Per Henrik Pontus Leijon (born 27 October 1978) is a Swedish professional golfer and former Challenge Tour player.
| Pontus Leijon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||||
| Full name | Per Henrik Pontus Leijon | ||||
| Born | 27 October 1978 Örkelljunga, Sweden | ||||
| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||||
| Sporting nationality |  Sweden | ||||
| Residence | Kungsbacka, Sweden | ||||
| Career | |||||
| Turned professional | 2001 | ||||
| Former tour(s) | Challenge Tour Nordic Golf League Swedish Golf Tour | ||||
| Professional wins | 3 | ||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||
| |||||
Career
editLeijon was a promising junior golfer and represented Örkelljunga Golf Club.[2] He won the 1998 Swedish Junior Matchplay Championship at Lyckorna Golf Club and joined the Swedish Golf Tour in 1999.[3] He turned professional in 2001, and attended European Tour Qualifying School from 2002.[4]
His breakthrough came in 2006, when he was runner-up at the Winter Series #3 in Portugal and Hansabanka Baltic Open in Latvia, before winning the Aller Masters in Denmark and the Telia Tour Final at Rya Golf Club. He topped the Nordic Golf League Order of Merit to graduate to the Challenge Tour. His best finish as a rookie on the Challenge Tour was a tie for 8th at the NÖ Open in Austria. He finished 95th in the rankings to keep playing in 2008.[4]
Leijon was runner-up to Jonas Blixt at Lyckorna Scratch in 2008, and he won the 2010 Titleist Trophy at La Manga Club in Spain.[5] In 2012, he recorded several runner-up finishes, including at the Söderby Masters and Finnish Open.[6][7] He also lost a playoff to Johan Carlsson at the Nordea Tour Championship, to finish fourth in the Nordic Golf League Order of Merit and again earn promotion to the Challenge Tour.[4]
He retired from tour after the 2013 Black Mountain Invitational in Thailand.[5]
Personal life
editLeijon competed as Pontus Ericsson until he married fellow professional golfer Hanna-Sofia Leijon to settle in Kungsbacka Municipality near Gothenburg.[8]
Amateur wins
editSource:[9]
Professional wins (3)
editNordic Golf League wins (2)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 Aug 2006 | Aller Masters | −19 (66-65-66=197) | 4 strokes |  Jaakko Mäkitalo
|
| 2 | 17 Mar 2010 | Titleist Trophy | −8 (73-66-72=211) | 1 stroke | Mårten Milling
|
Swedish Golf Tour wins (1)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 Oct 2006 | Telia Tour Final | −11 (65-68-69=202) | 4 strokes | Fredrik Hammarberg, Robert Wahlin
|
References
edit- ^ "Player Awards". PGA of Sweden. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Gustafson, Jan (6 October 2006). "Förre juniormästaren vann Sverigetourfinalen". Sydsvenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Jansson, Anders (2004). Golf - Den Stora Sporten' [Golf - the Great Sport] (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. p. 224. ISBN 91-86818007. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "Pontus Leijon Bio". PGA European Tour. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Pontus Leijon" (in Swedish). Golfdata. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ Lundh, Håkan (26 May 2012). "Dansk segrare - Leijon bäste svensk". Upsala Nya Tidning (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "Pontus Leijon tvåa". Helsingborgs Dagblad (in Swedish). 26 May 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "P Ericsson Golf" (in Swedish). Alla Bolag. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "Junior SM i Matchspel" (in Swedish). Svenska Golfmuseet. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
External links
edit- Pontus Leijon at the European Tour official site
- Pontus Leijon at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Pontus Leijon at the Golfdata official site (in Swedish)