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European Tour: Scandinavian Invitation Preview

By Matt Coles

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Alex Noren of Sweden lines up his putt on the 13th green during the first round of the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort and Spa on February 22, 2018 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Alex Noren of Sweden lines up his putt on the 13th green during the first round of the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort and Spa on February 22, 2018 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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After a thrilling finish in the Czech Republic last week, the European Tour moves north for this week’s event, the Scandinavian Invitation.

Although the Scandinavian Invitation is under a new name, having previously been known as the Nordea Masters and the Scandinavian Masters, the tournament will take place on the same course as last year.

The venue will be Hills Golf Club, just outside of Gothenburg, Sweden. The course was opened in 2004 and held the tournament in 2018, the first European Tour event to be held at the venue.

The event has a rich history, having first been hosted at Drottningholms GK in 1991. This will be the 29th edition of the event, and there are plenty of former winners in the field.

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC – AUGUST 21: Paul Waring of England walks down the 18th fairway to play his second shot during day one of D+D REAL Czech Masters at Albatross Golf Resort on August 21, 2014 in Prague, Czech Republic. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC – AUGUST 21: Paul Waring of England walks down the 18th fairway to play his second shot during day one of D+D REAL Czech Masters at Albatross Golf Resort on August 21, 2014 in Prague, Czech Republic. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images) /

Past Champions

Only five of the past winners of the event will take to the course in the 2019 edition of the Scandinavian Invitation, including last year’s champion, Paul Waring.

The Englishman won the event in 2018, securing his first victory on the European Tour in the process, as he overcame South Africa’s Thomas Aiken in a playoff.

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Two other British winners will tee it up at Hills this week. Matthew Fitzpatrick, the 2016 winner, and Scotland’s Marc Warren, the 2006 champ, will both be looking to make it two wins in Sweden in their careers this week.

2017 winner Renato Paratore is also in this week’s field. He won the event two years ago, stopping Fitzpatrick from winning the event in back-to-back years, as he beat the Englishman by a single shot come to the end of 72 holes.

The only other past winner in this week’s field at Hills Golf Club is the home favourite, Alex Noren. He is the only multiple champion of this event, having tasted victory at PGA Sweden National in 2015 and Bro Hof Slott four years previous. Can he keep the four-year rotation going? 2011, then 2015, and now 2019?

If Noren was to take the title this week, he would become the third three-time winner of the event, following in the footsteps of Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood.

Jesper Parnevik and Mikko Ilonen are the only others to have won multiple titles at this tournament, while the likes of Nick Faldo, Graeme McDowell, Peter Hanson, Adam Scott, and Luke Donald have all tasted success here.

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 03: Henrik Stenson of Sweden plays his shot from the 16th tee during the second round of the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on May 03, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – MAY 03: Henrik Stenson of Sweden plays his shot from the 16th tee during the second round of the 2019 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on May 03, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Home History & Hopes

The Scandinavian Invitation holds the record on the European Tour for the most victories for Swedish players in the same tournament, with five men having tasted victory a total of seven times.

Jesper Parnevik became the first home winner of the tournament when he was victorious in 1995. He then doubled up in 1998, a year after Joakim Haeggman reigned supreme.

After a ten year wait, Peter Hanson became the next Swede to take victory in 2008, before Richard S Johnson (2010) and Alex Noren (2011) made it three Swedish winners in four years. Noren then secured the title for the second time in 2015.

The European Ryder Cup star will be hoping to make it a hat-trick of wins in the Scandinavian this week, but he will face stiff competition from his fellow countrymen.

2016 British Open champion Henrik Stenson is in this week’s field, as he looks to win on home soil for the first time in his coveted career.

Marcus Kinhult, the most recent Swedish winner on the European Tour after his win at the Betfred British Masters in May, will also tee it up at Hills Golf Club come Thursday morning.

Alexander Björk, the 2018 Volvo China Masters winner is another member of the 29-strong Swedish contingent in the field this week.

Three-time European Tour winner Johan Edfors and 11-time ET champion Robert Karlsson will also be in action this week, as well as Rikard Karlberg, who finished inside the top five at the Czech Masters in Prague come Sunday afternoon.

Three amateurs will be getting their first taste of European Tour action, as the Swedish trio of Albin Bergstrom, Vincent Norrman and David Nyfjåll make their debuts.

The action gets underway at 07:30 local time (UTC+2) on Thursday morning, with a two-tee start in place at Hills Golf Club for the opening two days play.

Sam Brazel, Lucas Herbert, and Chris Paisley will get the action started on the 1st tee of the Scandinavian Invitation, with Laurie Canter, Joel Girrbach, and Richie Ramsay in the first group to start from the 10th.

Next. Presidents Cup 2019: Automatic qualifiers set for Ernie Els’ International team. dark

Featured Groups (* = 10th hole start):

07:40* & 12:40: Dean Burmester (RSA), Alexander Levy (FRA), Renato Paratore (ITA)

07:50* & 12:50: Thomas Bjørn (DEN), Tom Lewis (ENG), Chris Wood (ENG)

08:00* & 13:00: Marcus Kinhult (SWE), Henrik Stenson (SWE), Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG)

12:50 & 07:50*: Stephen Gallacher (SCO), Joost Luiten (NED), Benjamin Hebert (FRA)

13:00 & 08:00*: Alex Noren (SWE), Paul Waring (ENG), Erik van Rooyen (RSA)

13:50* & 08:50: Marc Warren (SCO), Bradley Dredge (WAL), Soomin Lee (KOR)

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