Marcus Kinhult | |||
---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||
Full name | Marcus Mikael Kinhult | ||
Born | Fiskebäckskil, Sweden | 24 July 1996||
Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Weight | 67 kg (148 lb; 10.6 st) | ||
Sporting nationality | Sweden | ||
Residence | Fiskebäckskil, Sweden | ||
Career | |||
Turned professional | 2015 | ||
Current tour(s) | European Tour | ||
Former tour(s) | Challenge Tour | ||
Professional wins | 3 | ||
Highest ranking | 81 (5 January 2020) [1] (as of 24 November 2024) | ||
Number of wins by tour | |||
European Tour | 1 | ||
Other | 2 | ||
Best results in major championships | |||
Masters Tournament | DNP | ||
PGA Championship | CUT: 2020 | ||
U.S. Open | T32: 2019 | ||
The Open Championship | T61: 2018 | ||
Achievements and awards | |||
| |||
Marcus Mikael Kinhult (born 24 July 1996) is a Swedish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. He won the 2019 Betfred British Masters.
Being son of golf professional Mikael Kinhult, he started playing the game at six years of age at Skaftö Golf Club in Fiskebäckskil, on the small Swedish west coast island Skaftö with 1,400 inhabitants. Other famous members, spending a lot of time there during summer seasons, were future Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjørn, five-times European Tour winner Barry Lane and Challenge Tour winner to be Joel Sjöholm. [2]
Kinhults younger sister Frida Kinhult is also a tournament golf professional. In June 2019 she reached number one on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, a feat her brother never achieved, as his best world amateur ranking was second. [3]
In 2014 Kinhult represented Sweden at the Summer Youth Olympics and at the Eisenhower Trophy and Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup. [4] At the Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China, he earned an individual silver medal and a gold medal in the mixed team event with Linnea Ström, making Sweden tied best nation at golf in the games.
The Swedish team finished 4th in the 2014 Eisenhower Trophy in Kuruizawa, Japan, with Kinhult finishing as best Swedish player, having the 6th best individual score, five strokes from winner Jon Rahm, Spain.
In April 2015, Kinhult won one of the more important junior tournaments in the United States, the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley Golf Club, South Carolina, becoming the first non-American to do so. [5] A month later, he won the prestigious Lytham Trophy at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, Lancashire, England, by eight shots, following in the footsteps of former winners, such as Michael Bonallack, Peter McEvoy, Paul Broadhurst and Stephen Gallacher. [6]
Kinhult again grabbed the golfing headlines in June 2015 when he led the European Tour's Nordea Masters at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club in Stockholm, Sweden, at the halfway stage, after opening with rounds of 68 and 67. Only 18 years old, he ultimately tied for 33rd place in what was his second European Tour appearance. [4] He was the third amateur to lead a European Tour event after 36 holes, and the first since Ireland's Shane Lowry at the 2009 Irish Open, which Lowry went on to win. [6]
In late 2015 he entered the European Tour Qualifying School as an amateur. After finishing third in the second stage, he led after three rounds at the final stage, eventually settling for the 17th card. Though he had considered going to college in America, he turned professional after his success at PGA Catalunya Resort. [4]
2016 was a disappointing first season for Kinhult on the European Tour and he only made two cuts. Halfway through the season he dropped down to the Challenge Tour where his best performance was at the Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge, where he held a two-shot lead heading into final round. He eventually finished fourth. Having entered the tournament in 68th place on the Road to Oman he needed a top-three finish to qualify for the Challenge Tour Grand Final. [7]
Kinhult had better success on the Challenge Tour in 2017. He had five top-5 finishes, earned a career best solo second at the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, and finished 5th in the Road to Oman, which gained him his European Tour card for 2018. He started the 2018 European Tour strongly and after finishing solo third at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and tied for fifth at Open de France he rose to 148 on the Official World Golf Ranking and qualified for his first major at the 2018 Open Championship, where he made the cut. [8] Later in the season Kinhult was tied for 4th in the Portugal Masters and he ended the 2018 season 49th in the Order of Merit.
In May 2019, Kinhult secured his maiden professional victory at the Betfred British Masters at Hillside Golf Club, Southport, England. [9] With birdies on the last two holes of the tournament, rolling in an eight-foot birdie putt at the last hole, Kinhult out-dueled his playing partner Matt Wallace by a stroke and won a first prize of €579,550.
In June, at the Walton Heath U.S. Open sectional qualifier in Surrey, England, he qualified for the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, [10] where he went on to record the lowest Sunday round of the tournament (66) to finish tied-32 in his first major on American soil.
In November 2019, Kinhult finished second in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, after losing in a playoff to Tommy Fleetwood. [11] He finished the 2019 European Tour season 12th on the Order of Merit Race to Dubai rankings [12] and was awarded 2019 Swedish Golfer of the Year, male and female. In January 2020, he reached a career best 81st on the Official World Golf Ranking.
During a practice period in Spain in April 2021, Kinhult suddenly suffered an epileptic seizure, which caused him to take a break of several months from tournament golf. [13] Seven weeks after the incident, Kinhult played nine holes of practice golf at his home course Skaftö GC in Sweden. He came back to competition at the Irish Open on the European Tour in the beginning of July 2021. [14]
In February 2022, Kinhult won the GolfStar Winter Series II on the Nordic Golf League. [15]
In 2024, Kinhult recorded two runner-up finishes. He lost a playoff at the KLM Open in June, [16] and in December he began Sunday two strokes ahead of his closest challenger at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa, but ultimately finished a stroke back. [17]
Source: [20]
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 May 2019 | Betfred British Masters | −16 (65-69-68-70=272) | 1 stroke | Robert MacIntyre, Eddie Pepperell, Matt Wallace |
European Tour playoff record (0–2)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2019 | Nedbank Golf Challenge | Tommy Fleetwood | Lost to par on first extra hole |
2 | 2024 | KLM Open | Joe Dean, Guido Migliozzi | Migliozzi won with birdie on second extra hole |
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory | Runners-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 Feb 2022 | GolfStar Winter Series II | −10 (69-65-70=204) | 1 stroke | Jarand Ekeland Arnøy, Matias Honkala, Joakim Wikström |
Results not in chronological order before 2019 and in 2020.
Tournament | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Masters Tournament | ||||
PGA Championship | CUT | |||
U.S. Open | T32 | |||
The Open Championship | T61 | NT | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
Tournament | 2020 |
---|---|
Championship | T69 |
Match Play | NT1 |
Invitational | |
Champions | NT1 |
1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
NT = No tournament
"T" = Tied
Amateur
Niclas Krister Fasth is a Swedish professional golfer, who has won six times on the European Tour. He has finished second in the 2001 Open Championship and fourth in the 2007 U.S. Open and represented Europe winning the 2002 Ryder Cup.
Joel Nils Patricio Sjöholm is a Swedish professional golfer, who currently plays on the Challenge Tour. He has won twice on the Challenge Tour; in 2017 and 2022.
Björn Oskar Ingemar Åkesson is a Swedish professional golfer that has played on the European Tour. He won the 2023 Nordic Golf League Order of Merit and the 2024 NMB Championship in South Africa.
Linnea Ström is a Swedish professional golfer. She joined the U.S.-based LPGA Tour after graduating from the Symetra Tour as 2018 Rookie of the Year. She was solo second at the 2022 Madrid Ladies Open and 2023 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship before winning the 2024 ShopRite LPGA Classic.
Frida Mikaela Kinhult is a Swedish professional golfer. She rose to world number one in the World Amateur Golf Ranking in June 2019 and won the 2020 Symetra Tour Championship to graduate to the LPGA Tour.
Karl Niklas Lemke is a Swedish professional golfer, who plays on the European Tour. He has formerly played on the Challenge Tour and the Web.com Tour in the United States.
Linn Maria Grant is a Swedish professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour. She won the 2023 Dana Open on the LPGA Tour. As an amateur, she won the 2017 Ladies' British Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship.
Karin Ingrid Andrea Lindblad is a Swedish professional golfer and LPGA Tour player. She had an exceptional amateur career and spent 53 weeks as World Amateur Golf Ranking number one, after winning the 2021 European Ladies Amateur, finishing runner-up at the 2022 Augusta National Women's Amateur, setting amateur scoring records at the 2022 U.S. Women's Open, winning the World Amateur Team Championship for the 2022 Espirito Santo Trophy, and collecting 15 college titles.
Filippa Möörk is a Swedish professional golfer. She won the 2018 Swedish Golf Tour Order of Merit and joined the Ladies European Tour in 2019.
Maja Sofia Stark is a Swedish professional golfer. She has six Ladies European Tour titles and earned LPGA Tour membership through her victory at the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational. As an amateur she was in contention at the 2020 and 2021 U.S. Women's Open, and after turning professional in August 2021 she won two tournaments in three starts on the Ladies European Tour.
Veronika Beatrice Wallin is a Swedish professional golfer. She won the 2016 Annika Invitational Europe and won the European Ladies' Team Championship in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Malene Krølbøll Hansen is a Danish professional golfer who plays on the Symetra Tour.
Sara Cecilia Kjellker is a Swedish professional golfer and Ladies European Tour player. She was runner-up at the 2023 Hero Women's Indian Open. As an amateur, she won twice on the Swedish Golf Tour and was European Ladies' Team Champion twice.
Bo Jesper Svensson is a Swedish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. In 2023, he won the B-NL Challenge Trophy on the Challenge Tour. In 2024, he won the Porsche Singapore Classic.
Puk Lyng Thomsen is a Danish professional golfer. As an amateur she won the 2017 French Ladies Amateur and finished second individually in the 2016 Espirito Santo Trophy.
Lars Pontus Nyholm is a Swedish professional golfer. He joined the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 and was runner-up at the Veritex Bank Championship. As an amateur, he was part of the European team winning the 2016 Jacques Léglise Trophy and the Swedish team winning the 2019 European Amateur Team Championship. He played in the 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup.
David Andreas Nyfjäll is a Swedish professional golfer. As an amateur, he was part of the teams winning the 2017 Jacques Léglise Trophy, the 2019 European Amateur Team Championship and the 2019 Arnold Palmer Cup.
Lisa Pettersson is a Swedish professional golfer and Ladies European Tour player. She won the 2023 Helsingborg Open. In 2022, she was runner-up at Skaftö Open and Åland 100 Ladies Open.
Adam Blommé is a Swedish professional golfer. He won the 2021 Swedish Golf Tour Order of Merit and joined the Challenge Tour, where he won the 2023 Swiss Challenge and finished 6th in the rankings to graduate to the European Tour.
Albert Elias Hansson is a Swedish amateur golfer. He won the 2022 Junior Golf World Cup individual title, the 2022 R&A Boys Amateur Championship, and the 2023 European Nations Cup – Copa Sotogrande.