Lars Pontus Nyholm (born 10 February 1998) is a Swedish professional golfer. He joined the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 and was runner-up at the Veritex Bank Championship.[1] 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.
| Pontus Nyholm | |||||||||
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| Personal information | |||||||||
| Full name | Lars Pontus Nyholm | ||||||||
| Born | 10 February 1998 Gävle, Sweden | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||||||||
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||
| Sporting nationality |  Sweden | ||||||||
| Residence | Gävle, Sweden | ||||||||
| Career | |||||||||
| College | Campbell University | ||||||||
| Turned professional | 2021 | ||||||||
| Current tour(s) | Korn Ferry Tour | ||||||||
| Professional wins | 2 | ||||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||||
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Amateur career
editNyholm grew up in Gävle, where his father is a superintendent at the local golf course, and his father took him golfing as soon as he could walk. His swing coach is Kasper Hedblom, son of three-time European Tour winner Peter Hedblom.[1]
As a junior, Nyholm won the 2015 Order of Merit on the Skandia Tour, an under-21 circuit in Sweden, and was runner-up in the 2015 Swedish Junior Matchplay Championship. In 2016, he won the tournament, and advanced to the round of 16 in the Boys Amateur Championship.[2]
Nyholm appeared for the National Team at the Junior Golf World Cup in Japan and European Boys' Team Championship in 2016, and was a member of the winning Continental European Team in the Jacques Léglise Trophy against Great Britain and Ireland. He was part of the Swedish team, together with Albin Bergström, Vincent Norrman, Christoffer Pålsson, David Nyfjäll and Ludvig Åberg, winning the 2019 European Amateur Team Championship. He defeated Alex Fitzpatrick as Sweden triumphed over England in the final.[3]
Nyholm accepted a scholarship to Campbell University and played with the Campbell Fighting Camels golf team 2017–2021. He was 2018 Big South Conference Freshman of the Year and qualified individually for the NCAA Championship. In 2021, he was Golfer of the Year after three first-place finishes and leading Campbell to a second-straight league title while rating first in stroke average (70.08).[2]
He graduated in May 2021 as a business administration major, with the most top-10 individual finishes (21) and the lowest career stroke average (71.17) in school history. He was rated as high as No. 13 by Golfstat, No. 15 in PGA Tour University and No. 46 in World Amateur Golf Rankings. Nyholm earned a sponsor's exemption to Rex Hospital Open on the Korn Ferry Tour where he made the cut. He crowned his college career with a selection to play in the 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup with the international team.[4]
Professional career
editNyholm turned professional after the European Amateur Team Championship in July 2021. He made a few starts on the Challenge Tour where he was tied 6th at the Finnish Challenge and tied 7th at the British Challenge.
He joined the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour after finishing tied 29th at the Final Stage of Q-School.[5] In his rookie season, Nyholm was runner-up at the Veritex Bank Championship after matching the 18-hole tournament scoring record with a 9-under 62, totaling a 20-under 264 to finish two shots behind the champion. He finished 50th in the season rankings.[1]
In 2023, Nyholm held or shared the lead ahead of the final round twice, at the Astara Chile Classic where he finished tied 18th, and the Simmons Bank Open where he finished tied 5th.[6]
Amateur wins
edit- 2016 Swedish Junior Matchplay Championship
- 2019 Intercollegiate at Innisbrook
- 2020 Golfweek True Blue Amateur
- 2021 Southern Invitational, Golfweek Spring Invitational, Stitch Intercollegiate
Source:[7]
Professional wins (2)
editSwedish Future Series wins (2)
edit| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 Aug 2018 | Bilmetro Gefle Open (as an amateur) |
−10 (66-68=134) | 4 strokes | Oskar Bergman
|
| 2 | 7 Aug 2018 | Siljan Open (as an amateur) |
−13 (63-68=131) | 2 strokes | William Nygård
|
Team appearances
editAmateur
- Junior Golf World Cup (representing Sweden): 2016
- Jacques Léglise Trophy (representing Continental Europe): 2016 (winners)
- European Boys' Team Championship (representing Sweden): 2016[10]
- European Amateur Team Championship (representing Sweden): 2018, 2019 (winners), 2021
- Arnold Palmer Cup (representing the International Team): 2021
Source:[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Pontus Nyholm – Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Men's Golf Roster: Pontus Nyholm". Campbell University Athletics. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "European Team Championships". EGA. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Campbell's Pontus Nyholm Selected to Play in Arnold Palmer Cup". Big South Sports. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Meet The 40: Zack Fischer wins Final Stage as guaranteed starts are awarded". PGA Tour. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Five players share the 54-hole lead heading into Sunday at Simmons Bank Open". PGA Tour. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Pontus Nyholm". World Amateur Golf Ranking. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Results 2018 Bilmetro Gefle Open". Golfdata. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Results 2018 Siljan Open". Golfdata. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "European Boys' Team Championship – European Golf Association". 19 October 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
External links
edit- Pontus Nyholm at the PGA Tour official site
- Pontus Nyholm at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
- Pontus Nyholm at the Golfdata official site (in Swedish)