Ahead of our visit to Sweden, europeantour.com gives everything you need to know about the Nordea Masters.
REWIND
Last year Alex Noren produced a master-class at PGA Sweden National to win the Nordea Masters for the second time in his career, the first coming in 2011. It was his fourth European Tour title and first since 2011, allowing him to put behind him a year of frustration with tendon injuries in both wrists.
A 71 in the final round gave him a four-stroke victory, although his 2011 Nordea Masters winning margin was, impressively, double that at Bro Hof Slott, where the event returns this year.
Teenage amateur Marcus Kinhult was one of the best stories of the week in 2015, sharing the lead after 36 holes before dropping back into a tie for 33rd, while it was also another brilliant performance from Søren Kjeldsen, who finished runner-up a week after ending a six-year title drought at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation.
BITE-SIZED HISTORY
Other names on the rich list of past winners include Sir Nick Faldo (1992), former World Number Ones Luke Donald (2004) and Adam Scott (2003), and US Open winner Graeme McDowell (2002).
Noren’s triumph last year was the seventh by a Swede, adding to wins from Jesper Parnevik (1995 and 1998), Joakim Haeggman (1997), Peter Hanson (2008) and Richard S Johnson (2010).
THE FIELD
Another home favourite in the form of Robert Karlsson is also in attendance, as are Noren, Hanson and Kristoffer Broberg, who made his European Tour breakthrough in China last November.
Kinhult, who earned his European Tour card at the Qualifying School Final Stage late last year and promptly turned professional, is also in the field and hoping for more home success.
THE COURSE
Another home favourite in the form of Robert Karlsson is also in attendance, as are Noren, Hanson and Kristoffer Broberg, who made his European Tour breakthrough in China last November.
Kinhult, who earned his European Tour card at the Qualifying School Final Stage late last year and promptly turned professional, is also in the field and hoping for more home success.
THE COURSE
Opened in 2007, the Stadium course at Bro Hof Slott is ranked as Sweden’s number one course in the Top 100 Golf Courses, and 14th best in Europe.
The designer, Robert Trent Jones Jnr, said that “everything at Bro Hof is big – the holes are longer, the greens are bigger, there is more water and the bunkers are larger and well-placed”.
Despite being a bit of a beast at 7,511 yards, the winning score on the par 72 layout has traditionally been low, with Mikko Ilonen amassing 21 under par in 2014 and Westwood getting to 19 under in 2013.
Three players share the course record of 63 (-9) – Noren and Ilonen (both 2011) and Peter Whiteford (2013).
