There is no doubt that the 2016 European Tour season was dominated by an overarching theme of Swedish success, and the parallels to be drawn between the remarkable resurgence of Alex Noren this year and the career of Race to Dubai Champion Henrik Stenson are striking.
The story of Stenson’s career renaissance, from the doldrums of 2012 - when he troughed at 224th in Official World Golf Ranking - to Major Champion, two-time Race to Dubai winner and one of the most dominant forces in world golf, is a well-told tale.
Noren may not have reached the heady heights which Stenson had already done prior to his dramatic, if only brief, fall from the world’s elite.
But as the 34 year old compatriot of the Open Champion reflects on a season which yielded four European Tour victories and a career-best third place finish in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex, it remains almost beyond belief that he entered the 2015 season as the 653rd ranked golfer in the world.
Alex Noren in 2016
That a wrist injury was the over-riding factor in that decline makes the speed and the nature of his incredible rise to inside the top ten in the Official World Golf Ranking even more impressive.
It was a campaign which got off to a solid if unspectacular start, but which caught fire on one windy July afternoon on the banks of Scotland’s Moray Firth…
King Alexander of Castle Stuart
In a week when Castle Stuart Golf Links bared its teeth in the face of strong winds, Noren – ranked 99th in the world prior to his victory – provided a peerless display of ball control and pinpoint iron play to overcome Tyrrell Hatton and claim his first title of the season at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.
It was certainly a win which was in the pipelines for a while after a run of three top ten finishes in his previous seven events, but the biggest pay cheque of his career to that point would only prove a precursor for a magical four months.
“I know how tough this game is and I'm just really happy to get a win and then for next week, it's a new week and we’ll see what happens,” he said. “I'll just try to enjoy this.”
There’ll be plenty of time for that yet Alex…
Crans-ing glory in the Swiss Alps
Champagne for Alex
Having closely followed his Scottish Open triumph with a superb performance at the Aberdeen Asset Management Paul Lawrie Match Play, where he was the beaten finalist, it was only a matter of time before this in-form Swedish machine would double his title haul for the season.
At the stunning Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club, Noren was once again at the peak of his powers as he masterminded a dramatic play-off victory over Australian Scott Hend by holing a 25-foot birdie in the first extra hole.
The world was suddenly beginning to sit up and take notice of one of the most in-form players in the game.
The British Master makes it a hat-trick
Morechampagne for Alex
Noren was now simply irrepressible. Entering the final day three shots clear of the field at The Grove, the Stockholm-born player was coolness personified as he closed out with a birdie at the last for a two under par 69 and a two-stroke victory at the British Masters supported by Sky Sports.
The reward for his third victory in the space of four months was a breakthrough into the world’s top 20 for the first time in his career.
"It's an amazing feeling,” he said of his third win of the season. “Honestly I never thought this would happen.”
But the best was yet to come…
Noren’s sheer class shines through in Sun City
As the curtain drew towards a close on a life-changing season for Alex Noren, the indomitable Swede still had one more breath-taking final act in him at the penultimate event of the campaign in Sun City, South Africa.
Even more champagne for Alex
Having never before made the cut for the historic, limited-field Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player, he made his debut appearance count as he soared to a commanding triumph.
Coming from six shots back at the start of the day to march to a six-shot victory courtesy of a stunning nine under par 63 which comprised an eagle, eight birdies and a single bogey, Noren became the first Swede in European Tour history to win four times in a season.
Not only that, he had climbed into the top ten of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career, to ninth position, confirming his status as one of the world’s best.
“Obviously it's been the season of my life,” he would say afterwards.
Perhaps more so than any player on the European Tour in 2016, Noren’s season was quite literally a life changing one.
