DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Alex Noren is playing a waiting game. The former Oklahoma State player wants one day to play on the PGA Tour, but he’s waiting for the opportune moment.
Noren, from Stockholm, Sweden, never won on the college circuit, but he racked up 12 top-10 finishes, including three seconds and two third-place finishes.
“I want to go back to the United States,” Noren said after an opening 1-under 71 Jan. 31 at the Dubai Desert Classic. “I enjoy the European Tour, but I think the PGA Tour would suit me because I feel so at home in the United States. I enjoyed my time at Oklahoma State. I love the way of life and think it would be easy for me to settle there.”
For now, though, Noren is settled on the PGA European Tour. The 25-year-old turned pro in 2005 after graduating from Oklahoma State with a business marketing degree.
It didn’t take the former Cowboy long to make an impression in Europe. He won the 2006 Rolex Trophy on the European Challenge Tour and finished third on that money list to earn a full European Tour card for 2007.
Success didn’t come quickly, though, when he arrived on the main circuit.
“I missed the first six cuts last year and I’m thinking: ‘What’s going on?’ ” Noren said. “It was harder than I thought. I thought I wasn’t going to make it.”
Noren turned his season around when he hooked up with coach Pete Cowen. Cowen has taught many of Europe’s top golfers, including Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood and Thomas Bjorn.
“Pete is the big reason I’ve been able to adapt so well to the European Tour,” he said. “I didn’t have a swing coach in college. I regret that now.”
Under Cowen, Noren notched four top-10 finishes last year, including third in the KLM Open. He finished 63rd on the European money list in his rookie season.
This year, he has finished T-4 (New Zealand), T-11 (Abu Dhabi) and T-13 (Qatar Masters) in his last three starts. He is 32nd in earnings.
“It’s big difference coming out here than playing the Challenge Tour,” Noren said. “There is a big turnaround of players on the Challenge Tour. Out here you might get 15-20 guys leaving and then new guys coming in. So the ones that stay are always the ones in the hunt.”
Noren doesn’t feel like he’s quite in that mix at the moment.
“Right now I don’t feel as if I can win this tournament,” he said. “I need to get to a point where I feel as if my game is good enough to win out here. I’ve got a lot of work to do before I get to that point.”
The Swede says a big victory on the European Tour will help determine when he goes to the United States.
“I don’t want to try for my PGA Tour card knowing I’m not playing well enough to win,” Noren said. “I want to go there knowing I’m good enough to win. When I win here and I know I’m good enough to win good tournaments over here, then I’ll consider trying for my PGA Tour card.”
When he does arrive on the PGA Tour, Noren will have former Cowboy coach Mike Holder to help him. Holder has assisted many former Cowboys gain success on the PGA Tour, including Bob Tway, Scott Verplank, Charles Howell III and Hunter Mahan.
The Swede didn’t always enjoy his time under Holder. In fact, there were times when he downright hated it. However, he feels now he is a better golfer for knowing one of the most successful coaches in college golf.
“Holder taught me that life is not fair,” he said. “We had a lot of run-ins. He was hard on me; hard on us. His whole attitude was that life is not fair, so he wasn’t fair to us.
“There were times when I didn’t really like him, but the older I get the more I understand what he was doing.
“He is the best coach I have had. He is the most competitive person I have ever met. He probably prepared us more for life in the professional game than college golf.”
In other words, when Alexander Noren gets to the PGA Tour expect him to win. Although, he will have won in Europe first.
Posted: 1/31/2008
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