Åke Nilsson (golfer)

Åke Nilsson (born 22 May 1982) is a Swedish professional golfer and former European Tour player.[1] As of 2022, he topped the list of most wins on the Nordic Golf League, with 8 victories.

Åke Nilsson
Personal information
Born (1982-05-22) 22 May 1982
Kristianstad, Sweden
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Sporting nationality Sweden
Career
Turned professional2002
Former tour(s)European Tour
Challenge Tour
Nordic Golf League
Professional wins13
Achievements and awards
PGA of Sweden Future Fund Award2009

Early life

Nilsson was born in Kristianstad and has represented Kristianstad Golf Club.[2] He chose not to follow his two older brothers to America on a golf scholarship, instead staying at home and turning professional in 2002, aged 20.[1]

Professional career

He joined the Nordic Golf League in 2002 and the next year won his first tournament, the St Ibb Open, a tournament using a modified Stableford scoring format. In 2008, he won his fourth NGL tournament, the SM Match, and finished second in the rankings to earn promotion to the Challenge Tour, after being mentored by former European Tour player Fredrik Widmark.[3]

In 2009, Nilsson joined the European Tour after finishing tied ninth at the 2008 European Tour Qualifying School, alongside Bernd Wiesberger. In December 2008, he finished tied 14th at the South African Open Championship, with his brother Per on the bag.[3] In 2009, he was tied 17th at the Italian Open, and finished tied 3rd at the Saint-Omer Open in France.[1]

In 2010, he again played well at the Saint-Omer Open, finishing tied 8th. Also in 2010, his wife fell ill and succumbed to cancer, adversely affecting his game. He sat out most of the 2011 season and his game never fully recovered.[4]

After a hiatus, Nilsson again set his sights on Europe.[5] He won two tournaments on the 2017 Nordic Golf League and finished 4th in the rankings, to earn promotion to the Challenge Tour. His best finish on the 2018 Challenge Tour was a tie for 7th place at the Made in Denmark Challenge.[1]

In 2019, he won his 8th Nordic Golf League tournament, the Gamle Fredrikstad Open in Norway.[6][7]

Professional wins (13)

Nordic Golf League wins (8)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 4 Jul 2003 St Ibb Open Sweden Johan Annerfelt, Sweden Christian Nilsson
2 28 Jul 2005 Logida Open −15 (69-63-69=201) 3 strokes Sweden Lars Johansson, Finland Erik Stenman
Sweden Peter Viktor
3 15 Jul 2006 Salem Open −11 (66-67-69=202) 5 strokes Sweden Björn Pettersson
4 22 Aug 2008 SM Match 3 and 2 Norway Christian Aronsen
5 17 Mar 2015 PGA Catalunya Resort Championship −4 (71-68-70=209) Playoff Denmark Martin Ovesen
6 12 May 2017 Kellers Park Masters 42 pts (13-21-8=42) 2 points Iceland Axel Bóasson
7 4 Aug 2017 Made in Denmark Qualifier −8 (67-69=136) Playoff Norway Martin Ulseth
8 20 Jun 2019 Gamle Fredrikstad Open −14 (68-67-67=202) 2 strokes Sweden Adam Eineving

Other wins (5)
  • 2008 Lydinge Open
  • 2012 Skepparslöv Open
  • 2016 Tomelilla Open, Arboga open
  • 2019 Skepparlöv Open

Source:[8]

See also

References
  1. "Player Profile Åke Nilsson". European Tour. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  2. "Åke Nilsson på hemmaklubben" (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  3. "Åke Nilsson redo för eliten" (in Swedish). Norra Skånes Tidningar. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  4. "Håll en tumme för Åke idag" (in Swedish). Svensk Golf. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  5. "Åke byter miljö – nysatsar mot Europa" (in Swedish). Kristiandstadsbladet. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  6. "Seger i Norge för Åke Nilsson" (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  7. "Åke Nilsson vinnare i Norge" (in Swedish). Kristianstadbladet. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  8. "Player Profile Åke Nilsson". Golfdata. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
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