Suzann Pettersen

Suzann Pettersen is a distant relative of Merchant Gunerius Pettersen (1826–1892).

Suzann Pettersen (born 7 April 1981) is a retired Norwegian professional golfer.

She played mainly on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour, and was also a member of the Ladies European Tour.

As an amateur, Pettersen was a five-time Norwegian Amateur Champion (1996–2000), and won the Girls Amateur Championship in 1999.

Pettersen also represented Europe in the 1997 and 1999 Junior Ryder Cup Matches.

She represented Norway in the world amateur team championship for women, the Espirito Santo Trophy in 1998 and 2000, finishing as the leading individual in her second appearance.

Pettersen turned professional in September 2000 at age 19 and gained her Ladies European Tour card with an 11th-place finish at the 2001 LET Qualifying School.

In her 2001 rookie season, she played in ten events without missing a cut.

In her second start as a professional, Pettersen won the Open de France Dames in a playoff over Becky Morgan.

She finished second on the Order of Merit and was named LET Rookie of the Year.

Pettersen started 2002 with a playoff loss to Karrie Webb in the AAMI Australian Women's Open, and two more top ten finishes led to her winning a place on the European team for the 2002 Solheim Cup.

In the singles, Pettersen was five down with five to play and ended up with a tie against Michele Redman.

She tied for 10th at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament to earn exempt status for the 2003 LPGA season.

In 2003, Pettersen played in five events on the LET, missing no cuts and finished runner-up to Sophie Gustafson at the HP Open.

She played a full rookie season on the LPGA, with her best finish a third place at the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship.

Pettersen was a captain's pick for the 2003 Solheim Cup and recorded a 4–1–0 record as a member of the victorious European Team.

In 2004, Pettersen played in just four events on the LET, with a best finish of T9 at the Evian Masters.

On the LPGA, she began her season late after recuperating from elbow surgery.

Pettersen recorded four top-10 finishes including a season-best tie for fifth at the State Farm Classic.

In 2005, Pettersen played in only three events on the LET and nine events on the LPGA because of a debilitating back injury.

When she returned, her best LPGA finish was a sixth at the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic, and she finished tied for second at the Ladies Finnish Masters on the LET.

Pettersen registered a 2–0–2 record as a captain's pick on the European Solheim Cup Team, and played for the International team at the inaugural Lexus Cup.

In 2006, Pettersen played five times on the LET, recording two top ten finishes, including a third place at the Scandinavian TPC.

On the LPGA Tour she had three top ten finishes, with a season's best finish fifth at the Florida's Natural Charity Championship.

At the start of 2007, Pettersen was selected to represent Norway at the Women's World Cup of Golf but withdrew due to illness before the event started.

At the Safeway International she recorded her then-best finish on the LPGA Tour, second place, two strokes behind Lorena Ochoa.

A late collapse at the Kraft Nabisco saw her equal that finish, her second best at a major.

Pettersen became the first Norwegian LPGA winner at the 2007 Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill, beating Jee Young Lee in a playoff.

Pettersen followed up this win by capturing the second major championship of 2007, the LPGA Championship, by one stroke over Karrie Webb, which moved her up to fourth in the Women's World Golf Rankings.

On the Ladies European Tour she won the SAS Masters in her native Norway.

In October at the Longs Drugs Challenge, Pettersen won her third LPGA victory, beating Lorena Ochoa in a playoff and then claimed wins number four and five in Korea and Thailand.

On 31 December 2007, she reached the number two position in the Women's World Golf Rankings, surpassing Karrie Webb and Annika Sörenstam, trailing only Lorena Ochoa.

In January 2008, Pettersen signed a multi-year agreement with Nike Golf to represent Nike in clubs, balls, footwear, glove and bag.

Her first win of 2008 came at the rain-shortened Deutsche Bank Ladies Swiss Open.

In September 2009, Pettersen won her sixth LPGA Tour event and first in two years at the CN Canadian Women's Open at Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Calgary, Alberta.

Her career best world ranking was second and she held that position several times, most recently from August 2011 until February 2012.

She retired on 15 September 2019 after holing the winning putt for the European team at the 2019 Solheim Cup, notwithstanding that she had been away from golf for almost 20 months on maternity leave prior to the event.

Pettersen was born in Oslo, Norway.

Both her parents, Axel and Mona, participated in sports.

She has two brothers, Stefan and Gunerius.