Robert Karlsson

The son of a greenskeeper, he started and superbly finished 2010, winning the Commercialbank Qatar Masters in his second event and ending the season with victory at the lucrative Dubai World Championship presented by DP World, beating Ian Poulter in a playoff. The win lifted him to sixth in The Race to Dubai and helped banish memories of a frustrating 2009, during which a debilitating eye problem plagued him. Another highlight of 2010 came at the BMW PGA Championship in May. Believing he had missed the cut, he flew home on Friday afternoon, only to receive a phone call a few hundred meters from his front door in Monaco informing him that he had made it to the weekend. Without even saying hello to his wife, he told the taxi driver to take him back to Nice airport, where he caught a flight to Paris, had two hours of sleep, and paid for a private jet leaving at 6 a.m. for London. He just made his 8:55 a.m. tee time and shot a course-record 62.
Having enjoyed the most successful season of his career in 2008, when he became the first Swedish player to capture the Harry Vardon Trophy as Europe's Number One, he did not play a competitive stroke play event between the European Open in May 2009 and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October after suffering from blurred vision caused by fluid behind the retina in his left eye. He won twice in 2008 to top the Order of Merit and ensure a second successive Ryder Cup appearance before closing the year in style. He partnered with Henrik Stenson to a Swedish success at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup. His outstanding 2008 season bears testimony to his decision in 2003 to make a fresh start after years of frustration with life both on and off the course. His work with Swedish coach Annchristine Lundstrom, has helped enormously.
He joined the U.S. PGA Tour for the first time in 2011. A runner-up finish at the 2010 St. Jude Championship in Memphis, where he lost to Lee Westwood in a playoff, earned him enough money as a non-member to be eligible to take a Tour card.
Member of the 2006 and 2008 Ryder Cup teams.
2011 Notes: Career-best numbers produced in 2011 include top-10s (three), top-25s (six), and made cuts (14). For the second year in a row, he lost a playoff at the St. Jude Classic in 2011 to Harrison Frazar.
2012 Notes: Finished 160th on the Tour money list in 17 starts while managing a pair of top-30 finishes, T-29th at the U.S. Open and Travelers Championship a week later. On the European Tour played in 10 events, and his best finish was T-9 in the Volvo World Match Play Championship. Was 68th in the Race to Dubai with euro379,002
2013 Notes: Played full-time on the PGA Tour in 18 starts and had one top-ten, T-4th at the Wells Fargo Championship. He didn't make it into the FedEx playoffs finishing 156th and 143rd on the money list. He tried to regain his card in the Korn Ferry playoffs but couldn't secure it, so he was a non-member in 2014 and is back playing the European Tour full-time again.
2014 Notes: Played in 22 European Tour events making 20 cuts with five top-ten finishes. Was 34th on the Race To Dubai.
He was T-8th at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and T-6th at the Nordea Masters, three shots back of winner Thongchai Jaidee. He was 4th at the Alstom Open de France. two shots back of winner Graeme McDowell.
2015 Notes: Played in 21 European Tour events making 11 cuts with one top-ten finish. Was 89th on the Race to Dubai. Best finish 2nd at the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play he lost in the finals to Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
2016 Notes: Played in 21 European Tour events making 12 cuts with two top-ten finishes. Was 95th in the Race to Dubai. Was T-7th at the D+D Real Czech Masters and T-3rd at the Porsche European Open, three shots back of the Levy/Ross Fisher playoff.
2017 Notes: Played in 22 European Tour events making nine cuts with one top-ten finish. Was 104th in the Race to Dubai. Best finish 3rd at the British Masters, four shots back of winner Paul Dunne.
2018 Notes: Played in 22 European Tour events making 11 cuts. Was 166th in the Race to Dubai. His best finish was T-17th in the Nordea Masters.
2019 Notes: Played in 25 European Tour events making 12 cuts with one top-ten finish. He was 149th in the Race to Dubai, and his best finish was 10th at the D+D Real Czech Masters.
2020 & 2021 Notes: Played in 30 PGA Tour Champions events with 11 top-tens and finished 22nd in the Charles Schwab Cup. Made it through the PGA Tour Champions Qualifying tournament and was 3rd in the final stages to get his tour card for 2020. It couldn't have come at a better time because COVID-19 could not play in any European Legends events. On the European Tour played twice, missing the cut at Abu Dhabi and T-45th at the Dubi Desert Classic. He was T-14th at the Katrineholm Open on the Nordic Golf League. In 2021 missed the cut at Abu Dhabi and Dubai Desert Classic.
On the PGA Tour, Champions was T-23rd in his first start at the 2020 Chubb Classic. He got his first top-ten in his next start at the 2020 Cooguard Classic. In his next start was T-2nd at the Hoag Classic, two shots back of winner Ernie Els. He was 4th at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National. Went through a stretch of top-tens, T-6th at the Pure Insurance Championship, T-4th at the SAS Championship, T-9th at the Dominion Energy Charity, and T-5th at the Timber Tech Championship. He was T-2nd at the 2021 Chubb Classic, a shot back of winner Steve Stricker. He was 3rd at the Regions Tradition, four shots back of the Cejka/Stricker playoff. Was T-10th at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic, six shots back of winner Dicky Pride. Finished T-7th at the American Family Insurance Championship, five shots back of winner Jerry Kelly. He was forced to withdraw from the season's last two events due to a back injury.
2022 Notes: Played in 22 PGA Tour Champions events with six top-ten finishes. Was 24th in the Schwab rankings and 25th on the money list with earnings of $779,163. The back was normal, with four months off at the end of 2021. In his first event back, he was T-5th at the Chubb Classic. The following week was T-6th at the Cologuard Classic. At Sanford International, he matched the low round in tournament history with an 8-under 62 in the first round and held the co-lead entering the final round. Shot a final round 66 but lost to Steve Stricker in a playoff after Stricker birdied the first playoff hole. Karlsson and Stricker each matched the tournament record for the low 54-hole score, with both carding a 14-under 194. Karlsonn's second-place finish matches his best on PGA Tour Champions, while his 194 is a career-low 54-hole score. He was T-6th at the TimberTech Championship, and the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship was T-30th.
2023 Notes; Was T-3rd at the Trophy Hassan II six back of winner Stephen Ames. He finished 2nd at the Cologuard Classic for his fourth runner-up finish on PGA Tour Champions. After opening with 71, he posted 64-67 on the weekend to finish one shot back of winner David Toms. Shot 63-71 over the weekend to finish T-2nd, six shots back of Ernie Els.