Sweden’s Olle Widegren takes 2019 WHO title by five shots

 

Oct. 24, 2019
Gullane Golf Club, East Lothian

Courtesy Ginny Lawson, PR –
In breezy, but beautiful autumnal conditions, the players of the 15th World Hickory Open showed amazing patience, concentration and above all their sense of humor as they tee’d off at Gullane Golf Club for the final round of the World Hickory Open on Scotland’s Golf Coast on Thursday, Oct. 24.

The championship has been exciting to follow as Swede Olle Widegren paved the way on day one after the first round at Kilspindie Golf Club on Tuesday, Oct. 22. Widegren was on top of the leaderboard, at 2 under par, followed by former champion (2017) Fraser Mann, from Scotland, and fellow Brit (and 2015 champion) Andrew Marshall who were both tied with Miguel Carrasco from Spain at 3 over par.

Wednesday’s Round Two moved up the road just a bit, to Gullane No. 2, where Widegren maintained his lead by four shots, ahead of Marshall. Defending Champion Johan Moberg was gathering pace and had a stunning second round which put him in third position by the end of the day.

With Swede’s in both first and third position going into the final day, it looked inevitable that it would be a Swedish flag above the podium. In what has been the one of the most exciting hickory shoot outs for almost a century, performing for a £6000 GBP purse, it was a seminal moment for hickory golf as Widegren finished the final day with a score of 72 to take the title.

With players from 15 countries from around the world, from as far as the USA, Japan, Australia and Scandinavia, competition was fierce. However, it was the Swede who walked away as the World Hickory Open Champion. Olle Widegren from Sweden is the 2019 World Hickory Open Champion. His scores of 67, 68 and 72, for a total of 207, are impressive scores in any period, but even more surprising when achieved with hickory shafted clubs. Widegren was using modern replica clubs made by Tad Moore. In second place was Marshall followed by defending champion Moberg in third place.

These skillful players, such as Moberg, Mann, and former Masters Champ & World Hickory competitor and former champion (2014 and 2016) Sandy Lyle, are still able to hit powerful near-300-yards yard drives with wood-shafted clubs and record scores of as little as 67, although this has only been achieved twice in the tournament’s history.

As in past years, the field reflected many of the world’s best hickory golfers. Organizers were delighted with entrants from more than a dozen countries. Out of the 130-plus competitors, more than 20 arrived from Switzerland, a country that counts some serious hickory golf experts.

The next largest team was from the USA, led by Mike Stevens, former champ and U.S. hickory champion. In addition, England, led by Andrew Marshall from Norfolk, has been well represented again this year. Other nations entered included both Austria, Denmark, and another half-dozen countries, emphasizing the rapid growth of the game in Europe.

Team Japan romped to victory as winners of the Archie Baird International Trophy challenge, a team competition sponsored by Swiss Healthcare Performance Group, on Monday at Dunbar Golf Club.

More than 80 percent of the 2019 tournament’s entrants have competed in the past and are likely to return as the game continues to grow in this extraordinary but incredibly beautiful location of Scotland’s Golf Coast.

2019 World Hickory Open
Champion: Olle Widegren  67 68 72 = 207
2nd: Andrew Marshall 72 67  73 = 212
3rd: Johan Moberg 75  67  71 = 213

2019 Amateur Champion
1st: Mats Gylldorf  74 82 = 156
2nd: Euan Bottomley  76  81 = 157
3rd: Jamie White 76 81 = 157

Best Lady: Petra Dudzus 81 73 = (154 net)

Click here to see scores from the 2019 WHO.