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Ian Woosnam

Wales · born , Oswestry, Shropshire, England

1major championship

Summary

  • First major 1991 The Masters
  • Ryder Cup 8 Cups · 14-12-5 · 16.5 points (53.2%)
  • Ryder Cup captain 2006
  • Runner-up in majors 1 time

Wins

  1. 1991 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 277 (-11) · by 1 stroke from Jose Maria Olazabal

Near misses

  1. 1986 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T3 · 286 (+6)
  2. 1987 The Open Muirfield · finished T8 · 284 (E)
  3. 1989 U.S. Open Oak Hill C.C. · runner-up to Curtis Strange
  4. 1990 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T4 · 276 (-12)
  5. 1992 The Open Muirfield · finished T5 · 279 (-5)
  6. 2001 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished T3 · 278 (-6)

Ryder Cup

8 Cups, 31 matches: 14 won, 12 lost, 5 halved, 16.5 points. Foursomes 4-3-2, four-ball 10-3-1, singles 0-6-2.

  1. 1983 PGA National Golf Club Europe · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 0-2-1, 0.5 points · automatic
  2. 1985 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · Europe won 16.5–11.5 · 2-2-0, 2 points · automatic
  3. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club Europe · Europe won 15–13 · 3-1-1, 3.5 points · automatic
  4. 1989 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · tied 14–14 · 2-2-1, 2.5 points · automatic
  5. 1991 The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort Europe · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 1-3-0, 1 point · automatic
  6. 1993 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · USA won 15–13 · 4-0-1, 4.5 points · automatic
  7. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) Europe · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 1-1-1, 1.5 points · captain's pick
  8. 1997 Valderrama Golf Club Europe · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point · automatic
  9. 2006 Captain Europe · won 18.5–9.5

Rivals

Beat him

Ryder Cup partners

Ryder Cup opponents

Next in the chain: Curtis Strange's rivals →

Moments

  1. 1991 Masters Woosnam holed a par putt on the 72nd hole to win by one and became the first Welshman to win a major championship.
  2. 1991 Masters Amateur Phil Mickelson's opening 69 was the first under-par round at the Masters by a left-handed golfer, and he finished as low amateur.
  3. 1995 Ryder Cup José María Olazábal withdrew with a foot injury on 1995-09-11 and Ian Woosnam replaced him. Woosnam then halved the singles with Fred Couples.

Records and firsts

  1. 1991 Masters First Masters champion from: Wales
  2. — Ryder Cup Most fourball wins · 10 (10.5 pts, 10-3-1)
  3. 1989 Ryder Cup Biggest Ryder Cup winning margin: Singles (18-hole), 8&7 · Tom Kite over Howard Clark (1989); Fred Couples over Ian Woosnam (1997) (1989, 1997) (Tom Kite over Howard Clark (1989); Fred Couples over Ian Woosnam (1997))

Results by championship

    Best day

    1991 Masters

    Augusta National Golf Club · 277 (-11) · by 1 stroke from Jose Maria Olazabal

    Woosnam holed a par putt on the 72nd hole to win by one and became the first Welshman to win a major championship.

    Amateur Phil Mickelson's opening 69 was the first under-par round at the Masters by a left-handed golfer, and he finished as low amateur.

    Record: Wales

    Chosen by rule: the major win our record tables single out. Year page: 1991.

    Career line, 1983–2001

    Masters
    1991 Masters: won
    U.S. Open
    1989 U.S. Open: runner-up to Curtis Strange
    The Open
    1986 The Open: finished T31987 The Open: finished T81990 The Open: finished T41992 The Open: finished T52001 The Open: finished T3
    Ryder Cup
    1983 Ryder Cup (Europe): 0-2-11985 Ryder Cup (Europe): 2-2-01987 Ryder Cup (Europe): 3-1-11989 Ryder Cup (Europe): 2-2-11991 Ryder Cup (Europe): 1-3-01993 Ryder Cup (Europe): 4-0-11995 Ryder Cup (Europe): 1-1-11997 Ryder Cup (Europe): 1-1-0
    1985199019952000

    15 results. Hover or tap a mark; click it for the year.

    • Major win
    • Runner-up
    • Top 10
    • Ryder Cup, GB / Europe

    Ian Woosnam was born on March 2, 1958, in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. Woosnam won one major championship: the 1991 Masters. Woosnam played in 8 Ryder Cups for Europe (1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997), winning 14, losing 12 and halving 5 of 31 matches for 16.5 points, and captained the side in 2006.

    See Ian Woosnam in our rooms: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open and Every Ground.

    Cards you pull this visit stack here. Tap one to go back to it.

    The record

    Wins in the majors (1)

    1. 1991 The Masters Augusta National Golf Club · 277 (-11) · by 1 stroke from Jose Maria Olazabal

    Near misses

    Top-10 finishes are listed for The Open, the one championship with a full top 10 every year.

    1. 1986 The Open Turnberry (Ailsa Course) · finished T3 · 286 (+6)
    2. 1987 The Open Muirfield · finished T8 · 284 (E)
    3. 1989 U.S. Open Oak Hill C.C. · runner-up to Curtis Strange
    4. 1990 The Open Old Course, St Andrews · finished T4 · 276 (-12)
    5. 1992 The Open Muirfield · finished T5 · 279 (-5)
    6. 2001 The Open Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club · finished T3 · 278 (-6)

    U.S. Open top-10 finishes in his career: 2 (GNN U.S. Open room data).

    Ryder Cup

    Woosnam played 8 Ryder Cups for Europe: 31 matches, 14 won, 12 lost, 5 halved, 16.5 points (53.2% of those available). By format: foursomes 4-3-2, four-ball 10-3-1, singles 0-6-2 (won-lost-halved). Vice-captain: 2002.

    1. 1983 PGA National Golf Club Europe · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 0-2-1, 0.5 points · automatic
    2. 1985 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · Europe won 16.5–11.5 · 2-2-0, 2 points · automatic
    3. 1987 Muirfield Village Golf Club Europe · Europe won 15–13 · 3-1-1, 3.5 points · automatic
    4. 1989 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · tied 14–14 · 2-2-1, 2.5 points · automatic
    5. 1991 The Ocean Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort Europe · USA won 14.5–13.5 · 1-3-0, 1 point · automatic
    6. 1993 The Belfry (Brabazon Course) Europe · USA won 15–13 · 4-0-1, 4.5 points · automatic
    7. 1995 Oak Hill Country Club (East Course) Europe · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 1-1-1, 1.5 points · captain's pick
    8. 1997 Valderrama Golf Club Europe · Europe won 14.5–13.5 · 1-1-0, 1 point · automatic
    9. 2006 Captain Europe · won 18.5–9.5

    Partners, with matches played together: Nick Faldo (10), Paul Way (3), Sam Torrance (2), Bernhard Langer (2), Peter Baker (2), Paul Broadhurst (1), Philip Walton (1), Costantino Rocca (1), Thomas Bjørn (1).

    Masters Champions Dinner

    1992, as the 1991 champion

    1. Soup / salad Leek and potato soup
    2. Main course Leg of Welsh lamb (one list: "cooked over hay" [unconfirmed])
    3. Dessert Apple pie with ice cream

    Confidence: Reported. Menu status: Full. A Welsh-themed menu.

    Records and firsts

    Rows from our record tables that name this player, worded as the tables word them.

    1. 1991 Masters First Masters champion from: Wales
    2. — Ryder Cup Most fourball wins · 10 (10.5 pts, 10-3-1)
    3. 1989 Ryder Cup Biggest Ryder Cup winning margin: Singles (18-hole), 8&7 · Tom Kite over Howard Clark (1989); Fred Couples over Ian Woosnam (1997) (1989, 1997) (Tom Kite over Howard Clark (1989); Fred Couples over Ian Woosnam (1997))

    Sources

    Elsewhere: Wikipedia.

    Every fact on this page comes from Golf Network News data sets compiled in October 2026 (Masters, PGA Championship, The Open, U.S. Women's Open, Ryder Cup, PGA Tour 2024–2026, major host sites, Champions Dinner menus, and the U.S. Open and state rooms). These are the sources those rows cite.

    1. golfcompendium.com: masters winners
    2. golfcompendium.com: us open winners
    3. golfcompendium.com: pga championship winners
    4. golfcompendium.com: british open winners
    5. golfcompendium.com: most wins in major championships golf
    6. Wikipedia: Ian Woosnam
    7. app.europeantour.com: who has the most wins in european tour history
    8. golfcompendium.com: european tour most wins
    9. pga.com: tiger woods masters ultimate guide
    10. WP: List of European Ryder Cup golfers
    11. Golf Compendium
    12. Wikipedia: 1991 Masters Tournament
    13. golfcompendium.com: 1991 masters
    14. digital.bentley.umich.edu: download text
    15. golfchannel.com: masters winners champions results scores records every year
    16. nbcsports.com: by the numbers jumpsuit numbers for every masters champions caddie
    17. todays-golfer.com: how the masters prize money has changed over the years
    18. golf.com: masters purse masters winners payouts alltime
    19. Wikipedia: Masters Tournament
    20. pgatour.com: what is the cut at the masters tournament augusta national (archived copy; the original link no longer works)
    21. todays-golfer.com: cut rules
    22. golfcompendium.com: what is the cut at the masters
    23. liveabout.com: what are the yardages at augusta national during the masters 1564592
    24. R&A 1986
    25. R&A 1987
    26. R&A 1990
    27. R&A 1992
    28. R&A 2001
    29. GC: 1983 ryder cup
    30. Wikipedia: 1983 Ryder Cup
    31. GC: 1985 ryder cup
    32. Wikipedia: 1985 Ryder Cup
    33. GC: 1987 ryder cup
    34. Wikipedia: 1987 Ryder Cup
    35. GC: 1989 ryder cup
    36. Wikipedia: 1989 Ryder Cup
    37. GC: 1991 ryder cup
    38. Wikipedia: 1991 Ryder Cup
    39. GC: 1993 ryder cup
    40. Wikipedia: 1993 Ryder Cup
    41. GC: 1995 ryder cup
    42. Deseret News 1995
    43. Wikipedia: 1995 Ryder Cup
    44. Golf Channel
    45. GC: 1997 ryder cup
    46. SI Vault 1997 — link no longer works (checked October 17, 2026): https://vault.si.com/vault/1997/08/25/you-da-man-lee-janzen-made-tom-kites-job-as-captain-a-little-easier-by-proving-with-his-play-at-winged-foot-that-he-belonged-on-the-ryder-cup-team
    47. Wikipedia: 1997 Ryder Cup
    48. WP Ryder Cup
    49. golftoday.co.uk: the masters champions dinner
    50. National Club Golfer
    51. The Analyst (Opta)
    52. Wikipedia: List of Ryder Cup records