VIRGINIA WATER, Surrey, England – The Winner Takes It All by ABBA blasted out of the speakers on the 18th hole at Wentworth as Alex Noren, from Sweden’s capital Stockholm, the same city where the band were formed, lifted the BMW PGA Championship trophy.
After finishing 19 under par following four sturdy rounds of golf, and holding his nerve in a play-off against Frenchman Adrien Saddier, Noren reunited himself with the title he first won here in 2017. As the rain poured, the 43-year-old kissed the mirrored trophy, which reflected the light of camera flashes.
Noren is one of Europe’s most in-form golfers after winning the British Masters just 21 days ago at The Belfry — his first win in seven years. Before that winning weekend in Warwickshire, England, last month, he also had back-to-back PGA Tour top 10s in the prior tournaments.
Noren with the trophy in the Wentworth locker room. (Luke Walker/Getty Images)
It is also his 12th win on the DP World Tour in his 307th start. This victory at the flagship event makes him the most successful Swedish player on the tour after surpassing countrymen Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson with 11 tour wins each. It’s something which made him feel “extremely happy and proud.”
The only player to have won more times on the DP World Tour since 2009 than Noren is Rory McIlroy, who has 20 wins. Which begs the question: why did Noren miss out on selection for the Ryder Cup?
He will be there — just not as a player. At the start of this month, he was announced as Luke Donald’s fifth and final vice-captain for the tournament at Bethpage Black in New York.
Noren shakes hands with Luke Donald at Heathrow Airport as Team Europe prepare for New York. (Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
“I love Alex’s demeanour, his work ethic, how he goes about things,” Donald said at the time of his decision. “He prepares as well as anyone when it comes to his golf. And you know that is important.”
Donald, who often plays practice rounds with Noren at The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Florida, went on to say that Noren will be important when it comes to the bond he has with the three Scandinavian players on the team: Ludvig Aberg (Sweden), Viktor Hovland (Norway) and rookie Rasmus Hojgaard (Denmark).
What also brought Noren into contention to be on Donald’s backroom staff was that he had won a Ryder Cup before. On his debut, his heroics at Le Golf National in Paris, France, in 2018 will not be forgotten. He won two points in three matches as Europe won 17½-10½. One of his points was won after he made a 40-foot putt on the 18th to claim victory over the United States’ Bryson DeChambeau.
Noren sparks jubilation on the 18th as Europe win the 2018 Ryder Cup. (Andrew Redington / Getty Images)
“It was a big shock when I found out. I didn’t expect it at all,” Noren said, speaking after the announcement. “I want to bring a good attitude to the team room. Bring some knowledge. I’ve been in this game a long time. This Ryder Cup is going to be one of the toughest ones to win because of where it is. It’s going to be a very tough crowd, but I think that can feed our players as well.”
Eleven of Team Europe’s 12-man squad were present in Surrey this weekend, and Noren beat them all to the main prize. He finished out in front ahead of every member of the team except for Austrian Sepp Straka, who did not take part.
Noren himself has said his recent victories and good form came too late to challenge for a playing place in the team.
“I think we have a great team and I think it’s the right 12 guys that are playing,” Noren said after winning at Wentworth. “I showed good form late, but it was the wrong time and I didn’t really show the form I needed to show.”
As for his role at Bethpage, Noren is excited to be a helping hand alongside his fellow vice-captains Francesco Molinari, Edoardo Molinari, Thomas Bjorn and Jose Maria Olazabal.
“My role is (to be) an extra set of eyes for Luke,” he said. “He’s doing the most part, and the other captains have done a lot of work. I asked Luke: ‘What do you want out of me?’ Obviously, I’m not going to coach or captain much. You’re going to be an extra set of eyes over a few players and be of any service they need. You know, I’ve only played one time but I know it’s different to play (in a) Ryder Cup than anything else.
“I’ll do whatever they ask me to do. I’m really happy to be part of the team because I think Bethpage will be an incredible venue.”
Noren approaches the fifth at Wentworth. (Kate McShane/Getty Images)
Many wondered whether it would be McIlroy, who last week won the Irish Open, or Tyrrell Hatton, who started the day with a share of the lead, or another of Team Europe to claim the title here to give a winning boost to the team environment. But it was Noren.
And as the players fly to New York together on Sunday night, Noren will be on that flight drinking “red wine or beer” or maybe both. And he will sip away knowing that in the past three weeks he has got back to winning ways. It came too late to earn a second appearance as a player at the Ryder Cup but he is ready to play a different part this time around.
“It will be a nice flight,” Noren said following his win. The hope for Noren and team Europe is that there is another trophy flying back with the team in two weeks’ time.
(Top photo of Alex Noren; Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
