Robert Karlsson

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Robert Karlsson

Robert Karlsson (born 3 September 1969) is a Swedish golfer who plays on the European Tour.

Karlsson was born St. Malm, Sweden. His father was a greenkeeper. He turned professional in 1989 and qualified for membership of the European Tour at the 1990 Qualifying School. He has retained his card since then and has had a steady career since then, with five top twenty places on the Order of Merit, including a best of fourth in 2006. He has won seven events on the tour.

At the 2006 Celtic Manor Wales Open he broke the European Tour's 36 hole and 54 hole scoring records by shooting 124 for the first two rounds and 189 for the first three. However as the course was a par 69, which is rare at the top level, his to-par scores were a much less remarkable 14 under after two rounds and 18 under after three.

His second victory of 2006 at the Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe in July helped him reach the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings and in 2007 he entered the top 30.

Karlsson was a member of the Continental Europe team in The Seve Trophy in 2000 and 2002. In 1999 he was eleventh on the Ryder Cup qualifying table just missing out on the last automatic place, and was not selected as a captain's pick. He made his Ryder Cup debut in 2006, at the age of 37, along with fellow Swede Henrik Stenson.

Karlsson is one of the tallest golfers on the European Tour at 6ft 5in. Like many leading Swedish golfers he lives outside his home country, basing himself in the tax haven of Monaco.