NEWS

Freak wind and island green make for scores rarely seen on major tours

By Mark Garrod
Published on
Freak wind and island green make for scores rarely seen on major tours

All of a sudden, it seems such a shame that Bro Hof Slott Golf Club near Stockholm won’t be staging the 2018 Ryder Cup.

What fun would be had on and around the 164-yard island-green 17th if the weather was the same as it was for the final round of the Nordea Masters on Sunday.

"I've never seen wind like this in Sweden," said Alex Noren, who won with a closing 77 – and still won by seven shots on a day some called freakishly windy.

"The only thing I thought of all day was the 17th," he admitted "I said it doesn't matter how I play up to that, I just have to survive 17 --  and I did."

Noren parred, it and three of the 65 players -- Scott Hend, Pablo Martin and Jeev Milkha Singh -- deserve a mention if not a medal for making birdies.

There were five triple-bogey 6s, including one from runner-up Richard Finch in an otherwise incredible 69, the low round of the day by three.

There were also four 7s, one 8, two 9s -- Christian Nilsson would have tied for fourth if he had parred it and instead came in 24th -- an 11 from Steve Webster and a 12 from last year's Italian Open winner Fredrik Andersson Hed.

That gave Hed an inward half of 49 and a round of 90, but neither was the worst of the day.

Scotland’s Alastair Forsyth, one of those who took 7, also ran up a 10 on the long 13th as he came home in 51, while Webster shot 91 and amassed 22 of those on the three short holes on the back nine -- a 7 at the 175-yard 11th, a 4 at the 212-yard 16th and then his 11.

Bro Hof was an original contender for the 2018 Ryder Cup, but the global financial situation led the Swedes to pull out of the bidding process and focus instead on the trying to land the 2022 Ryder Cup. So there is still a chance that the world’s best players will have to face what now surely deserves to be called the "Hell Hole."