‘The Swedish girls are very, very strong’ – Alex Noren wants men to be inspired by Maja Stark, Linn Grant

Alex Noren has called on the men’s game in Sweden to take lessons from how the women are flying high in the sport.

Noren is the highest-ranked Swede in the men’s game at 55 in the world, with Alexander Bjork being next on the list at 170.

Henrik Stenson won a major at the Open in 2016, but he remains the only Swedish man to have lifted one of the sport’s four big tournaments.

In contrast, Sweden is third on the list of major winners by country in the women’s game. The legendary Annika Sorenstam won 10 of the 16 for the country, but the conveyor belt continues as Anna Nordqvist won the Open in 2021 and other players are coming through.

Noren would like to see the men’s game use the blueprint of the women, and feels he has more to achieve in the sport.

“I think the Nordic and Scandinavian golf scene is a little bit weird as there are not that many Swedes high in the world rankings,” Noren told Eurosport. “You have (Viktor) Hovland, a Norwegian, the Finnish are coming strong and the Danish are coming strong.

“I care more about the Swedish but I am happy for the other countries too.

“I have so many friends that are so good and I’d love to see them reach their full potential. The same thing with me, I think we have more in us. I would love to see someone age 16 coming out at a Tour event and play really well.”

Reflecting on the achievements of the likes of Nordqvist, Grant and Stark, Noren said: “The Swedish girls are very, very strong.

“I would like to see the men getting to that point. Maybe the girls can encourage the guys to do better.

“I spoke to the national team and they work harder earlier with the girls than the guys and I wonder why.

“It obviously works with the girls so I don’t know why they don’t do it with the guys. I bet they are going to start now.”