DP Tour World Championship: No time to savour success for Swede Alex Noren

The Swedish golfer did not allow himself any time to savour success in South Africa at the weekend as he quickly turned his focus to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Improve on it

Noren gave himself a shot at winning the Race to Dubai with a round on Sunday that he described as the “best I’ve ever played” but believes he can improve on it around the Earth course this week. The Swede moved to No 9 in the world when a final-round 63 won him the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa.

Fast turnaround

Approximately 15 hours after his success in South Africa, he was out on the range at Jumeirah Golf Estates, fine-tuning an already well-functioning game for the start of the action at the Earth Course, which begins Thursday.

Feels easier

Noren met with his coach, Matt Belsham, early Monday in Dubai to try to improve his driving. “Maybe Sunday was the best round I’ve ever played, but I hit a little bit of fade on every shot,” Noren said, adding that working on “mechanics on a Monday feels easier than working on the same things on a Wednesday when you’re closer to the tournament.”

Preparations

Noren’s success in Sun City means that if he wins the DP World Tour Championship, and his compatriot Henrik Stenson finishes third or worse, he will top the money list. “I’ve never really been into looking at numbers like that,” Noren said. “I usually don’t know what the purse is, what the numbers are. It’s more about the preparations than numbers.”

Great balance

Noren, 34, has won four times on tour this season, taking him from 96th in the world at the start of the year into the top 10. According to a rival for the Race to Dubai title – and a former neighbour in Monaco – Noren’s form is no surprise. He’s got a great balance in his life now,” Rory McIlroy said. “Him and his girlfriend just had a baby earlier this year. It gives him an excuse to get away from the game, which I think is a good thing for him. You can see that in his results.”

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