Mats Lanner

Mats Åke Lanner (born 5 March 1961) is a Swedish professional golfer, who formerly played on the European Tour. In 1987, he became the second Swedish player to win a European Tour tournament.

Early life and amateur career Lanner was born in Gothenburg, Sweden, and learned the game at Albatross Golf Club, situated on the island Hisingen in the northern part of the city of Gothenburg. He was also a member at Strömstad Golf Club, near the Norwegian border, where he won the club championship at 16 years of age.

After twice winning the yearly 72-hole tournament Gothenburg Open at his home club, but never been nominated to any national amateur teams, he turned professional after the 1981 season, sponsored by a member of his club.

Professional career He qualified for the European Tour on his first visit to Qualifying School and finished tied 16h at his first European Tour start, the 1982 Tunisian Open. The year after he won his first professional tournament, the Swedish PGA Championship. The following year, the Swedish Golf Tour (SGT) was established and Lanner came to win ten times on his domestic tour, still the most by any player ever, despite three of his wins in Sweden did not count as SGT-events.

In May 1989, Lanner reached a career best 84th on the Official World Golf Ranking. At the 1989 World Cup at Las Brisas Golf Club in Marbella, Spain, the Swedish team of Lanner and Ove Sellberg finished tied 3rd with United States, behind Australia and Spain. Lanner finished 8th individually.

Lanner was a member of the winning Swedish team at the 1991 Dunhill Cup at the Old Course, St Andrews, Scotland. He holed the winning putt for his team in the final match of the tournament, between Sweden and South Africa, on the first playoff hole in the last game, played between Lanner and Gary Player.

After retiring as a player in 2002, Lanner began a career as a referee on the European Tour.

Personal life Lanner got the opportunity to turn professional in the fall of 1981, when he received sponsorship from Jan-Ove Johansson, the founder of Albatross Golf Club, through the company Swedish Sports Promotion, later forming the team Club Vagabond, consisting of four young Swedish golf professionals. The company organized an exhibition with Jack Nicklaus at Barsebäck Golf & Country Club on 15 September 1983, in which Lanner also took part, with economic loss for the organizer and the company later went bankrupt. This meant that the company could not fulfill its obligations to Lanner, who during 1984 became personal responsible for his arising costs on tour. In September 1984, when Lanner also had lost his playing rights on the European Tour, he won pro tournaments in Sweden on three straight weeks and earned the possibility to restart his career.

Lanner's son Tobias (born 1997) has played as an amateur on the Swedish professional mini-tour Future Series.

Awards and honors In 1985, he earned Elite Sign No. 80 by the Swedish Golf Federation, on the basis of national championship performances. In 1992, the three teammates at the Swedish Dunhill Cup victory the previous year, Per-Ulrik Johansson, Lanner and Anders Forsbrand, was each, by the Swedish Golf Federation, awarded the Golden Club, the highest award for contributions to Swedish golf, as the 11th, 12th and 13th recipients.

Professional wins (16) European Tour wins (3)

Challenge Tour wins (4)

Challenge Tour playoff record (3–0)

Swedish Golf Tour wins (7)

Other wins (2) Sources:

Results in major championships Note: Lanner only played in The Open Championship.

CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" = tied

Team appearances Professional Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Sweden): 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991 (winners) World Cup of Golf (representing Sweden): 1987, 1989, 1990 Europcar Cup (representing Sweden): 1988 (winners)