Oliver Lilliedahl produced a scorching back-nine 29 at Marco Simone to break a three-way tie with fellow Swedes to earns the young Nordic League pro his first NEXT Golf Tour victory and $30,000 in winnings.
A record-breaking 908 players from 47 countries entered the Season 2 opener of the NEXT Golf Tour Powered by Trackman, but after 10 days of competition at Marco Simone, three Swedes — Oliver Lilliedahl, Oliver Gillberg and Erik Oja — stood alone at the top of the leaderboard on eight-under-par.
With a closing stretch that featured six birdies and an eagle, the 25-year-old Lilliedahl won the low-back-nine tiebreaker and took home $30,000 for his efforts, while Gillberg and Oja shared second place to earn $14,611 each.
Round one of the seven-event series concluded at the stroke of midnight on Sunday, Dec. 3.
With so many players in the field and a $190,800 purse on the line, the NEXT Golf Tour needed some extra time to review video and validate scores before declaring the official results.
"It felt amazing once the clock hit midnight,” Lilliedahl said. “I have been refreshing the leaderboard 100 times a day all week. It's been filled with anxiety and stress because you never know what the other players are going to do, but it feels amazing to win this one."
Lilliedahl said his first professional win could be a game-changer when he returns to the Nordic League.
“It's all about finishing in the top 5 [on the Order of Merit]. In order to do so, you have to play a lot of tournaments,” Lilliedahl said. “A lot of travel, and it's not cheap. On top of it there might be a Q-school at the end of the season. So, winning $30,000 certainly brings financial freedom for a while.”
A group of nine players, including Season one and Round 3 champion Nikke Tyry of Finland and veteran Canadian pro Wes Heffernan, tied for fourth at seven under and earned $4,489 each. The exception to that was the tournament’s top amateur, Emil Elkjær Petersen of Denmark, who was limited to $1,000 in earnings due to his amateur status.
Another logjam of 11 players finished T–13 at -6 to earn $683 each. Notables in the group included DP World Tour pro Wil Besseling of the Netherlands, S1R5 winner Sigurdur Gardarsson of Iceland, and top American finisher Michael Davan.
The NEXT Golf Tour is no ordinary golf tour – not only is it is professional golf competitions played indoors on Trackman simulators worldwide. Also men and women compete straight-up from different tee boxes. Ladies European Tour winner Jenny Haglund of Sweden was the top female player in the field, joining a group of 21 players at -5 (T–24) who earned $360 each. Her round included a hole-in-one from 145 yards at No. 4. Jamie Dick of the UK also made an ace from 205 yards at No. 17 and finished -5.
Congratulations to Oliver Lilliedahl🇸🇪 R1 Champion at Marco Simone with a score of 64 (-8)👏Tied at -8 with two fellow Swedes, a stellar score of 29 on the back-9 was enough for him to bring home the first win of Season 2🏆
— NEXT Golf Tour (@NEXTGolfTour) December 4, 2023
Full leaderboard and sidegame results expected tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/K4O2ABbbH6
While getting the season off to a strong start, Round 1 was not without its controversies. Three players were disqualified for rules infractions related to the use of alignment aids. The NEXT Golf Tour issued a statement during the round to clarify that lines or markers embedded in the hitting surface are allowed, but lines or objects (such as an alignment rod or a piece of tape) placed on the hitting surface are not allowed. The players were interviewed by a member of the Rules Committee before the disqualifications were handed down.
Round 2 of the NEXT Golf Tour Season two will be played at Medinah Country Club in Trackman simulators worldwide. Sign-up closes at 23:59 CET (5:59 p.m. ET in the U.S.) on Thursday, Dec. 7. With a full field of 1,000 players, the purse will climb to $200,000, and the winner will again take home $30,000.
SIDE GAMES WINNERS
One of the many unique things on the NEXT Golf Tour is the in-round side games providing another level of competition and earning potential.
Closest-to-the-Pin (Aggregate): Gregor Main, USA (40’ 7”) — $4,000
Longest Drive (Men): Kaleb Gorbahn, Canada (384.1 yards) — $2,500
Longest Drive (Women): Michelle Forsland, Norway (296.1 yards) — $2,500
Birdie Streak: (tie) Oliver Lilliedahl, Sweden, and Dominik Pavoucek, Czech Republic (6) — $1,250 each
Most Greens in Regulation: (tie) Victor Sidal Svendsen, Denmark and Mathias Thybo (A), Denmark (18) — Svendsen $1,250, Thybo $1,000 (earnings capped for amateurs)
The full Round One results — including all side games winners, individual payouts and updated Order of Merit rankings — can be found at NEXTGolfTour.com. Follow the action all season long on Instagram and Facebook: @NEXTGolfTour and #NEXTGolfTour. Tune in to the NEXT Golf Show on YouTube every other Tuesday beginning Dec. 5, or follow on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.
