Christofer Rahm is looking forward to playing on home soil when he tees it up in the Indoor Golf Group Challenge at Landeryds Golfklubb – Vesterby Links this week.
The Swede is playing his debut season on the Challenge Tour after earning promotion from the Nordic Golf League earlier this year. Rahm secured three victories in quick succession on the satellite tour, claiming titles at the Golfstar Winter Series – Forest, Ecco Tour Spanish Open and Stora Hotellet Fjällbacka Open within just eight events.
Returning for his first event in Sweden since that promotion, Rahm is excited to take on Vesterby Links, a course he knows well.
“It feels good to be back home,” he said. “I’ve been on the road for a bunch of weeks now, so it’s nice to be back home and closer to family.
“We play this course on the Nordic Golf League, so it’s nice being back here. It’s a great layout, a little different than most courses in Sweden, being a little linksy, and there’s a bunch of runoffs around the greens, so you want to be aggressive, but smart-aggressive.
“If you play too aggressive, go at the flag and it bounces off, you’ll have a 30-yard approach shot instead of a putt. It might be a longer putt, but the greens are rolling nicely so you’ll be able to hole a lot of putts as long as you’re on them.”
Rahm has adjusted quickly to playing on the Road to Mallorca, making the cut at his first four events and securing a third-place finish at the Challenge de Cadiz, and the 26-year-old is focused on staying relaxed and enjoying his experience on the Challenge Tour.
“I’ve been trying to stay in the present and not look too far ahead,” he added. “I’m trying to enjoy the ride and remember that I’ve put myself in a position to be out here, rather than putting added pressure on myself.
“There’s enough pressure around you all the time, so I’m trying to stay calm, enjoy the travel, the courses, and being out here. [The Challenge Tour] is a little different, but at the end of the day it’s still a golf course and you’re working every week.
“No matter whether you win a tournament one week or miss the cut, the next week is a new opportunity to play well, compete and try to win a tournament.”
Rahm is part of a strong Swedish contingent playing on home soil at Vesterby Links that includes a trio of winners on the 2024 Road to Mallorca in Björn Åkesson, Mikael Lindberg, and Joakim Lagergren.
Joining them in the field are a host of DP World Tour winners, including five-time winner Alexander Levy from France and Englishman Chris Wood, who has three titles as well as a Ryder Cup appearance at Hazeltine National Golf Club in 2016.
The first round of the Indoor Group Golf Challenge gets under way at 7:30am local time, with Rahm teeing it up alongside Lagergren and Levy at 1:30pm.
