Paul Nilbrink

Last updated
Paul Nilbrink
Personal information
Born (1971-05-02) 2 May 1971 (age 53)
Epsom, England
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Sporting nationalityFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden (until 2004)
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway (2005–)
Residence Haslum, Norway
Career
College University of Central Florida
Turned professional1996
Former tour(s) Challenge Tour
Nordic Golf League
EPD Tour
Professional wins9
Number of wins by tour
Challenge Tour2
Other7
Achievements and awards
PGA Sweden Order of Merit
Rookie of the Year
1996

Paul Nilbrink (born 2 May 1971) is an English-born former Swedish professional golfer who has also represented Norway since 2005. He played on the Challenge Tour from 1996 to 2008, winning the 1999 Volvo Finnish Open and the 2000 Norwegian Open. [1]

Contents

Career

Nilbrink was born in England and grew up in Belgium and Sweden. He had a late development in golf and had a handicap of 36 by age 12, and 13 at age 15. He later studied for a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education at the University of Central Florida in the United States. [2] [3]

As an amateur he fought an international match with the Swedish National Team in Hubbelrath, Germany, against Ireland, France and Germany. [4] In addition, he was on the winning team of the Nordic golf championships at Nordcenter Finland. In 1995, he was low qualifier in the Dixie Amateur (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) with the scores of 68, 71, beating Tiger Woods by 7 shots.

Nilbrink turned professional in 1996 and joined the Challenge Tour. His best finish this season was as semi-finalist (3rd) at SM Match, and he finished the season Rookie of the Year on the PGA Sweden Order of Merit. [4]

The following year he fought an international match with the Swedish National Team in Hubbelrath, Germany, against Ireland, France and Germany. [4]

Nilbrink established himself as a regular player on the Challenge Tour and finished top-10 14 times, including winning the 1999 Volvo Finnish Open and the 2000 Norwegian Open. He came close to qualifying for the European Tour but missed the cut by 1 stroke, 3 times. [2]

Nilbrink entered the 2005 European Tour qualifying school in Spain. He was in eighth place for a long time, but ultimately had to settle for a place outside the top 30, losing out on automatic entry to the Tour. [5] He tried again to qualify for the European Tour in 2006, with the same result. [6]

Personal life

Nilbrink, whose wife is Norwegian, relocated to Norway and took up Norwegian citizenship in late 2004.

Professional wins (9)

Challenge Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
111 Jul 1999 Volvo Finnish Open −7 (69-72-68-72=281)Playoff Flag of Argentina.svg Gustavo Rojas
220 Aug 2000 Norwegian Open −10 (70-66-70=206)Playoff Flag of Sweden.svg Per Larsson, Flag of England.svg Stuart Little

Challenge Tour playoff record (2–0)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 1999 Volvo Finnish Open Flag of Argentina.svg Gustavo Rojas Won with par on third extra hole
2 2000 Norwegian Open Flag of Sweden.svg Per Larsson, Flag of England.svg Stuart Little Won with birdie on second extra hole
Little eliminated by par on first hole

EPD Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner-up
121 Apr 2004 Jakobsberg Classic−13 (67-69-66=203)2 strokes Flag of Denmark.svg Søren Juul
225 May 2004Hohenpähl Classic−7 (70-71-68=209)1 stroke Flag of Scotland.svg Ross Bain

Nordic Golf League wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
121 Jun 2009 Galvin Green Tour I−13 (63-66-71=200)1 stroke Flag of Norway.svg Ross Robertson
26 Sep 2009Galvin Green Tour II−8 (74-70-64=208)5 strokes Flag of Sweden.svg Johan Bjerhag, Flag of Norway.svg Ofeigur Johann Gudjonson

Other wins (3)

Source: [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niclas Fasth</span> Swedish professional golfer

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Hanson</span> Swedish professional golfer

Peter Daniel Hanson is a Swedish former professional golfer who played on the European Tour and the PGA Tour.

Mats Åke Lanner is a Swedish professional golfer, who formerly played on the European Tour. In 1987, he became the second Swedish player to win a European Tour tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathias Grönberg</span> Swedish professional golfer (born 1970)

Mathias David Grönberg is a Swedish professional golfer who has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour, as well as both of their second-tier tours.

Toni Karjalainen is a Finnish professional golfer who formerly played on the European Tour and the Challenge Tour. He was his country's highest ranked male golfer and one of only a few Finnish golfers playing on the leading professional tours when he won twice on the Challenge Tour in 2005 and 2006.

Antti Juhani Ahokas is a Finnish professional golfer.

Henrik Anders Norlander is a Swedish professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour.

Jan Sebastian Söderberg is a Swedish professional golfer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tapio Pulkkanen</span> Finnish professional golfer

Tapio Pulkkanen is a Finnish professional golfer, who plays on the European Tour. He won the 2015 Nordic Golf League and the 2017 Challenge Tour Order of Merit. He is known for wearing a trilby hat.

Per Haugsrud is a Norwegian professional golfer and the first Norwegian to play on the European Tour.

Joakim Grönhagen is a Swedish professional golfer who played on the Challenge Tour and European Tour.

Kalle Väinölä is a retired Finnish professional golfer who played on the Challenge Tour and European Tour 1995–2004.

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.

Max Ola Anglert is a Swedish professional golfer, winner of the EGA Trophy and European Youths' Team Championship in 1992. In 1996 he won the Kentab/RBG Open on the Challenge Tour and joined the European Tour.

Lisa Hed is a Swedish professional golfer. She played on the Ladies European Tour and was runner-up at the 2000 Ladies Austrian Open.

Heléne Elisabeth Koch is a Swedish professional golfer. She played on the Ladies European Tour and was runner-up at the 1996 Costa Azul Ladies Open.

Frida Gustafsson Spång is a Swedish professional golfer who has played on the Ladies European Tour (LET). She was runner-up at the 2021 Aramco Team Series team event in London.

Anna-Carin Jonasson is a retired Swedish professional golfer. In 1994 she won the Spanish Ladies Amateur and a bronze medal at the Espirito Santo Trophy. She played on the Ladies European Tour and the Ladies Asian Golf Tour between 1995 and 1998.

Mikael Piltz is a Finnish professional golfer who played on the Challenge Tour and briefly on the European Tour.

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.

References

  1. "Player: Paul Nilbrink". European Tour. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Endelig norsk" (in Norwegian). Golfsiden.no. 23 December 2004. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  3. "The 2009–10 UCF Men's Golf Yearbook". UCF Knights.
  4. 1 2 3 "Golf - Den stora sporten" (in Swedish). Swedish Golf Federation. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  5. "Slår seg opp mot Europa-toppen" (in Norwegian). Ostlendningen. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  6. "En ny golfer er født" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  7. "Paul Nilbrink Results" (in Swedish). Golfdata. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  8. "Nilbrink vant i Polen" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2020.