The hottest European player on the planet may have been one who was actually sitting on the sidelines at Bethpage Black.
It didn’t end up mattering, of course, as Europe topped the U.S. Team 15-13 in New York. But Alex Noren, who served as one of Luke Donald’s vice captains, had a late-summer to remember.
And he’s kept that fine play on the DP World Tour going on the PGA Tour this week in Japan.
Noren – who, at 43, is showing no signs of slowing down – won the Belfred British Masters at the end of August and followed that up with a playoff triumph at the BMW PGA Championship in mid-September. He hadn’t won on the DP World Tour since 2018.
Now Noren sits tied for second at the Baycurrent Classic after rounds of 69-65 have him at eight-under, and four back of the lead held by Max Greyserman.
Noren said the biggest learning he took from his recent DP World Tour victories is that sticking to the process often leads to good rewards.
“You don’t have to hit every shot good, you just have to stick with it, stick with your practice, your routines and the good play will come,” Noren said. “If you start kind of like going more through your motions, emotions and not stick to your game plan, then it’s tricky.”
On a much calmer day in Japan on Friday versus Thursday, Noren got off to a tremendous start, making two birdies in first three holes and going five-under for his opening nine. He added another birdie on No. 10 before giving one back with a bogey on the par-4 12th. But Noren – who played alongside Wyndham Clark and American Ryder Cupper Xander Schauffele, who sits tied with Noren for second through 36 holes – got that back immediately with a birdie on the next hole and kept it steady coming into the house.
Noren admitted he was “a little rusty” after two weeks off from competition after his win at the BMW PGA Championship – not to mention the celebratory post-Ryder Cup come down – but he said his coach is on site in Japan this week and he was able to recalibrate things with his game.
So far, so good.
“Coming here, it was tough with the jet lag, but my coach is here, which helps a lot. And me and my coach and my caddie is a good team, they keep me in line, in check,” Noren said. “So, whenever I get a good few days with him, it seems to do the trick and like just getting back to golf.”
Noren had back-to-back top-10 finishes in his last two PGA Tour starts this summer (a T7 at the 3M Open and a T3 at the Wyndham Championship), and he’s not just got back to golf – but back to good golf.
And now he’s got an excellent chance to win on the PGA Tour for the first time.
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