Golf in Sweden

Golf in Sweden dates to 1888 when the first course was opened at Ryfors Bruk in Mullsjö.[1] The first 18 hole course was opened in Gothenburg in 1894, and Stockholm Golf Club was established along with the Swedish Golf Federation (SGF) in 1904.[1] Today it is a popular sport with over half a million active players and close to 500 courses.[2]

History

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In 1946, Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland became Chairman of the SGF. Sven Tumba was instrumental in promoting the game as an healthy activity for the masses, and in 1968 he organized exhibition matches at Lidingö Golf Club and Falsterbo Golf Club featuring Arnold Palmer, popularizing the sport further. By 1970 there were 110 courses.[1]

The first notable Swedish professional golfers emerged in the 1970s, with Gunnar Mueller the first to play all four rounds in a major at the 1973 Open Championship. Kärstin Ehrnlund joined the Ladies European Tour in its inaugural season in 1979, and secured the first Swedish victory on the tour in 1980. In 1982, Charlotte Montgomery became the first to qualify as a member on one of the main U.S.-based golf tours when she succeeded at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, soon followed by Pia Nilsson, who would later captain the European 1998 Solheim Cup team.[3]

Golf boomed in the 1980s, and the number of courses almost doubled in a single decade to 271. In 1984, the Swedish Golf Tour was established, and a women's tour followed two years later. Corporate sponsorship of professionals emerged, and Team Saab supported by Saab Automobile, saw Ove Sellberg, Magnus Persson and Krister Kinell turn professionals in 1982 and be competitive on the European Tour, where the first victory came in 1986. Liselotte Neumann became the first LPGA Tour winner and major champion when she won the 1988 U.S. Women's Open.[3]

In 1997, Gabriel Hjertstedt became the first to win on the PGA Tour and two years later the first two-time winner. Jesper Parnevik became the first three-time winner, with a total of five PGA Tour-titles 1997–2001. Between 1995 and 2005 Annika Sörenstam was a dominant on the LPGA Tour, with a career record of 72 LPGA Tour titles, including 10 major victories. By the time Anna Nordqvist won her third major in 2021, she and her compatriots had the third most LPGA major championship titles of any nation, behind only the United States and South Korea. The first Swedish men's major victory came at the 2016 Open Championship through Henrik Stenson, after Parnevik, Niclas Fasth and Jonas Blixt had all recorded runner-up finishes.[4]

Courses

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Main article: List of golf courses in Sweden
Bro Hof Slott GC
Veckefjärdens GC

As of January 2024, the number of golf clubs organized by the Swedish Golf Federation (SGF) was 445.[2][5]

Top ranked courses

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Golf Digest has continually ranked Swedish courses since 1993. Svensk Golf, a monthly publication attached to the Swedish Golf Federation, in 2020 published an updated ranking using the same methodology.[6]

  1. Visby GC
  2. Bro Hof Slott GC – Stadium Course
  3. Kristianstad GC – Åhus Östra
  4. Ullna GC
  5. Falsterbo GC
  6. Halmstad GC – Norra
  7. Vallda G&CC
  8. Österåker GC – Öster by Stenson
  9. PGA Sweden National – Links Course
  10. Barsebäck G&CC – Masters Course
  11. Vasatorp GC – Tournament Course
  12. Ljunghusen GC – 1–18
  13. Royal Drottningholm GC
  14. Bro Hof Slott GC – Castle Course
  15. Sand GC

Tours

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Main articles: Swedish Golf Tour and Swedish Golf Tour (women)

The Swedish Golf Tour has operated continuously since 1984, and the Swedish Golf Tour (women) since 1986. Recently most tournaments also feature on the Nordic Golf League and LET Access Series.

Tournaments

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National championships

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The Swedish Golf Federation instituted the first national golf tournament in 1904. Notable tournaments include:[1]

International tournaments

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Professional

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The Solheim Cup has been hosted twice:[7]

The European Tour:[8]

The Ladies European Tour:

The Challenge Tour:

  • Swedish courses hosted over a hundred Challenge Tour events 1990–2020.

Amateur

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The International Golf Federation or European Golf Association:

Qualification event for the Junior Solheim Cup:

Golfers

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Annika Sörenstam recorded 72 LPGA Tour victories

As of October 2024, the number of active golfers organized by the Swedish Golf Federation was 506,000.[2] This makes golf the third largest sport in Sweden in terms of active members, behind association football and athletics.[9]

Swedish Golfer of the Year

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Main article: Swedish Golfer of the Year

Annika Sörenstam won Swedish Golfer of the Year nine times 1995–2005, and Henrik Stenson five times 2006–2016.

Swedish Golf Hall of Fame

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Members include Annika Sörenstam, Liv Wollin, Henrik Stenson, Liselotte Neumann, Sven Tumba, Erik Runfelt och Viktor H. Setterberg, Jesper Parnevik, Pia Nilsson, Göran Zachrisson, Douglas Brasier and Helen Alfredsson.[10]

National Amateur Squad

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The Swedish Golf Team is the national squad. Amateur players from the age of 13 are trained and selected by the SGF to represent the country in international tournaments. The first win came at the 1959 European Amateur Team Championship. Notably, the women's team won the European Ladies' Team Championship three consecutive years 2018, 2019 and 2020.[11]

National Squad Wins

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Notable Touring Professionals

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Updated as of 15 September 2024.

Swedish professional golfers have collectively won over a hundred European Tour titles and also over a hundred LPGA Tour titles. Notable golfers listed below are those with a win or runner-up finish on any of the principlal international tours.[a][b]

Male tour golfers

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Female tour golfers

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Golfers in Multisport and Professional Team Events

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Between 2016 and 2024, ten different golfers represented Sweden at the olympics. Henrik Stenson won a medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Ludvig Åberg was the 12th Ryder Cup player from Sweden, while Pia Nilsson, Catrin Nilsmark, Helen Alfredsson, Carin Koch and Annika Sörenstam have all been Solheim Cup captains.

Anders Forsbrand and Per-Ulrik Johansson won the 1991 World Cup. Liselotte Neumann and Helen Alfredsson won the 1992 Sunrise Cup World Team Championship.

Golf at the Summer Olympics

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Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup

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World Cup of Golf

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Other international cups

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Notes

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  1. ^ Players with or eligible for Swedish nationality that have chosen to represent other countries (e.g. Jenny Lidback, Carl Suneson, Camilla Hedberg) are not included. Players that have switched their nationality (e.g. Caroline Westrup, Paul Nilbrink) are included if they represented Sweden at the time of their achievement. Several players, such as Annika Sörenstam, have assumed U.S. citizenship, but continued to use Sweden as sporting nationality.
  2. ^ The principal tours in this centext are defined as the PGA Tour (USA), European Tour (EUR), Asian Tour (ASA), Sunshine Tour (AFR), Korn Ferry Tour (KFT), Challenge Tour (CHA) and LIV Golf League (LIV) for men, and the LPGA Tour (LPGA), Ladies European Tour (LET), LPGA of Japan Tour (JP), LPGA of Korea Tour (KR), Ladies Asian Golf Tour (AS), Epson Tour (EPS), WPGA Tour of Australasia (AU), and Sunshine Ladies Tour (AF) for women. In addition, the senior tours PGA Tour Champions (CMP) and European Senior Tour (EST) for men, and the Legends Tour (LEG) for women are included. A record of these wins is maintained by the Swedish Golf Federation.[4][3]
  3. ^ Career best position in the Official World Golf Rankings.[12]
  4. ^ M.E. is LET major only. Women's British Open turned LPGA major in 2001, The Evian in 2013.
  5. ^ Career best position in the Women's World Golf Rankings. Officially introduced in February 2006, hence not available for players active in prior years. Full list of all ranked players available at the official WWGR site and its archive.
  6. ^ Anna Nordqvist and Sophie Gustafson won the European Nations Cup together in 2010 and 2011
  7. ^ Stenson was named the 2023 European Ryder Cup captain, but his captaincy was terminated after 4 months when he signed with LIV Golf.[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Golf - Den Stora Sporten" (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Statistik". 2017 statistics (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Jansson, Anders (2004). Golf - Den stora sporten [Golf - The great sport] (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. ISBN 91-86818007.
  4. ^ a b "Blågula segrar" [Swedish Victories] (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  5. ^ "List of Golf Clubs in Sweden" (PDF) (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Sveriges bästa golfbanor" (in Swedish). Svensk Golf. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Solheim Cup til Sverige også i 2007" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  8. ^ Jansson, Anders (2004). Golf - Den Stora Sporten' [Golf - the Great Sport] (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. ISBN 91-86818007. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  9. ^ "2017 Golf Data". 2017 statistics (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Sveriges Golf Hall of Fame" (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Välkommen till landslaget" (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Official World Golf Ranking". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Vil'lm Forsbrand". OWGR. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  14. ^ Olympic Ranking - Men, International Golf Federation
  15. ^ a b "2020 Olympic Golf Rankings".
  16. ^ Olympic Ranking - Women Archived 2016-07-20 at the Wayback Machine, International Golf Federation
  17. ^ "Statement from Ryder Cup Europe". Ryder Cup. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
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