Ove Bertil Sellberg (born 15 October 1959) is a Swedish

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

who played 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 fif ...

. He was the first Swede to win a European Tour event.

Amateur career

Sellberg was born in Stockholm and began playing golf, 10 years old, at Ågesta Golf Club. At 16 years of age, he lost in the final of the 1976 Swedish Junior Match-play Championship, but won the tournament three years later, when the format was changed to stroke-play. In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...

, as a 21 year old amateur, he took part in the

Spanish Open Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

on the European Tour and finished tied 24th. He was a member of the tied second-placed Sweden amateur team at the

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 ...

Lausanne Lausanne ( , , , ) ; it, Losanna; rm, Losanna. is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French speaking canton of Vaud. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and fac ...

, Switzerland, in September

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 Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

, himself finishing tied 6th individually.

Professional career

A sponsor agreement with car manufacturer

Saab Automobile Saab Automobile AB () is a defunct 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 1949. In 1968 th ...

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

Magnus Persson Magnus Persson (born 17 December 1990) is a Swedish handball player for HK Malmö HK Malmö is a handball club based in Malmö, Sweden. The club was formed in May 2007 and plays in the highest handball division in Sweden. The club has quick ...

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

. He successfully progressed through the 1982

European Tour Qualifying School The European Tour Qualifying School is an annual golf tournament which enables professional golfers to gain a place on the European Tour and its official development tour, the Challenge Tour. The European Tour Qualifying School In professional ...

, at La Manga, Spain, in November, finishing tied 5th and earned his first pay check. He played on the

through most of the 1980s and 1990s, twice finishing in the top-20 of the Order of Merit, in

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 ...

and

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 Airpor ...

. He won three tournaments on the tour during a five-year-span. When he defeated Howard Clark in the final of the 1986 Epson Grand Prix of Europe Match Play Championship at St. Pierre Golf & Country Club in

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the wester ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, Sellberg became the first Swede to win a European Tour event, which earned him the 1986

Swedish Golfer of the Year Swedish Golfer of the Year is awarded annually by the Swedish Golf Federation. The award is individual and awarded since 1966 to the Swedish golfer with the best overall golf performance each year, either in a series of achievements or a single b ...

award, male and female. He had further wins in the 1989 Open Renault de Baleares on

Majorca 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 Bale ...

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") , ...

and the 1990 Peugeot-Trends Belgian Open at Royal Waterloo GC,

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 ...

. Sellberg represented Sweden four times in the

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 ...

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 TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

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 ...

and

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 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 Exxon Valdez oil tanker ru ...

, with some success. The team finished 11th, 9th, 7th and 3rd, respectively, every time an all-time best for Sweden. In

, Sellberg finished tied 7th in the individual competition. He represented Sweden in the

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 Championsh ...

five years in a row. In 1984, Sellberg earned Elite Sign No. 72 by the

Swedish Golf Federation The Swedish Golf Federation ( sv, Svenska Golfförbundet, SGF) is the governing body for the sport of golf in Sweden, founded in 1904. The federation is responsible for administering the Rules of Golf, as laid down by The R&A, at the national lev ...

, on the basis of national team appearances and national championship performances. At the opening of the Swedish Golf Museum in June 2000, he was one of ten players, among names such as

Annika Sörenstam Annika Charlotta Sörenstam (; born 9 October 1970) is a Swedish professional golfer. She is regarded as one of the best female golfers in history. Before stepping away from competitive golf at the end of the 2008 season, she had won 90 intern ...

and

Jesper Parnevik 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, Stockholm County, and ...

, presented as important in the history of Swedish golf. Sellberg was CEO of PGA Sweden National from 2008 to 2016, running the golf resort south of Bara, east of

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popula ...

, Sweden.

Amateur wins

*1979 Swedish Junior Stroke-play Championship *1981 Scandinavian Foursome (Kungsbacka GC) (with

Anders Forsbrand Anders Gunnar Vilhelm Forsbrand (born 1 April 1961) is a Swedish professional golfer who formerly competed on the European Tour. Early life Forsbrand was born in Filipstad, Sweden. He began playing golf at Uddeholm Golf Club, a small club with a ...

) *1982 Guldpokalen (Båstad GC), In Wear-Martinique Open (Kristianstad GC), Ågestakanonen (Ågesta GC) Sources:

Professional wins (6)

European Tour wins (3)

Swedish Golf Tour wins (2)

Other wins (1)

*1983 SAAB Cup (Sweden)

Results in major championships

''Note: Sellberg only played in The Open Championship.''
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Team appearances

Amateur *

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 ...

(representing Continent of Europe): 1977 (winners) *

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): 1978, 1979, 1981 * EGA Trophy (representing the Continent of Europe): 1978 *

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 bee ...

(representing Sweden):

Professional *

(representing Sweden):

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 *

(representing Sweden):

, 1988,

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 ...

References

External links

* *
Profile on golfdata.se
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sellberg, Ove Swedish male golfers European Tour golfers Golfers from Stockholm Sportspeople from Helsingborg 1959 births Living people