– Göran got a whole people interested without them even knowing what it was. He himself was a good golfer and had an ability to explain what happened on the courses, he continues.
Jesper Parnevik, born in 1965 in Stockholm, describes a childhood in the 1970s and 1980s where few or even anyone in Sweden had a particularly good grasp of golf, whose modern history stretches all the way back to 15th century Scotland.
– Today everyone knows but when I started playing no one knew. I remember that you brought a golf club and a ball during the fun hour at school and had to explain. That was how it looked for a long time, but Göran Zachrisson and Tumba made people start watching, he says.
When DN reaches Jesper Parnevik, he is out cycling with Per-Ulrik Johansson, another former professional golfer who remembers Göran Zachrisson’s importance for the sport.
– He had a unique voice and it is a legend that has passed away. He was incredibly knowledgeable and skilled at capturing the audience. I will always remember his kindness, humility and integrity, says Johansson.
– Göran Zachrisson died on Wednesday, aged 83.
Photo: Patrik Österberg / TT
Roger Andersson, one of Zachrisson’s close friends and for several years communications manager at the Swedish Golf Association, is on a similar track as Parnevik and Johansson.
– If you look at the most important people in public, it is Tumba, Göran and Annika Sörenstam. The three are outstanding. What Tumba did was popularize golf and Göran became popular because he did different things. He had a characteristic voice and a way of telling that made one interested, says Roger Andersson.
Göran Zachrisson worked as a journalist for SVT, Viasat, the current Nent, and for the magazine Svensk golf. He died on Wednesday after being diagnosed with cancer earlier this summer.
According to Andersson, few other sports journalists have become so synonymous with a sport as Göran Zachrisson.
– In my eyes, he was unique and for golf, it has meant a lot to have a voice that goes home. It is not even possible to put a value on. It is extremely sad that that voice is silent, he says.
– Jesper Parnevik (left) and Per-Ulrik Johansson (right) were successful on the golf course during the 1990s and 2000s. Not infrequently with Göran Zachrisson in the comment box.
Photo: Laurent Rebours / AP
Jesper Parnevik also shows how Zachrisson took young Swedes under his wings as new golfers on the biggest tours.
– He became like a sponsor for us.
How did it feel when he commented on your competitions?
Jesper Parnevik laughs and looks for words.
– A broadcast I have seen a few times was when I won the Scandinavian Masters as the first Swede (1995). It is very fun to listen to how excited Göran became. I remember him saying, “Here comes Jesper, blessed is our son.”
– He was unique and a wonderful person that everyone loved, says Parnevik.
Read more:
Göran Zachrisson is dead – the sports journalist turned 83 years old
Björn Wiman: Göran Zachrisson renewed sports journalism
Jens Littorin: Göran Zachrisson – an inspirer and a gentleman
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