Sweden’s Alex Noren has won the Hilton European Tour Golfer of the Month Award for June following his brilliant victory on home soil in the Nordea Masters, only six months after returning from career-threatening injuries.
The 33 year old endured a nightmare season in 2014, making just two appearances before severe tendinitis in both wrists forced him to have surgery and extensive rehabilitation.
Despite at times questioning whether he would ever return to the top of the game, Noren began practising again just before Christmas and came back in style with top ten finishes in Qatar and Dubai at the start of the year.
Another top ten arrived in May at the BMW PGA Championship, and two weeks later he returned to the winner’s enclosure with a four-stroke victory at PGA Sweden National, delighting the home crowds with a masterful performance in testing conditions.
“It was fantastic to win again at the Nordea Masters, and to be voted the Golfer of the Month as well is the icing on the cake,” said Noren, who also triumphed in his national championship in 2011.
“Last year it seemed like a very long way off to even be playing regularly again, so to have won a title and this award within six or seven months is a dream come true. It was tough being out injured, but I made myself keep believing that the good times would return, and they have.”
The Monaco resident, who receives Hilton HHonors Diamond Elite Status, the highest tier of Hilton’s renowned loyalty scheme, for his achievement, added: “I’m very grateful to the panel for voting for me, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.”
Spaniard Pablo Larrazábal was another of the four players considered for the June award for his victory in the BMW International Open, where he clawed back a five shot deficit on the final day to beat a strong field to the title.
Englishman Chris Wood, another player who made a successful comeback from injury when he won the Lyoness Open powered by Greenfinity, was also in consideration, as was South African Louis Oosthuizen for finishing tied second in the US Open Championship.
However, the panel – which met during the Alstom Open de France and comprised golf experts from television and print media – voted in favour of Noren, with Larrazábal second and Wood third.
Ken Brown, the respected TV commentator and former player, said: “Winning your home Open is a huge achievement in itself, with all the pressure that comes with playing in front of your own supporters. But to do so only a few months after a serious injury is extremely impressive.
“Alex is a wonderful player and a lovely guy, so everyone in golf was delighted to see him back fit and winning golf tournaments again.”
Like the last two months, fans of ‘My European Tour’ were also involved in the award, with the new format allowing them to vote at www.europeantour.com and try to match the expert panel’s 1-2-3 for May.
This month’s winner, along with each of the other monthly winners from March to September, will earn a two-night stay at any Hilton Portfolio hotel worldwide, while all seven winners will be entered into a prize draw to win an incredible three-night stay in Dubai for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
Alex joins Danny Willett (December), Gary Stal (January), Anirban Lahiri (February), Richie Ramsay (March), Wu Ashun (April) and Byeong-Hun An (May) as contenders for The 2015 European Tour Golfer of the Year, which will be decided by a selection panel at the culmination of the Dubai event.
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