Icelandic golfer, Birgir Leifur Haf\u00fe\u00f3rsson, is currently in Pinehurst North-Carolina participating in PGA\u00b4s 1. stage Q-school. He is trying to become the first Icelandic golfer to get his card on the PGA Tour. In a field of 76, Birgir Leifur is fighting it out against a.o. PGA veteran Brent Delahoussaye and Spains Antonio Garcia Heredia, who has been playing on the European Tour this past 2011 season. Currently, after 2 rounds, Birgir Leifur is doing fine, he is T-11, along with 3 other players.<\/p>\n
Here, you can view the: PGA Q-SCHOOL 1. STAGE\u00a0LEADERBOARD<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n But who is Icelandic golfer\u00a0Birgir Leifur Haf\u00fe\u00f3rsson? Golf 1 asked Birgir Leifur a quick 18 questions last summer:<\/p>\n 1. Golf 1<\/strong>: Birgir, where and when were you born?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur<\/strong>: I was born in Akranes, Iceland on May 16th 1976 – I\u00b4m half from the Vestmanna Islands (in the south of Iceland), since my mother is from there. \u00a0(Short note: The golfcourses in Birgir Leifur\u00b4s hometowns in Iceland; Akranes and the Vestmanna Islands are one of Icelands finest – and if you\u00b4re planning a golftrip to Iceland you should definately make it a point to play on those 2 courses!).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 2. Golf1<\/strong>: Where did you grow up?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong> Until I was 20, I grew up in Akranes, but since then I\u00b4ve been living out of a suitcase, I\u00b4ve been travelling more or less since 1997 and it has been a lot of fun.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 3. Golf 1: <\/strong>What is your family status? \/ Does anyone in your family play golf?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong> I\u00b4m married to El\u00edsabet Halld\u00f3rsd\u00f3ttir and we have a son Ingi R\u00fanar, 11 years old and a 7 year old daughter, Birgitta S\u00f3ley. My wife has been trying to play some golf, but doesn\u00b4t seem to find the time, since she prefers spending time raising our kids. Ingi R\u00fanar played in his first Club Championship this summer in GKG (G<\/strong>olf Club of K<\/strong>\u00f3pvogur and G<\/strong>ar\u00f0ab\u00e6r) and my daugther follows us around, she\u00b4s begun to take a few golfswings and loves being on the course.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 4. Golf 1<\/strong>: When did you start playing golf? \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur<\/strong>: I started 12 years old to roam around the course in Akranes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 5. Golf 1<\/strong>: Why did you start playing golf?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong> It was just by chance I started playing golf – I followed my childhood friends. It wasn\u00b4t considered cool to play golf so I started out playing soccer, like most of the guys. (Short note: Some of Iceland\u00b4s best soccer players come from Birgir Leifur\u00b4s hometown, Akranes).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 6. Golf 1:<\/strong> What is you occupation?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur<\/strong>: I\u00b4ve been a golf pro since 1997 – I have a.o. taught golf and introduced golf on TV in Iceland (St\u00f6\u00f0 2 Sport) – I\u00b4ve been promoting golf in Iceland and have done so through companys sponsoring golf events in Iceland (i.e. Vodafone and Icelandair Golfers). We had this ongoing game last summer in Iceland called “The Golfsummer”- every golfer in Iceland could participate by registering their scores (on any of the courses in Iceland) and then each week one lucky golfer\u00b4s score was drawn out of a pot of scores and that golfer received a prize. \u00a0It was fun. The concept behind the game was that everyone can participate and together we can all become better golfers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 7. Golf 1<\/strong>: What do you prefer, playing on a parkland or links style course?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong> There is no comparison to playing a good links course in either Scotland or Ireland – but still it\u00b4s fun playing on a good parkland course aswell- it\u00b4s just a different game.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 8. Golf 1<\/strong>: Which do you prefer, match or stroke play?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong> \u00a0I love both – again these are just two different games – it\u00b4s always fun to play a game that gets the best out of the player – where he becomes more dareing. The stroke play is more a game of percentages and one can make fewer mistakes. \u00a0There are just too few match play competitions \u00a0– its a sin that the evolution of golf has gone in the opposite direction, since match play was the original form of golf.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 9. Golf 1:<\/strong> What is your favorite golfcourse in Iceland, what is your favorite golfcourse anywhere else in the world except for Iceland and what is the most unique golfcourse you have played and why?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Favorite golfcourse in Iceland: The Vestmanna Islands golfcourse – I just love it and there is a special reason for it. My family gave the land, for the latter 9 holes. It\u00b4s just a totally unique golfcourse in a beautiful setting, which is fun to play.<\/p>\n Favorite golfcourse anywhere else in the world: \u00a0My best experience playing golf was the first time I played the Old Course in St. Andrews. The memory is so vivid because I was only 16 when I played for the first time and that was in a tournament and everything went well – The history of golf is almost palpable there and that makes the course so special. Another favorite of mine is Ballybunion in North-Ireland (both are links courses).<\/p>\n The most unique golfcourse: \u00a0The most unique golfcourse I have played is Old Prestwick in Scotland – The Old Course. The reason: There is a par-3 hole on the course, which sort of turns a 150 m to the left and you cannot see the green.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 10. Golf 1:<\/strong> What is your lowest score and on what golfcourse did you achieve it?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong> I shot a 58 on Akranes golfcourse in 2010.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 11. Golf 1<\/strong>: What do you consider to be your greatest achievement in golf to this date?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur<\/strong>: My score of 58 and having been the first Icelander to get a card on the Europeantour.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 12. Golf 1:<\/strong> What is your favortite food and drink, music you listen to, book and movie?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong> My wife\u00b4s Chicken parmesan and Icelandic Water. Among my favorite movies are Shawshank Redemption and Seven with Brad Pitt. What I listen most to these days is Icelandic musician J\u00f3n J\u00f3nsson and I actually have two favorite books: “Svartur \u00e1 leik” by Icelandic author Stef\u00e1n M\u00e1ni and “One Magical Sunday” by Phil Mickelson. That book was like a vitamin-injection – Phil describing in detail how he won his first Green Jacket and what he was thinking when he did so.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 13. Golf 1:<\/strong> What snack do you have in the bag on the golfcourse?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong> An apple, a banana, a slice of bread with ham and cheese, a mix of nuts and raisins, golfbars from Nature Valley. Most important: I try to eat something every 3rd hole I play.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 14. Golf 1:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Who is your favorite golfer name 1 male and 1 female?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Male: Rory McIlroy. Female: \u00d3laf\u00eda \u00de\u00f3runn Kristinsd\u00f3ttir (plays on the Wake Forest women\u00b4s golfteam and is the Icelandic Champion 2011 in both stroke and match play. \u00a0\u00d3laf\u00eda had not won either Championship, when Birgir Leifur was interviewed). His remarks on \u00d3laf\u00eda \u00de\u00f3runn:\u201eShe is a good and has immense potential.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 15. Golf 1: <\/strong>Are you superstitious?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong> No, not to speak of…. but if I haven\u00b4t gotten a birdie for a while on the golfcourse I will switch balls. I look at my golfballs like a bench full of substitutes in a soccergame – and also like Colin Montgomerie said there is one hole for each ball.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 16. Golf 1:\u00a0<\/strong>What\u00b4s in your bag and what is your favorite club?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur: <\/strong>In my bag there are 14 clubs, golfballs, a glove and tees. Sometime a rainsuit and snacks. \u00a0The 7-iron is my best friend.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 17. Golf 1:<\/strong> What do you like the most about golf?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong> Just how varied it is – It\u00b4s variable just like life – you are always battling in your mind – golf is about 70 strokes per round and each stroke takes about 30 seconds to execute – a whole round is around 4 1\/2 hours so there is alot of \u00a0thinking that goes into each round and there are endless chances to improve.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 18. Golf 1:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>What are your goals in golf and in life in general?<\/em><\/p>\n Birgir Leifur:<\/strong> My main goal in golf is to better myself and become a better golfer – as soon as that urge disappears I can pack my things in golf and quit – if I don\u00b4t have the longing to better myself I have to find myself another purpose – but \u00a0asked what other sport he could possible think of getting involved in, Birgir Leifur answered: “I would then become a left-handed golfer.” \u00a0My main goal in life is similar. I strive towards becoming a better person today than I was yesterday and teach my children the same. To be positive and treat others the same way I want them to treat me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Icelandic golfer, Birgir Leifur Haf\u00fe\u00f3rsson, is currently in Pinehurst North-Carolina participating in PGA\u00b4s 1. stage Q-school. He is trying to become the first Icelandic golfer to get his card on the PGA Tour. In a field of 76, Birgir Leifur is fighting it out against a.o. PGA veteran Brent Delahoussaye and Spains Antonio Garcia Heredia, who has been playing on the European Tour this past 2011 season. Currently, after 2 rounds, Birgir Leifur is doing fine, he is T-11, along with 3 other players. Here, you can view the: PGA Q-SCHOOL 1. STAGE\u00a0LEADERBOARD But who is Icelandic golfer\u00a0Birgir Leifur Haf\u00fe\u00f3rsson? Golf 1 asked Birgir Leifur a quick 18 questions last Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","cat-7-id"],"acf":[],"views":2009,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.golf1.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.golf1.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.golf1.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golf1.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golf1.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.golf1.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golf1.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.golf1.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golf1.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.golf1.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}