Mikael

Lundberg

42-year-old, a pro since 1995, only retained his European Tour card through the rankings 4 times in 11 attempts, never played in a WGC event, never played Stateside, never competed in a major championship, plays his best golf on tree-lined courses (Oakmont has chopped down thousands in the last 15 years). So what exactly does Lundberg have going for him? First up, he qualified in style, finishing second in 7-under-par 68-69=137 in the International Sectional Qualifier at Walton Heath. Secondly, winning, because he’s got 3 victories on the European Tour and a further 2 on the Challenge Tour. Not a huge number but when he gets into contention he’s not one to shy away. That said, the Russian Open (he’s won it twice) is a very different kettle of fish to the U.S. Open.

Proof that Lundberg has been around a long time comes with the fact that 19 years ago he won a Challenge Tour event at Himmerland Golf & Spa Resort, albeit on a course much changed today. But the good vibes worked for him two years ago, when he painted a T9 in this event, only to miss the cut in 2015. 177th on the Race to Dubai he needs a good return soon and last week he briefly threatened to provide it in both the first and third rounds, as he found himself making early birdies which pushed him into the top ten, only to fall back again by the end of the rounds. A T19 offers some hope, however, that he’ll once again bring home the bacon in Denmark.

The Swede, a three-time winner on the European Tour (2014 his last success), dropped down to the second-tier in 2016 and has made just two starts at that level so far this season. The first was T20 at the Kenya Open in March and he followed that with T25 at last month’s Turkish Airlines Challenge so they could be a foundation for a good week here. As for location form, Lundberg has enjoyed some decent success in Portugal. It includes top four finishes in the 2009 Open de Portugal at Oitavos Dunes and the 2012 Madeira Island Open at Santo da Serra. He also shot a 65 in last year’s Portugal Masters before falling away.

The Swede was the ultimate party-pooper 12 months ago when beating local hero Bernd Wiesberger in a playoff after closing with a 65. That gave Lundberg a third European Tour title although, as has been the pattern of his career, he’s missed a bunch of cuts since (13 out of 28) and done very little in terms of challenging for titles. He did manage a third spot in Morocco in March but has posted just one finish better than T41 in his last seven events. He’s a risky play for gamers but the last time he defended a title (admittedly, back in 2006), Lundberg finished third so don’t dismiss him too easily.

When both completed regulation in 12-under-par 276, the Swede wasn’t just opposing a fellow competitor in the playoff, he was facing a nation. Wiesberger was born in Vienna and won this tournament in 2012. No matter as Lundberg promptly buried a 40-footer for birdie on the par-3 18th hole. Wiesberger failed to match from about 18 feet to secure Lundberg’s third European Tour title. The 40-year-old from Helsingborg, Sweden, co-led the tournament with Adam Gee after one round and held the outright lead at the midpoint. Defending champion Joost Luiten sat atop the leaderboard entering the finale, but the Dutchman closed with an even-par 72 to Lundberg’s 7-under 33-32=65 and Wiesberger’s 3-under 35-34=69.

This is the Swede’s 24th event of the season which makes him one of the Tour’s most active players. However, it’s been more a case of quantity than quality as he sits 102nd on the Race To Dubai after just two top 10s and none since March’s Trophee Hassan II. He pegged it up in this event last year and was second after day one and T17 with a round to play but ended in T30 after a closing 75.

The Swede started out with a birdie at 10 but was quiet after that, picking up just one further shot in the next nine holes before giving it back with a bogey at 2. He responded in fine fashion with birdies at 3, 5, 7 and 9 and it could have been even better but for a near double horseshoe on No. 7 when his eagle putt looked to have dropped. Lundberg is 112th on the Race To Dubai so needs to cash in on this fine start to climb the rankings and earn a place in the top 60 players who contest the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

That Sunday blowout relegated the Swede to T67 after he’d been in contention for much of the week and, instead of moving inside the magical top 110 who keep their full playing privileges on the European Tour next season, he dropped from 112th to 114th. It means he has just this event and next week’s Hong Kong Open to keep his status. Lundberg, a three-time European Tour winner, has played in the Portugal Masters at Oceanico Victoria Golf Course on five previous occasions but has has never made it to the weekend so this doesn’t look the ideal venue for him to make his move up the Race To Dubai standings.