Birgir Leifur Hafþórsson (born 16 May 1976) is an Icelandic

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 ...

and former

European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...

player. At age 41, he became Iceland's first winner on the

Challenge Tour The Challenge Tour, currently titled as the HotelPlanner Tour for sponsorship reasons and also sometimes referred to as the European Challenge Tour, is the second-tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European To ...

, winning the 2017 Cordon Golf Open in France. He also won the mixed team gold and the men's silver at the

2018 European Golf Team Championships The 2018 European Golf Team Championships was a golf tournament played in August 2018 at Gleneagles, Scotland. It was the inaugural event and consisted of three competitions – men's, women's and mixed team format. 16 two-player teams took par ...

Gleneagles, Scotland Glen Eagles (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann na h-Eaglais/Gleann Eagas) is a glen that connects with Glen Devon to form a pass through the Ochil Hills of Perth and Kinross in Scotland. (The spelling as two words, 'Glen Eagles', is as shown on UK Or ...

Early life and amateur career

Hafþórsson was born in

Akranes Akranes () is a port town and municipality on the west coast of Iceland, around north of the capital Reykjavík. The area where Akranes is located was settled in the 9th century; however, it did not receive a municipal charter until 1942. His ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, and took up golf with a group of friends when he was 12. His uncle Sveinn Arsalsson was the first National Champion of Iceland. He first won the Icelandic National Golf Championship as an amateur in 1996, and would go on to win also in 2003, 2004 and 2010.

Professional career

Hafþórsson turned professional in 1997 and joined the

Swedish Golf Tour The Swedish Golf Tour, currently titled as the Cutter & Buck Tour for sponsorship reasons, is a developmental professional golf which was formerly operated by Svenska Golftourerna AB, as well as being owned equally by the Swedish Golf Federatio ...

. He attended the

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 professiona ...

18 times between 1997 and 2016, and was successful in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, the other years playing with limited status, mainly on the

. Hafþórsson joined the

in 2007 after taking the 25th card at Q-School. His best finish in his rookie season was a tie for 11th at the

Telecom Italia Open The Italian Open () is the men's national open golf championship of Italy. It was founded in 1925 and, except for 1933 and during World War II, was played annually until 1960. After an eleven-year hiatus, it returned in 1971 when it was one of fi ...

, 3 strokes behind winner

Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño (born 13 October 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, winning seven times, and on the PGA Tour. Early life Fernández-Castaño was born in Madrid. He started playing golf at th ...

. He finished in 12th place at Q-School to keep his card, but he sustained a debilitating injury to his lower back in 2008. He suffered from

spondylolisthesis Spondylolisthesis is when one spinal vertebra slips out of place compared to another. While some medical dictionaries define spondylolisthesis specifically as the forward or anterior displacement of a vertebra over the vertebra inferior to it (o ...

, a condition in which a defect in a part of the spine causes vertebra to slip, and played the European Tour on a medical extension in 2009. Playing mainly on the

from 2011, he finished 3rd at the 2011

Mugello Tuscany Open The Mugello Tuscany Open was a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour, played in Italy. It was held for the first time in 2010 when Floris de Vries triumphed in a sudden-death playoff over Thorbjørn Olesen Jacob Thorbjørn Olesen (born 21 Decem ...

, and won the 2017 Cordon Golf Open in France by a convincing 7 strokes. At age 41, he became Iceland's first winner on the Challenge Tour. Hafþórsson represented Iceland at the

. He won the team gold together with

Ólafía Þórunn Kristinsdóttir Ólafía Þórunn Kristinsdóttir (born 15 October 1992) is an Icelandic former professional golfer. She was named the Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year in 2017. She was the first golfer from Iceland to participate in the LPGA Tour. In August 2 ...

, Valdis Thora Jonsdottir and Axel Bóasson, and silver behind Spain in the men's event with Axel Bóasson.

Professional wins (5)

Challenge Tour wins (1)

''*Note: The 2017 Cordon Golf Open was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.''

Other wins (4)

*1996 Icelandic National Golf Championship (as an amateur) *2003 Icelandic National Golf Championship *2004 Icelandic National Golf Championship *2010 Icelandic National Golf Championship Source:

Team appearances

Professional *

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

(representing Iceland):

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

(winner – mixed team)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hafthorsson, Birgir Birgir Hafthórsson European Tour golfers Birgir Hafthórsson 1976 births Living people