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, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, 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 is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, 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 England, English professional golfer. Early life and amateur career Way was born in Kingsbury, London, Kingsbury, Middlesex. He went to the Hugh Christie Technology College, Hugh Christie Schoo ...

. 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 ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. 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 to 18 July at Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland. Tom Watson won his fourth Open Championship, one stroke ahead of runners-up ...

Royal Troon Golf Club Royal Troon Golf Club is a links golf course in Scotland, located in Troon, South Ayrshire. The club was established in 1878, and originally only consisted of five holes whereas today, it has increased to a total of 45 holes. Its Old Course i ...

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

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

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

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 Eisenhower Trophy, 1958, it is nam ...

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

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

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, seven strokes behind United States. At the end of 1982, he was named

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 ...

, 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 () was a 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 1949. ...

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 old ...

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 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 ...

. 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 professiona ...

, 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 n ...

. 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, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

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 twice ...

at the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

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 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

Open Renault de Baleares on

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, 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 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 S ...

. 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, 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 ...

, the first title coming in the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Perrier European Pro-Am at Brussels Golf Club,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, the second in the

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Torneo Istantilla Golf, at Islantilla Golf Club,

Huelva Huelva ( , , ) is a municipality of Spain and the capital of the Huelva (province), province of Huelva, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. Located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, it sits betwee ...

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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

Is Molas Challenge at Is Molas Golf Club in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

.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 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 ...

, at the time named the Nordea Tour. He also started to branch out into golf course design, having created one course in Sweden and one in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

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

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 main professional golf tour in Europe for men aged 50 and over. Schedule The following table lists official events during the 2016 season. Order of Merit The ...

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

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

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

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 ...

, 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 (16)

Challenge Tour wins (3)

Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1)

Nordic Golf League wins (2)

Swedish Golf Tour wins (2)

Sources:

Other wins (7)

*1983 Gevalia Open *1984 Kvällsposten Masters *2009 Svalöv Open (Swedish Minitour) *2011 Guldpokalen (Swedish Minitour) *2013 Swedish PGA Club Pro Championship *2022 Swedish PGA Club Pro Championship *2023 Swedish PGA Club Pro Championship

European Senior Tour wins (2)

Playoff record

European Tour playoff record (0–2) PGA Tour of Australia 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 ...

(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 19 ...

(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 Championsh ...

(representing Sweden):

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

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 name is ...

(representing Sweden):

1983 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 of 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 ...

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 Golfers from Skåne County People from Staffanstorp Municipality 1965 births Living people 20th-century Swedish sportsmen