Jesper Bo Parnevik (born March 7, 1965) is a Swedish
professional golfer. He spent 38 weeks in the top 10
of the Official World Golf Rankings in 2000 and
2001.
Parnevik was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the
son of the Swedish entertainer Bo Parnevik. His
place in the pantheon of golf stars stems from both
his playing achievements and his distinctive and
eccentric taste in clothes and fashion.
Parnevik's on-course trademark was the upturned bill
on his baseball cap. This became so much his
trademark that, when he played on the European Ryder
Cup team, he received a customized team cap with the
Ryder Cup logo on the bottom of the bill instead of
the front, so that it could be seen when he turned
up the bill. He has since stopped wearing the
flipped-bill hat, and now wears other types of
eccentric hats. His flamboyant fashion sense,
featuring disco-style purple trousers and other golf
apparel designed by Johan Lindeberg, has been
politely described as "eclectic," and he's been
known to change outfits at the halfway stage of a
round of tournament golf. As of 2006, one of his new
trademark on-course fashion statements is a necktie
worn under a vest. He is also famous for eating
volcanic dust as a dietary supplement.
Parnevik turned professional in 1986 and scored four
wins in his early years on the European Tour. Based
in Florida, he joined the PGA Tour in the mid-90s,
subsequently winning five events. His playing career
also includes three Ryder Cup appearances - in 1997,
1999, and 2002. He has twice been a runner-up in The
Open, in 1994 and 1997. His career best world
ranking of seventh, which he attained on 14 May
2000, was the highest world ranking achieved by a
Swedish golfer until Henrik Stenson reached the top
five in February 2007.
Parnevik is also credited with introducing fellow
professional golfer Tiger Woods to Swedish model
Elin Nordegren (previously employed as a nanny by
Parnevik) who Woods would eventually marry.
Parnevik finished second in the Valero Texas Open in
October 2007, losing to Justin Leonard in a playoff.
Parnevik's nickname on tour is Spaceman, he resides
in Jupiter, Florida, United States. A thoughtful
historian on his free time, and a man with varied
tastes, he was recently asked who he'd like to have
dinner with, quickly replying that it would have to
be a choice between scientist Albert Einstein and
singer Elvis Presley; when told he could only have
one, he shot back, "O.K., Elvis Einstein."
