Magnus Persson Atlevi (born 26 July 1965) is a Swedish professional golfer. He competed as Magnus Persson until his marriage to Elisabeth Atlevi in 1999.

Amateur career

As a golf prodigy, Persson became a scratch player at age 15, at the time the youngest ever in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, and at 16 reached a +1 handicap, as one of just four players in the country. At just 15 years of age, Persson finished runner-up and low foreign contestant at the 1980 Orange Bowl International Junior Championship in

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

, after winning a playoff for second place with

Stephen Ames Stephen Michael Ames (born April 28, 1964) is a professional golfer formerly of the PGA Tour, who now plays on the PGA Tour Champions. The biggest win of his career was at The Players Championship in 2006. He holds dual citizenship of Trinidad an ...

and

Paul Way Paul Graham Albert Way (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional golfer. Way was born in Kingsbury, Middlesex. He went to the Hugh Christie School in Tonbridge, Kent. He won the Brabazon Trophy in 1981. Way turned professional in 1982 an ...

. The year after, he repeated his low foreign contestant finish at Orange Bowl, again after a playoff against Stephen Ames, and a total sixth place. Persson won the European final of the 1981

Doug Sanders George Douglas Sanders (July 24, 1933 – April 12, 2020) was an American professional golfer who won 20 events on the PGA Tour and had four runner-up finishes at major championships. Early years He was born into a poor family in Cedartown, G ...

International Junior Championship, for players up to 18 years of age, at

Royal Aberdeen Golf Club Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in Aberdeen, Scotland, was founded in 1780 and claims to be the sixth oldest golf club in the world. It was founded as the Society of Golfers at Aberdeen, and became the Aberdeen Golf Club in 1815 subsequently receiving r ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. His last year playing as an amateur, he qualified for the

1982 Open Championship The 1982 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 111th Open Championship, held from 15–18 July at Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland. Tom Watson won his fourth Open Championship, one stroke ahead of runners-up Pe ...

Royal Troon Golf Club Royal Troon Golf Club is a Links (golf), links golf course in Scotland, located in Troon, South Ayrshire, southwest of Glasgow. Founding and early years The club, which now has a total of 45 holes, was founded in 1878, initially with five holes ...

, aged only 16. This year, he also won the amateur tournament Martini Cup at Rya Golf Club,

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...

, Sweden, with a 72-hole score 8 under par and the Swedish Junior Stroke-play Championship at the same course. Persson was a member of the tied second-placed Sweden amateur team at the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

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. Eisen ...

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, in September. Persson made a four feet birdie putt at his 72nd hole to give Sweden a silver medal, shared with

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, seven strokes behind United States. At the end of 1982, he was named Swedish Golfer of the Year, male and female, by far the youngest player ever and the last time an amateur received the award.

Professional career

A sponsor agreement with car manufacturer

Saab Automobile Saab Automobile AB () is a defunct automotive industry, car manufacturer that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, Saab AB, began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in ...

made it possible for Persson and two of his teammates from the 1982 Eisenhower Trophy,

Ove Sellberg Ove Bertil Sellberg (born 15 October 1959) is a Swedish professional golfer who played on the European Tour. He was the first Swede to win a European Tour event. Amateur career Sellberg was born in Stockholm and began playing golf, 10 years ol ...

and

Krister Kinell Krister Kinell (24 September 1953 – 13 February 2019) was a Swedish professional golfer and one of the first Swedish golfers to play on the European Tour. He was awarded the 1981 Swedish Golfer of the Year. Amateur career Kinell reached the f ...

, to turn professional and form Team Saab, granted support and financial possibilities to compete 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 fift ...

. He successfully progressed through the 1982 European Tour Qualifying School, at La Manga, Spain, in November, finishing tied 7th and earned his first pay check. At the age of 17, he was the youngest player ever to win a European Tour card. As a pro, he followed his

participation, by also qualifying the following three years, with a career best tied 39th finish in

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 ...

. He would go on to start in

The Open Championship 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 ...

totally eight times. In 1986, he won the

Swedish PGA Championship The Swedish PGA Championship for men is a golf tournament played annually in Sweden since 1970. It has been an event on the Swedish Golf Tour schedule since 1984 and the Nordic Golf League since 1999. History From its beginning in 1970, it was a ...

(that year named PGA Club Sweden Open) at a course, Lindö in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

at Björn Borg Sports Club, designed 10 years earlier by his father Åke Persson, one of Sweden's most respected golf course architects at the time. Persson would go on to win the same title for a second time 24 years later, at 45 years of age. Persson was twice a runner-up on the European Tour, losing in a sudden-death playoff on the sixth extra hole against

Gordon Brand Jnr Gordon Brand Jnr (19 August 1958 – 31 July 2019) was a Scottish professional golfer. He played on the European Tour, winning eight times, and later the European Senior Tour, winning twice. He played in the 1979 Walker Cup and played twic ...

at the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

Scandinavian Enterprise Open The Scandinavian Enterprise Open was a golf tournament on the European Tour that was played in Sweden until 1990, when it had a prize fund of £400,000, which was mid-range for the tour at that time. In 1991, the tournament was merged with fell ...

on home soil in Stockholm, Sweden and also losing out in a playoff at the

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

Open Renault de Baleares The Open de Baleares was a European Tour golf tournament which was played annually from 1988 to 1995. It had five names in eight years. It was staged at various courses on Majorca, the largest of the Balearic Islands of Spain , image_flag ...

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, to

Seve Ballesteros Severiano Ballesteros Sota (; 9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. A member of a gifted golfing family, he won 90 inte ...

. At the Mallorca tournament, Person led by five strokes before the last round and kept that lead with ten holes remaining, playing in the last group with Ballesteros. At the last hole Persson, still with a one-shot-advantage, found his ball plugged in a bunker, while Ballesteros' ball went playable despite a hooked drive into the gallery. Ballesteros went on to make a birdie and won the tournament in a sudden-death playoff. 1990 would become Perssons best season, finishing 30th on the

European Tour Order of Merit 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 fift ...

. He lost his card at the end of the 1991 season and struggled to regain it the following years. In 2001, on his 11th visit to the Qualifying School Finals in as many years, Persson regained his European Tour card.Challenge Tour Bio
European Tour, accessed 4 March 2016 Persson won three times on the European

Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and, as with on the main European Tour and the European Senior Tour, some of the events are played outside Europe. History The ...

, the first title coming in the

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Perrier European Pro-Am The Perrier European Pro-Am was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour that was played annually in Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The count ...

at Brussels Golf Club,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, the second in 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 peace ...

Torneo Istantilla Golf, at Islantilla Golf Club,

Huelva Huelva (, ) is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is between two short rias though has an outlying spur including nature reserve on the Gulf of Cádiz coast. The rias ...

and the third in the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

Is Molas Challenge at Is Molas Golf Club in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

.Senior Tour Qualifying School 2016 - Meet The Graduates
European Tour, 29 February 2016 In 2009, Persson became Tournament Director of 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 Swede ...

, at the time named the

Nordea 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 Swede ...

. He also started to branch out into golf course design, having created one course in Sweden and one in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

together with his architect father. Persson also found interest in playing golf with hickory sticks and twice, 2012 and 2013, won the Swedish Hickory Championship. Turning 50, Persson entered the 2015 Senior Tour Qualifying School. He had a

European Senior Tour The Legends Tour is the current branding of the European Senior Tour, a professional tour for male golfers aged 50 and over, run by the PGA European Tour. The tour was branded as the Staysure Tour for the 2018 and 2019 seasons after UK-based insur ...

card in his grasp before he four-putted the final green for a double bogey, missing out by one shot. He secured his card for the

2016 European Senior Tour The 2016 European Senior Tour was the 25th season of the European Senior Tour, the professional golf tour for men aged 50 and above operated by the PGA European Tour. Tournament results The numbers in brackets after the winners' names show the ...

tying for third in the 2016 Senior Tour Qualifying School, having led the field after rounds two and three. Persson won the

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 trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Paris Legends Championship The Paris Legends Championship is a men's senior (over 50) professional golf tournament on the European Senior Tour. It was held for the first time in September 2016 at Le Golf National, Paris, France. The winner was Magnus Persson Atlevi who w ...

and went on to finish second on the 2016 European Senior Tour Order of Merit, becoming Rookie of the Year. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, he finished runner-up at the

Staysure PGA Seniors Championship The PGA Seniors Championship is a European Senior Tour golf tournament for men aged fifty and above. It was founded in 1957 and became part of the European Senior Tour on its founding in 1992. It was not held in 2016 or 2017 but returned in 2018 ...

, the oldest important seniors tournament in Europe, before winning the European Tour Properties Senior Classic.

Amateur wins

*1981 Flygt National Junior (Kalmar GC), Doug Sanders International Junior Championship Europe *1982 Swedish Junior Stroke-play Championship, Martini Cup (Rya GC) Sources:

Professional wins (14)

Challenge Tour wins (3)

Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1)

Nordic Golf League wins (2)

Swedish Golf Tour wins (2)

Sources:

Other wins (5)

*1983

Gevalia Open The Gevalia Open was a golf tournament held at Gävle Golf Club in Gävle, Sweden from 1978. It featured on the Swedish Golf Tour from its inception in 1984 and on the Challenge Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was re-named the Gefle Open in 1991, using ...

*1984 Kvällsposten Masters *2009 Svalöv Open (Swedish Minitour) *2011 Guldpokalen (Swedish Minitour) *2013 Swedish PGA Club Pro Championship

European Senior Tour wins (2)

Playoff record

European Tour playoff record (0–2) PGA Tour of Australasia playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

''Note: Persson Atlevi only played in The Open Championship.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut (3rd round cut in 1984 Open Championship)
"T" = tied

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. S ...

(representing Sweden): 1980 *

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): 1980, 1981 *

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): 1981, 1982 *

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): 1982 (winners) *

(representing Sweden):

Professional *

Hennessy Cognac Cup The Hennessy Cognac Cup was a biennial team golf tournament contested from 1976 to 1984. The contests in 1976, 1978 and 1980 were between teams of professional male golfers; one team representing Great Britain and Ireland, the other team representi ...

(representing Sweden): 1984 *

Alfred 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):

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 Australian ...

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

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):

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

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 Southeast A ...

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):

(winners)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Persson Atlevi, Magnus Swedish male golfers European Tour golfers European Senior Tour golfers Sportspeople from Skåne County People from Staffanstorp Municipality 1965 births Living people