Hugo Austin Townsend (born 18 January 1999) is a Swedish professional golfer. He earned co-medalist honors in stroke play at the 2021 U.S. Amateur and was runner-up at the 2022 European Amateur Team Championship.
| Hugo Townsend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Hugo Austin Townsend | ||
| Born | 18 January 1999 Dublin, Ireland | ||
| Sporting nationality |  Sweden | ||
| Residence | Boden, Sweden | ||
| Career | |||
| College | Boise State University University of Mississippi | ||
| Turned professional | 2023 | ||
| Current tour(s) | Nordic Golf League | ||
| Professional wins | 1 | ||
| Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Early life and amateur career
editTownsend was born in Dublin, Ireland. He grew up in Boden, Sweden where he moved at age 6 with his family, his Swedish mother Sofia and his English father Peter Townsend, a former PGA Tour golfer and two-time Ryder Cup player.[1]
Townsend showed a talent for golf early, winning 16 tournaments and recording 11 runner-up finishes on the regional junior circuits between 2012 and 2015, becoming the top ranked player in Sweden for his age group. He won the 2012 Skandia Cup national final by 18 strokes ahead of David Nyfjäll in second.[2]
Townsend was a member of the Swedish National Team from 2016 to 2018, and helped lead the team to a fourth-place finish at the European Boys' Team Championship at La Manga Club, Spain in the summer of 2017. In the semi-final, he lost his Sunday singles match to Oliver Hundebøll on the 19th hole.[3]
He appeared in the European Amateur Team Championship twice. He helped the team earn a silver medal in 2022 at Royal St George's Golf Club, England. Sweden lost in the final against and Spain, despite Townsend and David Nyfjäll beating Spain's David Puig and J.L. Ballester, 1 up, in the first foursome game.[4] At the same venue, Townsend's father Peter had finished tied 19th in the Open Championship 41 years earlier.[5]
Townsend accepted a scholarship to Boise State University and played with the Boise State Broncos men's golf team from 2018 to 2022. He was named Mountain West Conference Golfer of the Year in 2021 and 2022, the first Bronco to earn the honor twice. In 2021, he won the Duck Invitational and was named All-American for the 2020–21 season. He was runner-up at the 2021 Mountain West Championship, after losing a playoff on the second hole.[6]
He earned co-medalist honors in stroke play and was the only European to reach the round of 16 at the 2021 U.S. Amateur, where he lost to Nick Gabrelcik on the 19th hole.[7] He represented the International team at the 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup held at Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois, where he tied his Sunday singles match with Sam Bennett.
Townsend enrolled at the University of Mississippi as a graduate student in 2022 and played with the Ole Miss Rebels men's golf team. He finished runner-up at the All-American Intercollegiate with an overall score of 210 (–6) to help his team win the tournament.[8] He was one of the top 25 golfers to be named by the foundation to the Haskins Award Watch List ahead of the 2022–23 season.[9]
Townsend played in the 2023 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed on the European Tour, a mixed event with men and women playing from different tees, where he finished 11th overall and 9th among the men, after a final round of eight under par 64 at Ullna G&CC outside Stockholm, Sweden.[10]
Professional career
editTownsend turned professional in June 2023, following the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed.[11] In his second start as a professional, he shot an eight under par second round of 64 to lead by a stroke at the half way point of the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in France.[12]
Amateur wins
edit- 2011 Skandia Cup Riksfinal P13
- 2012 NVGF Junior Tour #1, NVGF Junior Tour #2, NVGF Junior Tour #3, Skandia Cup Riksfinal P13
- 2013 NVGF Junior Tour #1, NVGF Junior Tour #2, NVGF Junior Tour #4, NVGF Junior Tour Final
- 2014 NVGF Junior Tour #1, NVGF Junior Tour #3, NVGF Junior Tour #4, NVGF Junior Tour #5, NVGF Junior Tour #6
- 2015 NVGF Junior Tour #3, NVGF Junior Tour #4
- 2021 Duck Invitational
Professional wins (1)
editNordic Golf League wins (1)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 Sep 2024 | Titleist Championship | −5 (70-71=141)* | Playoff | Joakim Wikström
|
*Note: The 2024 Titleist Championship was shortened to 36 holes due to weather.
Team appearances
editAmateur
- European Boys' Team Championship (representing Sweden): 2017
- European Amateur Team Championship (representing Sweden): 2021, 2022
- Arnold Palmer Cup (representing the International Team): 2021
Source:[13]
References
edit- ^ Marshall, Ryan. "Boise State men's golf star Hugo Townsend aims for his best season yet". The Arbiter. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ a b "Hugo Townsend". Golfdata. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "European Boys' Team Championship". European Golf Association. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "European Amateur Team Championship". European Golf Association. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "Spain crowned European Amateur Team Champions". European Golf Association. 9 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ "Men's Golf Roster: Hugo Townsend". Boise State University Athletics. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ Steffensen, Bo (13 August 2021). "Townsend utslagen – efter särspel". Svensk Golf (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "Men's Golf Roster: Hugo Townsend". University of Mississippi. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "Ole Miss' Hugo Townsend named on 2022 Preseason Haskins Award Watch List". The Oxford Eagle. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "Player Profile Hugo Townsend". European Tour. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "Amatör från Boden storspelade på Ullna" (in Swedish). Nyheter24. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ "Townsend storms into Le Vaudreuil lead". European Tour. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ^ a b "Hugo Townsend". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
External links
edit- Hugo Townsend at the European Tour official site
- Hugo Townsend at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Hugo Townsend at the Golfdata official site (in Swedish)