Björn Hellgren

Björn Hellgren (born 21 November 1990) is a Swedish professional golfer and Asian Tour player. He was runner-up in the 2021 Dormy Open on the Challenge Tour.[1]

Björn Hellgren
Personal information
Born (1990-11-21) 21 November 1990
Västerås, Sweden
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Sporting nationality Sweden
ResidenceVästerås, Sweden
Career
CollegeFlorida State University
Turned professional2013
Current tour(s)Asian Tour
Challenge Tour
Former tour(s)Nordic Golf League
Swedish Golf Tour
Professional wins5
Achievements and awards
Swedish Golf Tour Order of Merit2015
Skandia Tour Order of Merit2010
PGA of Sweden Future Fund Award2015

Early life and amateur career

Hellgren was born in 1990 in Västerås. He played ice hockey on one of Sweden's premier teams until he was 15 years old and focused on golf.[2]

As a junior, Hellgren won the 2010 Oder of Merit on the Skandia Tour, an under-21 circuit, after recording two victories, two runner-up finishes, and five other top-10s. He finished in second place after Jacob Glennemo at the Qualifying School for the 2011 Nordea Tour. He was runner-up behind Oscar Lengdén at the Swedish Junior Strokeplay Championship in 2011.

Hellgren accepted a golf scholarship to Florida State University and played golf with the Florida State Seminoles men's golf team 2011–2013. [2]

Professional career

Hellgren left college after two years and turned professional in 2013, after the European Amateur Championship in August. He joined the Nordea Tour and won the first tournament he started in as a professional, the Landeryd Masters. In April 2014, he won the Black Mountain Invitational in Thailand and joined the Nordic Golf League (NGL).[3]

In 2015, he successfully defended his title at the Black Mountain Invitational and made his first European Tour cut at the Nordea Masters. During the Swedish Matchplay Championship, he was hit by an errant tee-shot from Jesper Kennegård, was knocked to the ground, and required medical attention.[4] He got up, dusted himself off, and won the match, won the tournament, and topped the 2015 Swedish Golf Tour Order of Merit.

In 2016, he won the Nordea Tour's Winter Series opener, the Lumine Lakes Open in Spain. At the European Tour's Nordea Masters in June, he finished tied 4th, along with Henrik Stenson, for the biggest paycheck of his career. As a result, he played the rest of the season on the Challenge Tour, where his best finish was a solo 6th place at the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge. On the 2017 Challenge Tour, his best finish was a T10 at the Volopa Irish Challenge. In 2018, he failed to make an impact, and was back on the NGL for the 2019 season.[3]

Hellgren had a 59 in his hand at the 2020 PGA Championship Bråviken Open. He had shot a bogey-free second round with 8 birdies and two eagles, when his birdie putt on the 18th stopped a few inches short and the score stayed at 60, 12 under par.[5]

In 2020, Hellgren was back on the Challenge Tour, and recorded a T5 at the Northern Ireland Open. In 2021, he narrowly missed out on his first Challenge Tour title after two opening rounds of 65, as he lost a playoff at the Dormy Open to Félix Mory of France.[6]

In January 2020, Hellgren joined the Asian Tour after finishing tied 9th at Q-School, but only competed in one event, the Bandar Malaysia Open, before play was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned in November 2021 when the 2020–21–22 Asian Tour resumed. Hellgren played in 5 of the season's 8 tournaments, making each cut, and finished 57th on the Order of Merit.[7]

Amateur wins
  • 2008 Sura Open
  • 2009 Skandia Tour Elit #5
  • 2010 Skandia Tour Elit #5, Skandia Tour Elit #6

Source:[3]

Professional wins (6)

Nordic Golf League wins (4)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner-up
1 25 Aug 2013 Landeryd Masters1 −15 (67-69-65=201) 1 stroke Steven Jeppesen
2 28 Jun 2015 Swedish Matchplay Championship1 3 and 2 Anton Wejshag
3 28 Feb 2016 Lumine Lakes Open1 −14 (69-69-64=202) Playoff Oscar Lengdén
4 1 Aug 2020 PGA Championship Bråviken Open1 −21 (68-60-67=195) Playoff Mikael Lindberg

1Co-sanctioned by the Swedish Golf Tour

Swedish Golf Tour wins (6)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 25 Aug 2013 Landeryd Masters1 −15 (67-69-65=201) 1 stroke Steven Jeppesen
2 5 Apr 2014 Black Mountain Invitational −13 (67-67-69=203) 4 strokes Sebastian Söderberg
3 28 Jun 2015 Swedish Matchplay Championship1 3 and 2 Anton Wejshag
4 20 Apr 2015 Black Mountain Invitational −6 (67-74-69=210) 1 stroke Daniel Jennevret, David Palm
5 28 Feb 2016 Lumine Lakes Open1 −14 (69-69-64=202) Playoff Oscar Lengdén
6 1 Aug 2020 PGA Championship Bråviken Open1 −21 (68-60-67=195) Playoff Mikael Lindberg

1Co-sanctioned by the Nordic Golf League

Playoff record

Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2021 Dormy Open Félix Mory Lost to birdie on second extra hole

References
  1. "Player Profile Björn Hellgren". European Tour. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  2. "Player profile Bjorn Hellgren". Florida State University. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  3. "Player Profile Björn Hellgren". Golfdata. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  4. "Träffades av boll och var nere för räkning". Svensk Golf (in Swedish). Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  5. "Storspelande Björn Hellgren sköt 60 slag (-12)" (in Swedish). PGA of Sweden. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  6. "Sugrue best of the Irish as Mory secures maiden Challenge Tour title in play-off win". Golf Digest Ireland. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  7. "Player Profile Björn Hellgren". Asian Tour. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
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