Jesper Bo Parnevik (; born 7 March 1965) is a Swedish
professional golfer. He spent 38 weeks in the top 10 of the
Official World Golf Ranking in 2000 and 2001.
Early years and amateur career
Parnevik was born in
Botkyrka
Botkyrka Municipality ( ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, not far from the capital Stockholm. Its seat is located in the town of Tumba.
In 1971 ''Grödinge'' was merged with Botkyrka and in 1974 ''Salem'' was added. ...
,
Stockholm County, and is the son of Swedish entertainer
Bosse Parnevik and his wife Gertie (b. 1940). He grew up in
Åkersberga
Åkersberga is a locality and the seat of Österåker Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 28,033 inhabitants in 2010.
History
In 1901 a railway station named ''Berga'' was opened on this rural spot some 30 km from Stockholm. Some ...
.
Parnevik became a member of the first group of students in Sweden to combine studying with golf training at the Swedish upper secondary sports school in
Danderyd
Danderyd Municipality (''Danderyds kommun''; ) is a municipality north of Stockholm in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. It is one of the smallest municipalities of Sweden, but the most affluent. Its seat is located in Djursholm and it is ...
outside Stockholm. At age 15, Parnevik spent 10 days in
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and developed an appreciation for life in the United States; he later moved to
Palm Beach County, Florida, to attend
Palm Beach Junior College in
Lake Worth on a golf scholarship.
Parnevik was a member of the team representing Sweden at the
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
and
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
Eisenhower Trophy
The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eise ...
. He was also part of the Swedish team finishing second, after losing in the final against
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, at the
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
European Amateur Team Championship
The European Amateur Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for men organised by the European Golf Association which was introduced in 1959.
The championship was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been ...
on home soil in
Halmstad, Sweden, where Parnevik won individually at the initial qualifying stroke-play competition.
Professional career
Parnevik turned professional in 1986. After winning the
Swedish Golf Tour
The Swedish Golf Tour (currently known as the MoreGolf Mastercard Tour for sponsorship reasons), is a developmental professional golf formerly operated by Svenska Golftourerna AB, owned equally by the Swedish Golf Federation and the PGA of Sweden ...
Order of Merit in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
, including a runner-up finish to
Vijay Singh
Vijay Singh ( hif, विजय सिंह ; born 22 February 1963), nicknamed "The Big Fijian", is a Fijian professional golfer. He has won 34 events on the PGA Tour, including three major championships: one Masters title (2000) and two ...
at the 1988 Swedish PGA Championship, he scored four wins on the
European Tour
The European Tour (currently known as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons), legally the PGA European Tour is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European Senior Tour (for players aged fi ...
. His breakthrough came when he out-dueled
Payne Stewart
William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 – October 25, 1999) was an American professional golfer who won eleven PGA Tour events, including three major championships, the last of which came just a few months before his death in an airplane acci ...
at the
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
Scottish Open at
Gleneagles King's Course.
With victories in 1995 and 1998, Parnevik became the first Swede to win twice on the European Tour on home soil. At his first victory at the
Scandinavian Masters in
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
at
Barsebäck Golf & Country Club
Barsebäck Golf & Country Club is a golf club in Barsebäck, northern part of Metropolitan Malmö in Scania, Sweden. The club is one of the premier golf facilities in Sweden and hosted the 2003 Solheim Cup and the Scandinavian Masters ten tim ...
, he played 72 holes competition and 18 holes pro-am without a bogey, but with one double-bogey.
Based in Florida, he joined the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...
in the mid-90s, subsequently winning five events. His playing career also includes three
Ryder Cup appearances (1997, 1999, and 2002) and two runner-up finishes in
The Open
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
(1994 and 1997). His career best
world ranking
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second.
In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of ...
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.
In late 2000, Parnevik underwent hip surgery at the persuasion of
Greg Norman
Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...
, who had undergone similar surgery.
Parnevik finished second in the
Valero Texas Open
The Texas Open, known as the Valero Texas Open for sponsorship reasons, is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour, played near San Antonio, Texas. It dates back years to 1922, when it was first called the Texas Open; San Antonio-based Val ...
in October 2007, losing to
Justin Leonard
Justin Charles Garrett Leonard (born June 15, 1972) is an American professional golfer. He has twelve career wins on the PGA Tour, including one major, the 1997 Open Championship.
Early years
Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Leonard graduated ...
in a playoff. In 2009, after a tie for 17th at the
SAS Masters in Sweden, Parnevik underwent further hip surgery in
Vail, Colorado
Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the num ...
, United States, 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
The annual PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, also known as Qualifying School or Q-School, was historically the main method by which golfers earned PGA Tour playing privileges, commonly known as a Tour card. Beginning in 2013, Q-School grants privileg ...
("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
The Genesis Invitational is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in southern California, first played in 1926 as the Los Angeles Open. Other previous names include Genesis Open, Northern Trust Open and Nissan Open. Played annually in ...
because of an ailing back. He had emergency surgery where it was discovered that he had a broken
lumbar vertebrae
The lumbar vertebrae are, in human anatomy, the five vertebrae between the rib cage and the pelvis. They are the largest segments of the vertebral column and are characterized by the absence of the foramen transversarium within the transverse p ...
that could put his career in jeopardy.
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. He played the 2012 and 2013 seasons on a Medical Extension after suffering a severe injury to his right hand in a boating accident.
Plagued by injuries for years, Parnevik staged a comeback on the
Champions Tour when he became eligible in 2015. He started
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
with a tie for third at the
Chubb Classic
The Chubb Classic is a golf tournament on the PGA Tour Champions, held annually in February in Naples, Florida. It has been played at a variety of courses, and Chubb Corporation is the main sponsor.
It debuted in 1988 as the Aetna Challenge,. T ...
, losing out to former
world number one golfers
Bernhard Langer
Bernhard Langer (; born 27 August 1957) is a German professional golfer. He is a two-time Masters champion and was one of the world's leading golfers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1986, he became the sport's first official number one ran ...
and
Fred Couples. He got his first win on the Champions Tour in the same year at the
Insperity Invitational
The Insperity Invitational is a professional golf tournament in Texas on the PGA Tour Champions. It debuted in 2004 as the Administaff Small Business Classic, and is played in suburban Houston. The first four editions were at Augusta Pines Golf Cl ...
.
Style
Parnevik is known for his distinctive and
eccentric taste in clothes and fashion as well as his playing achievements, a fashion sense that led golf writer
Dan Jenkins
Daniel Thomas Jenkins (December 2, 1928 – March 7, 2019) was an American author and sportswriter who often wrote for ''Sports Illustrated''. He was also a high-standard amateur golfer who played college golf at Texas Christian University.
Ear ...
to describe him as "the last guy to climb out of the clown car at the circus". 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, opting for strawhats and visors 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. Puma Golf signed Jesper Parnevik in 2014 and he gets credited for his influence on their LUX Golf Appearel Line. Since wearing Puma Clothes he once again wears a custom made and more modern looking flipped bill hat. He is also known to eat volcanic dust as a dietary supplement. Parnevik's nickname on tour is "Spaceman".
Awards, personal life
In 1998, Parnevik was awarded honorary member of the PGA of Sweden.
He was awarded the 1999
Swedish Golfer of the Year.
In 2003, the three Swedish teammates of the victorious European Ryder Cup team the previous year,
Niclas Fasth
Niclas Fasth (born 29 April 1972) is a Swedish professional golfer.
Early life
Fasth was born in Gothenburg. In 1982, when he was 10 years old, his parents bought a summer house close to Lysegården Golf Club in Kungälv, north of Gothenburg. H ...
,
Pierre Fulke
Pierre Olof Fulke (born 21 February 1971) is a Swedish professional golfer who played on the European Tour.
Early life and amateur career
Fulke was born in Nyköping. He came to represent Eksjö Golf Club, situated in the province of Småland ...
and Parnevik, was each, by the
Swedish Golf Federation, awarded the Golden Club, the highest award for contributions to Swedish golf, as the 30th, 31st and 32nd recipients.
Parnevik has an eclectic acting career, including a cameo in the 2007 comedy, ''
Who's Your Caddy
''Who's Your Caddy?'' is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Don Michael Paul and starring Big Boi, Lil Wayne, Andy Milonakis, Faizon Love, Terry Crews, Tony Cox, Jeffrey Jones and Jesper Parnevik. It is the first film produced by Robert L. ...
'', 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 would like to have dinner. He quickly replied that it would have to be a choice between
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
and
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
. When told he could only have one, he shot back, "OK, Elvis Einstein."
Parnevik is credited with having introduced fellow professional golfer
Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records.
*
*
* Woods is widely regarded as ...
to Swedish
au pair
An au pair (; plural: au pairs) is a helper from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as some housework, and receive a mon ...
Elin Nordegren
Elin Maria Pernilla Nordegren (; formerly Woods; born 1 January 1980) is the Swedish-born ex-wife of professional golfer Tiger Woods. Nordegren has worked as a model and nanny.
Early life and education
Nordegren was born in Stockholm. Her mot ...
(previously employed by Parnevik), whom Woods eventually married. Parnevik subsequently stated in 2009 that he regretted his responsibility for this introduction after reports of Woods' infidelity surfaced that year.
Parnevik and his family starred in a reality TV show, ''
Parneviks'', which aired on
TV3 in Sweden for four seasons from 2015 to 2018, giving insights into his life in Florida. He is married to Mia Parnevik (née Sandsten 1968), and they have three daughters and one son. His oldest daughter
Peg Parnevik has a career as a pop singer. Another daughter, Penny, has a relationship with
Douglas Murray. His son Phoenix is named after Parnevik's first PGA Tour win at the 1998 Phoenix Open.
Parnevik has a waterfront home in
Tequesta, Florida
Tequesta is an incorporated village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,158 at the 2020 Census. It is the northernmost municipality in the South Florida- Miami metropolitan area, which in 2010 had a total population ...
.
Amateur wins
*1985 Swedish Junior Stroke-play Championship
Professional wins (15)
PGA Tour wins (5)
PGA Tour playoff record (1–1)
European Tour wins (4)
European Tour playoff record (0–1)
Challenge Tour wins (1)
Swedish Golf Tour wins (2)
Other wins (2)
*1988 Open Passing Shot (France)
*1997
Johnnie Walker Super Tour
PGA Tour Champions wins (1)
Results in major championships
CUT = missed the half-way cut
DQ = Disqualified
"T" = tied
Summary
*Most consecutive cuts made – 11 (1995 Open Championship – 1998 Open Championship)
*Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (1999 Open Championship – 1999 PGA)
Results in The Players Championship
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships
1Cancelled due to
9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
WD = Withdrew
NT = No tournament
Results in senior major championships
"T" indicates a tie for a place
CUT = missed the halfway cut
DQ = disqualified
NT = no tournament due to
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
Team appearances
Amateur
*
European Boys' Team Championship
The European Boys' Team Championship (Jean-Louis Dupont Trophy) is a European amateur team golf championship for men up to 18 organized by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1980 and it has been played annually since.
...
(representing Sweden): 1982
*
Jacques Léglise Trophy
The Jacques Léglise Trophy is an annual amateur boys' team golf competition between Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. It was first played in 1977, as a one-day match before the Boys Amateur Championship, but since 1996 it has b ...
(representing the Continent of Europe): 1982
*
European Youths' Team Championship
The European Youths' Team Championship was a European amateur team golf championship for men under 22 organized by the European Golf Association. The inaugural event was held in 1961. It was played every year until 1982, then every second year. It ...
(representing Sweden): 1984
*
Eisenhower Trophy
The Eisenhower Trophy (World Men's Amateur Team Championships) is the biennial World Amateur Team Championship for men organized by the International Golf Federation. Since the tournament was first played in 1958, it is named after Dwight D. Eise ...
(representing Sweden):
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
,
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
*
European Amateur Team Championship
The European Amateur Team Championship is a European amateur team golf championship for men organised by the European Golf Association which was introduced in 1959.
The championship was played in odd-numbered years from 1959 to 2007 and has been ...
(representing Sweden):
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
*
St Andrews Trophy
The St Andrews Trophy is a biennial men's team golf tournament contested between teams of amateur golfers representing Great Britain & Ireland and the Continent of Europe. It takes its name from St Andrews in Scotland.
It was first played in 1 ...
(representing the Continent of Europe): 1986
Professional
*
Europcar Cup
The Europcar Cup was a professional team golf tournament played yearly in Biarritz, France, from 1985 to 1988.
The tournament was designated as an "Approved Special Event" on the European Tour schedule. A further event was planned in 1989 but was ...
(representing Sweden):
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
(winners)
*
Dunhill Cup
The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championshi ...
(representing Sweden):
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...
,
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
,
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
,
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
*
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
(representing Sweden):
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
,
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
*
Ryder Cup (representing Europe):
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
(winners),
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
,
2002 (winners)
See also
*
1993 PGA Tour Qualifying School graduates __NOTOC__
This is a list of the 45 players who earned 1994 PGA Tour cards through the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament
The annual PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, also known as Qualifying School or Q-School, was historically the main method by which g ...
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parnevik, Jesper
Swedish male golfers
European Tour golfers
PGA Tour golfers
PGA Tour Champions golfers
Ryder Cup competitors for Europe
Palm Beach State College alumni
Sportspeople from Stockholm County
People from Botkyrka Municipality
People from Jupiter, Florida
1965 births
Living people