Born in Lahti, Finland, Ilonen’s career has been awash with firsts. During a highly distinguished amateur career, he became the first Finnish golfer to win the British Amateur Championship when he prevailed at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. At the same venue, he finished 16 at the 2006 Open Championship. After turning pro in 2001, he promptly collected a top-10 finish in The Open but then had to wait a further six years to become the first Finn to win on the European Tour. Captured the Indonesia Open, jointly sanctioned between the European and Asian Tours. In 2007 he was the first Finnish player to win the Scandinavian Masters and the first to break into the world’s top 100. Won the World Match Play and Irish Open in 2014 to record his best year on tour.