With three young Finnish amateurs making the cut at the Vacon Open, the growth of the game in the Scandinavian nation shows no signs of slowing as a depth of talented players aim to follow in the footsteps of world star Mikko Ilonen.
In a country which is known for having a mild obsession with ice hockey and motorsport, the work of the Finnish Golf Union in bringing a new sport to the public consciousness is bearing real fruit.
Sometimes it takes one star to inspire a generation of young people to pursue their dreams of playing sport professionally but the Finnish Golf Union is making sure that the pool of talent is as wide as possible to increase their chances of producing the ‘next Mikko Ilonen’.
With three local amateurs – Erik Myllymakki, Miki Kuronen and Kristian Kulokorpi – all making it to the weekend’s play at Kytäjä Golf, it seems those efforts are reaping abundant rewards.
“We have had seven Finns make the cut this week,” said Juha Juvonen, the Tournament Promoter for the Finnish Golf Union. “Unfortunately not many of those who made the cut are the ones who are playing full-time on the Challenge Tour this season.
“It’s a pity because those guys need some results to climb up the Rankings but with the younger, less experienced players, it’s great for their confidence and for their game and we can see the new players that are coming through the system, so that is great.
“In any case it’s good for Finnish golf to see these guys do well. Our national team has made it to the Eisenhower Trophy later this year, with one of the players making the cut here.
“It tells us that there are lot more players that there are a lot of players in the amateur game who did not make that team that are capable of coming through, and their chance will come.
“Of course Erik played well last year and finished tenth and now he is up there again so it is really good for these guys and the amateur game to get that confidence.
“When these guys turn professional in a couple of years, this success gives us a great incentive to continue supporting them in the early stages of their pro career. We have a team of professionals now and we need to continue that support and maybe even build it with more players.”
The Vacon Open has grown to become one of the great successes of the Challenge Tour in recent years, building the profile of the game in Finland to such success that golf now receives widespread coverage in daily newspapers, while national TV is broadcasting daily highlights from the event this weekend.
“Golf is getting really good exposure now in Finland,” he continued. “As a sport in Finland it has a great advantage now because of its Olympics status. Finland is an Olympic nation, you could say. The Olympics are a big thing here.
“This event gets support from the government and they support the game quite well generally so that is very positive. Overall, the development is great and we’re on the right track.”
