweden and became
12656-511: Was the Swede's first PGA Tour victory in over three years. He tied the tournament record of −22 en route to his third career PGA Tour win. The win vaulted him into first place in the FedEx Cup standings just ahead of Tiger Woods . On 22 September 2013, Stenson won The Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club and the FedEx Cup . He also tied his career best OWGR ranking of 4th. He then moved up to
12769-498: Was the best Swedish player, finishing 14th individually. Stenson turned professional in late 1998 and two years later topped the money rankings on the second-tier golf tour in Europe, the Challenge Tour . He joined the main European Tour in 2001, and that year, he won the Benson & Hedges International Open for his first European Tour victory. Each year from 2005 to 2008, he finished in
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