The Scandinavian Masters is a 72-hole stroke play tournament on the European Tour which is played every year in Sweden. Officially established in 1991 when the Scandinavian Enterprise Open merged with the PLM Open, the Masters event is one of the leading professional competitions held annually in the Nordic countries.

The story starts back in 1973, when the Scandinavian Enterprise Open was first held on crown property at Kungliga Drottningholms Golfklubb, on the outskirts of Stockholm. Bob Charles from New Zealand won by two strokes from three players, one of whom was Tony Jacklin, but the Englishman would bounce back the following year at Bokskogens Golfklubb, racing to an 11-shot victory.

There were plenty of big name winners of this tournament during its 18-year playing history: Americans George Burns, Bob Byman (twice) and Craig Stadler; Australians Greg Norman and Ian Baker-Finch; and Greg Turner from New Zealand. Majors winners from Europre such as Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam and Seve Ballesteros (three times) also lifted the trophy between 1979 and 1989.

Only three venues were used for the championship other than Kungliga Drottningholms and Bokskogens: Vasatorps Golfklubb’s TC course in Mörarp (1978-1980); Linköpings Golfklubb (1981-1982); and Ullna Golf Club near Stockholm (1983-1987).

The PLM Open was inaugurated in 1983, with local favourite Peter Dahlberg winning the first competition. It became a European Tour fixture three years later, when events were then played in consecutive years at Falsterbo Golfklubb, Flommens Golfklubb and Ljunhusens Golfklubb before the Open moved inland from the Falsterbo peninsula to Bokskogens Golfklubb, where the final edition was played in 1990.

Colin Montgomerie won the first Scandinavian Masters in 1991 at Kungliga Drottningholms Golfklubb with an eighteen under par total of 270, one shot fewer than Seve Ballesteros in second place. Monty won again at Barsebäck Golf & Country Club in 1999 and he would go on to complete a hat-trick of Masters victories at this club two years later, finishing one shot ahead of Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood.

Westwood already had two Masters to his name, winning in 1996 at Forsgardens Golfklubb and in 2000 at Golfstar Kungsängen, and he wouldn’t be denied another. He had to wait another eleven years, mind you, but he finally claimed his third title in 2012 with a winning margin of five shots against nearest challenger Ross Fisher.

Non-European Masters champions have been a little thin on the ground. Vijay Singh from Fiji won by three strokes in 1994 then it took nearly a decade before Australians Adam Scott and Mark Hensby won in 2003 and 2005, respectively.

Ricardo González of Argentina captured his fourth European Tour win at Barsebäck in 2009 and he was followed onto the winner’s podium by Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand five years later when he saw off Victor Dubuisson and Stephen Gallagher with a birdie at the first hole of a playoff. South African Erik van Rooyen became the latest long-distance winner when he held off the field by one shot in 2019.

The Masters course at Barsebäck has hosted the most number of Scandinavian Masters (10) but it’s the new millennium layouts at Bro Hof Slott Golf Club outside Stockholm (2010-2013, 2016), PGA Sweden National near Malmö (2014, 2015) and Hills Golf & Sports Club in Mölndal (2018, 2019) that in recent years have really showcased what Swedish golf is all about in the modern era.

The event became co-sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour in 2020 and was rebranded as the Scandinavian Mixed, with male and female golfers competing in the same tournament for the same prize money but playing from different tees. The first edition was cancelled due to covid but Jonathan Caldwell won the inaugural event in 2021, with Alice Hewson the highest-placed lady in 3rd place.

In 2022, Swedish professional Linn Grant – whose grandfather James (a Scottish professional golfer) emigrated from Inverness to Helsingborg and her father John has won on the Swedish Senior Tour – became the first woman to win on the DP World Tour when she shot an 8-under-par 64 in her last round to win the Scandinavian Mixed by nine strokes from the nearest men (14 strokes ahead of the nearest woman).