The Lakes course at PGA National of Sweden will be barely a year old when The Princess by Schüco takes place from June 30 – July 3, but it has already earned a reputation as one of the best courses in the country.
Having opened last June, the Kyle Phillips-designed, par 72 course is a fearsome 7,415 yards long, built around a large lake which provides a stunning backdrop and borders the ninth, 17th and 18th holes.
It has a more parkland layout than its sister course, the Links, which opened a year earlier, and is characterised by small greens, tough water obstacles and no fewer and 74 bunkers.
The two finishing holes are superb: the 17th is a par three which requires a 164-yard carry over the water to a narrow, deep green guarded by bunkers; and the 18th is a 547-yard par five with the lake all the way up the left-hand side.
It will be the third edition of The Princess by Schüco, an event founded by six-time European Tour winner Henrik Stenson, who named the tournament after his daughter, Lisa. Stenson won the Challenge Tour Rankings in 2000 and is committed to helping provide the same sort of opportunities he was given as a young professional.
On the Monday after the tournament has finished, Stenson will play in a charity challenge against Martin Kaymer, another Challenge Tour graduate, to raise funds for the Henrik Stenson Foundation.
Ove Sellberg, Managing Director of PGA National of Sweden, said: “We’re very excited to welcome the stars of tomorrow for The Princess by Schüco, and after that to see how Martin and Henrik, two of the world’s leading players, will play and manage the various difficulties the course has to offer.
“Kyle Philips has got a fantastic ability to create courses which are both beautiful and challenging. The 16th, 17th and 18th are extremely tough holes which give brave players the opportunity to attack but the risk involved is also a big factor, so it is set up for an exciting finishing.”
Thorbjorn Olesen won The Princess at Båstad Golf Club last year, holding off Peter Gustafsson and Bernd Wiesberger to triumph by two shots, and Andrew Butterfield was the inaugural champion in 2009.
