Robert Karlsson, Alexander Noren and Jaco Van Zyl share the first round lead at Nordea Masters
The first day of the Nordea Masters at the Bro Hof Slott Golf Club Sweden turned out to be an all-Swedish affair with two Swedes drawing themselves into contention for the lead.
Robert Karlsson shot an impressive five-under, 67 to share the lead with his countryman Alexander Noren and South African Jaco Van Zyl. Interestingly, however, this was not the former European Number One Robert Karlsson, but rather his namesake, who is playing
as an amateur in the event.
“That was a great start to the tournament, obviously,” said amateur Karlsson. “Ever since I qualified on Monday, I’ve been trying to really enjoy this experience. It’s hard not to smile.”
This is 22-year-old Karlsson’s only second European Tour event and the budding golfer is eager to post a strong finish to retain his playing status. The 41-year-old Robert Karlsson, the former Ryder Cup member and a much established player, opened up his
opening round with a respectable 69 but it was Karlsson, the amateur who stole the limelight on the first day.
Noren, one of the favourites and who is not a stranger at Bro Hof Slott, started off with a glistering back nine, pulling in five birdies before making the turn, but fell in for a dreadful double-bogey and a bogey of the front nine to slide down the leaderboard.
He carded three more birdies to rise from the slump and stayed in contention for the summit on the first day.
“It was great, the first few holes were unbelievable,” said Noren, “It felt so much easier than it has ever felt, then it got really tough on the front nine. I was really nervous going into today - in front of all your family and friends and they want to
see if you can play or if you’re out there because your lucky. It was really fun.”
Noren has already won twice on the European Tour and is coming out of a strong season with a victory at the Saab Wales Open last month.
South African Van Zyl also performed remarkably well on the first day pulling in six birdies and dropping just one shot on the back nine. Being a Qualifying School graduate, Van Zyl is also hoping to post a strong finish to retain his playing status for
the rest of the season.
Two of the top ranking American players in the event, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson had a disappointing first day in Sweden, where Watson finished for joint 22nd and Johnson slumped to a joint 43rd.
Johnson, who was the runner-up in last week’s Open Championship, is one of the highest ranked player in the event poised at number seven on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). He pulled in a lopsided round with two birdies and three bogeys.
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