Nordea Masters preview

The European Tour heads to Sweden this week for the Nordea Masters at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club in Stockholm. Home favourite Alex Noren defends the title but a strong field, including Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia, will challenge him.

Alex Noren defends Nordea Masters (Getty Images)
Fergus Bisset
By
published

Lowdown: The European Tour heads to Sweden this week for the Nordea Masters at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club in Stockholm. Home favourite Alex Noren defends the title but a strong field, including Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia, will challenge him. With just one week to go before the US Open in San Francisco, this event marks the final preparation for a number of players in the field. Lee Westwood, twice a third-place finisher in the year's second Major, will be aiming for the perfect build-up to the Olympic Club. So will other European stars like Sergio Garcia, Peter Hanson, Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Alex Noren. With a view towards next week's big event, this tournament will be contested from Wednesday to Saturday, giving those heading to San Francisco a little more time. In last year's Nordea Masters, held in July rather than June, Alex Noren produced four superb rounds of golf, including a 63 on the Saturday, to win by a full seven shots from Richard Finch of England. Bro Hoff Slott GC is a Robert Trent Jones Jr creation that only opened for play in 2007. It's a beautiful course set right on the waterside, it's already considered the best track in Sweden. At over 7,600 yards, it's also one of the longest courses on the European Tour circuit. Venue: Bro Hof Slott GC, Stockholm, Sweden Date: Jun 6-9 Course stats: par 72, 7,607 yards Purse: €1,500,000 Winner: €250,000 Defending Champion: Alexander Noren (-15)

TV Coverage: Wednesday 6 - Live on Sky Sports 1 from 10.30am Thursday 7 - Live on Sky Sports 2 from 10.30am Friday 8 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 12.30pm Saturday 9 - Live on Sky Sports 3 from 12.30pm

Player Watch: Ross Fisher - The Englishman enjoyed a solid week in Wales and would have been right in the mix had it not been for an enforced, slow-play penalty shot. A couple of years ago he was one of the European Tour's most dangerous players and he's showing signs of returning to that sort of form. Watch out for him this week.

Peter Hanson - He's risen to 25th on the Official World Golf Ranking and is one of Europe's most consistent performers. He's also a former winner of this event - he took the title back in 2008.

Rafael Cabrera-Bello - The Spaniard has been enjoying an excellent season with two third place finishes to his credit already. He'll be looking for the perfect confidence booster before heading to California for the US Open.

Key hole: 17th. On the card it may look innocuous as just a 164 yard par 3. But, it has an island green in the style of the famous 17th at Sawgrass. It's green or bust on this one and we could see some players chances ending in a watery grave come Sunday afternoon.

Skills required: Length. This is a long course and will play its full yardage. The guys who can carry the ball a good distance from the tee will be at a distinct advantage.

Where next? PGA Tour - FedEx St Jude Classic preview

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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