BlogNordea Preview and Picks

The Buzz:

After a good BMW PGA and Irish Open, it’s back to what is regular on the European Tour, with mostly tour regulars playing.  It’s off to Sweden for a  tournament which had its origins in the late 1960s with the Volvo Open, which became the Scandinavian Enterprise Open in 1973, when it also became the first Swedish stop on the European Tour schedule. In 1991, the SEO merged with the PLM Open, with the resulting tournament being called the Scandinavian Masters.  The Scandinavian Masters is currently the only European Tour event to be held in Scandinavia.  A total of seven venues have hosted the Nordea Masters and two players have won the title three times – Lee Westwood, who returns this year, and Colin Montgomerie.  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).

What about Bro Hof Slott Golf Club:

Located just outside of Stockholm, Bro Hof Slott Golf Club runs along Lake Mälaren.  Bro Hof Slott has two exceptional golf courses both designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. which are laid out in the spectacular grounds of the castle.  The tournament is played on the Stadium Course which opened in 2007 and borders the lake.  It has large greens and well-placed bunkers, with nine of the holes having water in play.  For this week the course will play to a par of 72 and at 7,511 yards.  But the course can be stretched to over 8,000 yards as it’s the longest course that Robert Trent Jones III ever designed.

Risk/reward options abound on holes such as number fifteen, a dogleg left around a lake that might allow gamblers to reach the peninsula green in two shots. Number eighteen, which-along with seventeen-will hold up to 70,000 spectators, can be set up as a driveable par four or a longer test.  It’s considered the best course in Sweden and ranked the ninth best in Europe by Golf World Britain.  The course has held the Nordea Masters in 2010, ’11, ’12 and ’13.  The last two years it has been played at PGA Sweden National.  Traditionally scoring has been low, thanks to the course having five par 5s.  Mikko Ilonen was 21 under par in 2014 and Westwood getting to 19 under in 2013.  Three players share the course record of 63 (-9), Alex Noren and Ilonen (both 2011) and Peter Whiteford (2013).

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the Nordea Masters:

Key stat for the winner:

It’s a classic case of a really hard course for the average golfer, but the fact that it’s in great shape, with rough that is easy to manage meaning that players can overpower the course.  Big hitters have the advantage as they have less yardage left to the greens.  Now if the wind pops up it could change the course and make it a lot harder.  But the long range forecast call for great weather with temperatures in the high 60s/low 70s and no rain or wind.  So look for low scoring to continue.

Here are some more key stats to look to for this week:

The Par 5s, since there are five on the course the leaders will go low on them.  Look at how the four winners at Bro Hol Slott did on the par 5s.

• 2010 – Richard S. Johnson played them in 10 under
• 2011 – Alex Noren played them in 11 under
• 2012 – Lee Westwood played them in 10 under
• 2013 – Mikko Ilonen played them in 11 under

More key stats to look to for this week:

• U.S. Open qualifying was Monday which meant that players had to go through a tough 36 holes at Walton Heath, then board a play for Stockholm.  Look at the results and you can see that several players are in the field in Sweden.  Last year’s winner Alex Noren qualified for the U.S. Open a week before he won in Europe so look for someone that played well on Monday to carry it over to this event.
• One last key, look for players that have done well of late, so a guy like Lee Westwood has a lot going for him, while a Henrik Stenson has to be a very guarded pick since he has played really bad the last couple of weeks.  Now many will be behind Stenson with his Swedish roots, but it’s probably best if you are looking for a “Swedish winner” look at Rikard Karlberg who finished T-10th at the Irish Open and 2nd at the BMW PGA.