Joel Nils Patricio Sjöholm (born 21 February 1985) 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 has played on the

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 ...

and 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 ...

. He has won twice on the Challenge Tour; in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Early life

He was born in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and was adopted by a Swedish family when three months old. He started playing the game at young age at Skaftö Golf Club in

Fiskebäckskil Fiskebäckskil is a locality in Lysekil Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden, at the mouth of the Gullmarn fjord. It had 379 inhabitants in 2010. Once primarily a fishing community, it transformed into a shipping community in the 19th c ...

, on the small Swedish west coast island Skaftö with 1,400 inhabitants. Other famous members, spending a lot of time there, during the summer seasons, were future

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

captain

Thomas Bjørn Thomas Bjørn (born 18 February 1971) is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He is the most successful Danish golfer to have played the game having won fifteen tournaments worldwide on the European Tour. In 1997 he also b ...

, five-time European Tour winner

Barry Lane Barry Douglas Lane (21 June 1960 – 31 December 2022) was an English professional golfer. He won five official European Tour events between 1988 and 2004. He played in the 1993 Ryder Cup and won the inaugural Andersen Consulting World Cham ...

and, a few years later, the Kinhult siblings; future European Tour winner Marcus and world amateur number one

Frida Frida, Frieda, or Freida may refer to: People and fictional characters *Frida (given name), any of several people or characters ** *Frieda (surname), any of several people or characters *Afroditi Frida (born 1964), Greek singer *Frida (singer) ...

. In 2000, Sjöholm won his age level category (15) at the unofficial Swedish Youth Championship, Bankboken Cup, following in the footsteps of former winners of the same category, like Magnus Persson Atlevi, Peter Hedblom and Alexander Norén.

Amateur career

Sjöholm opted to play college golf in the United States, spending four years at

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

, where he was one of the most successful golfers in their history. He won two individual intercollegiate titles, was named a third team all-American in 2007, and ended his college career in 2008 ranked fifth nationally. He finished second at the 2007 individual European Amateur Championship in

Berlin, Germany Berlin ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the highest population within its city limits of any city in the European Union. The city is also one of the states of ...

, losing in a three-hole playoff. He represented Sweden at the

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 ...

in Scotland the same year, where team Sweden lost in the quarter-finals against, champions to be, Ireland, with

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that position du ...

and

Shane Lowry Shane Lowry (born 2 April 1987) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. His notable achievements include winning the 2019 Open Championship, the Irish Open (golf), Irish Open as an amateur in 2009 Europe ...

in the team.

Professional career

He turned professional in 2008, and joined the

in Europe, where he played for the following three seasons. He was runner up at the 2008

SWALEC Wales Challenge The SWALEC Wales Challenge was a golf tournament 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 ...

and the Allianz Golf Open de Lyon and Roma Golf Open in 2010. In 2010, he had six top-five finishes on the Challenge Tour, the most of any player, and graduated to the

in twelfth place, where he played for the next three seasons. His best performances were a fourth place in the 2012

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is a golf tournament on the European Tour. It is played in September or October, on three different links courses, centered on the "home of golf", St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The tournament is a pro-am, ...

and a tie for third in the 2011

Sicilian Open The Sicilian Open was a European Tour men's professional golf tournament. It was played for the first time in 2011. The event was held in Sicily at the Donnafugata Golf Resort & Spa. In 2012 the event was held at Verdura Golf & Spa Resort on a lin ...

, which saw him rise to 228th on the

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling ...

. In 2017, Sjöholm captured his first professional victory, winning the Italian Challenge Open at Is Molas on Sardinia on the Challenge Tour, with a record aggregate of 24 under par. During the 2019 Challenge Tour season, he finished tied second at the

Challenge de España The Challenge de España is a golf tournament on the Challenge Tour that is played in Spain. It has run annually since 1999 except in 2005. Winners External linksCoverage on the Challenge Tour's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Challenge de Es ...

and second at the Made in Denmark Challenge, finishing the season 23rd on the Challenge Tour Order of Merit Road To Mallorca. On 1 December 2019 (

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

season), he finished solo second at the

Alfred Dunhill Championship The Alfred Dunhill Championship is a men's professional golf tournament which is played in South Africa. It is part of the Southern African Sunshine Tour and is one of several events in South Africa that are co-sanctioned by the more prestigiou ...

Leopard Creek Country Club Leopard Creek Country Club is a Gary Player-designed country club in Malalane, South Africa. The course sits at the border of Kruger National Park, with the Crocodile River (Mpumalanga) snaking through some fairways. The course is owned by Sout ...

, Malelane,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. This event was co-sanctioned by the

and the

Sunshine Tour The Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern and East Africa. For much of its early history it was known either as the Southern Africa Tour or Sunshine Circuit; through sponsorship deals, it has also been known as the F ...

. Sjöholm looked set to win but was beaten only by

Pablo Larrazábal Pablo Larrazábal Corominas (born 15 May 1983) is a Spanish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He also played in the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series event at the Centurion Club. Early life Larrazábal was born in Barcelo ...

, who birdied three of the last four holes to claim the title by one shot. In July 2020, Sjöholm gained attention for a more comedic moment during the

Hero Open The Hero Open was a professional golf tournament played on the European Tour. The event was created as part of the tour's overhaul in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It was originally planned as a revival of the English Open, but afte ...

, as he used a small boat to take himself towards a small island in the middle of a lake to play his shot where his ball had finished. In January 2024, Sjöholm announced his retirement as a tournament player. The following month he announced his position as player relation executive on the DP World Tour.

Personal life

Sjöholm is married to Christina and has two children. He resides in Gothenburg and represents Hills Golf and Sports Club.

Amateur wins

*2007 Rosén Open (Skaftö, Sweden), Club Glove Intercollegiate *2008 John Hayt Intercollegiate

Professional wins (2)

Challenge Tour wins (2)

Challenge Tour playoff record (0–2)

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): 2003 *

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): 2006 *

(representing Sweden):

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 ...

Bonallack Trophy The Bonallack Trophy is an amateur golf competition on the model of the Ryder Cup which opposes every two years a European team and a team representing Asia/Pacific. The venue alternates between courses in Europe and Asia/Pacific. The first compe ...

(representing Europe): 2008 (winners)

References

External links

* *
Profile at golfdata.se
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sjoholm, Joel Swedish male golfers Chilean male golfers European Tour golfers Georgia State Panthers men's golfers Chilean emigrants to Sweden Golfers from Santiago, Chile Golfers from Gothenburg 1985 births Living people 21st-century Swedish sportsmen