Ian Woosnam for Pirin Golf - Pirin Golf

Ian Woosnam for Pirin Golf & Country Club

"I am delighted to have been asked by Pirin Golf & Country Club to work with them on their golf course. Bulgaria is an exciting new golf destination and to be given the opportunity to design a course in this developing market is a great honour. I hope the work we have done will enhance Bulgaria as a golfing country as well as encouraging golfers to visit this part of the world. I believe you will enjoy playing the Ian Woosnam Course at the Pirin Golf & Country Club, Bulgaria.",

Best wishes,

Ian Woosnam

Ryder cup captain

Who is Ian Woosnam?

Ian Harold Woosnam OBE (born 2 March 1958) is a British professional golfer from Wales. He was born in the town of Oswestry in England, and his family lived in the nearby village of St. Martin's in Shropshire. He started playing at the unique Llanymynech Golf Club - which is partly in Wales and partly in England. Woosnam was one of the "Big Five" generation of European golfers, all born within 12 months of one another, who all won majors, and made Europe competitive in the Ryder Cup. His peers in this group were Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Sandy Lyle. He now lives in Jersey.

Career outline

Woosnam is short for a male golfer at 5 ft 4½ in (1.64 m), but he is a powerful hitter. He played as an amateur in regional competitions in the English county of Shropshire alongside Sandy Lyle. Woosnam turned professional in 1976 and first played the European Tour in 1979. After three modest seasons his career took off in 1982 when he won the Swiss Open and came eighth on the Order of Merit (prize money list). He also finished in the top ten on the Order of Merit every year from 1983 to 1991 and again in 1993, 1996, and 1997, making thirteen times in all. In 1987 and 1990 he was first, and in the former year he set a world record for global tournament earnings of £1,062,662.

Woosnam was 3rd in the 1986 Open Championship. In 1991, he reached the top of the Official World Golf Rankings, eventually spending a total of 50 weeks as World Number 1. In the same year he emulated his British rivals, Sandy Lyle and Nick Faldo, by winning the US Masters; the first person representing Wales to ever win a major. He has won 28 official money events on the European Tour and many other events around the world.

In the late 1990s his form began to fade, but he nearly made a spectacular comeback at The Open Championship in 2001, when he finished third despite suffering a two-stroke penalty for starting the final round with 15 clubs in his bag instead of the allowable maximum of 14. That same year Woosnam became the first player to capture the Wentworth World Match Play Championship in three decades.

Woosnam was a member of eight consecutive European Ryder Cup teams from 1983 to 1997. Despite not winning a singles match he accumulated an excellent overall record of 14 wins, 12 losses and 5 halves in 31 matches. He was a vice captain for the 2002 European team and was elected as captain for the 2006 Ryder Cup, leading Europe to victory by thrashing U.S.A. 18½-9½.

Woosnam was awarded an O.B.E. in the 2007 New Years Honours List.