Suzann Pettersen Facts: 25 Things You Didn't Know About Team Europe's Solheim Cup Captain

Suzann Petersen enjoyed a highly successful career from 2000 until 2019, when she retired following her winning Solheim Cup putt. After returning to Solheim Cup duty in 2021 as an assistant captain for the second time, she then twice led Europe as captain. Discover more about Pettersen's life and career via these facts.

16 Things You Didn't Know About Suzann Pettersen

1. Suzann Pettersen was born April 7, 1981, in Oslo, Norway.

2. The Norwegian is nicknamed Tutta by her friends and family.

3. Pettersen grew up with her parents, Axel and Mona, and her two brothers, Stefan and Gunerius, in Oslo.

4. Pettersen played in her first golf tournament aged six, though she also participated in skiing in her homeland growing up.

5. She turned professional in 2000, after winning the Norwegian Amateur five times in a row between 1996 and 2000.

6. Pettersen also won the 1999 Girls Amateur Championship, plus represented Europe in the 1997 and 1999 Junior Ryder Cup matches.

7. Suzann first joined the Ladies European Tour in 2001, after an 11th place finish at the LET Qualifying School.

8. Her debut season saw her play in 10 events without missing a cut, while also winning the Open de France Dames to help her finish second on the Order of Merit, and subsequently being named the LET Rookie of the Year.

9. Pettersen finished T10 at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament in 2002 to earn exempt status for the LPGA Tour for the 2003 season.

10. The Norwegian's first LPGA Tour title came in 2007 at the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill, making her the first player from her country to record a win on the tour.

11. 2007 was something of a trophy-laden season for Pettersen, because she won a further four times on the LPGA Tour, and once on the LET.

12. Pettersen has a total of 22 professional career wins, 15 of them coming on the LPGA Tour, and seven on the LET.

13. Among her 22 wins are two Majors, including the 2007 LPGA Championship and the 2013 Evian Championship.

14. Her record in Majors is truly remarkable too - she has managed 23 top-ten finishes, with 14 of them being in the top-five.

15. The Norwegian retired after holing the winning putt for Team Europe at the 2019 Solheim Cup.

16. The best position that Pettersen has been in the Women's World Golf Rankings is second, which she reached several times in her career - the most recent of which came from August 2011 until February 2012.

17. She played in 36 Solheim Cup matches across nine tournaments, winning 18 of those, losing 12, and halving the remaining six.

18. Pettersen was Annika Sorenstam's assistant captain for the 2017 Solheim Cup, after she withdrew from the team with a back injury - before operating in that role for a second time at the 2021 tournament.

19. Suzann is an experienced international golfer, representing her nation twice as an amateur at the Espirito Santo Trophy, twice in the Junior Ryder Cup, nine times in the Solheim Cup, and the International team in the 2005, 2007, and 2008 Lexus Cup.

20. She married her husband Christian Ringvold in January 2017, and she gave birth to their son, Herman, in August of that year.

21. Pettersen has twice been Team Europe's Solheim Cup captain, leading in 2023 and 2024. The first time ended in a thrilling 14-14 tie at Finca Cortesin, with Europe retaining the trophy.

22. She represented Norway at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, where she finished in 10th.

23. Her hobbies include watching or playing most sports, keeping fit and music.

24. Pettersen ended her career inside the top-five on the LPGA Tour's all-time career money list.

25. In Norway, Suzann has been named Female Athlete of the Year three times – 2007, 2009, and 2013 – and received the Practitioners Award, the most coveted honor among athletes, in 2013.

Suzann Pettersen Bio

Suzann Pettersen Career Earnings

Pettersen finished her pro career with $14,837,578 in earnings. She took $300,000 home after winning the McDonald's LPGA Championship and banked $487,500 after success at the 2013 Evian Championship. 

When Pettersen retired, she was in the top-five on the LPGA Tour's all-time career money list and remains eighth to this day, despite the welcome increase in purse size.

Suzann Pettersen Wins