Anton Karlsson (golfer)

Karl Oskar Anton Karlsson (born 11 September 1993) is a Swedish professional golfer who has played on the European Tour. He won the 2020 RAM Cape Town Open on the Challenge Tour. His best finish on the European Tour was runner-up at the 2019 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.[1]

Anton Karlsson
Personal information
Full nameKarl Oskar Anton Karlsson
Born (1993-09-11) 11 September 1993 (age 30)
Uppsala, Sweden
Sporting nationality Sweden
Career
Turned professional2013
Current tour(s)Sunshine Tour
Challenge Tour
Former tour(s)European Tour
Nordic Golf League
Professional wins9
Number of wins by tour
Sunshine Tour1
Challenge Tour1
Other8

Early life and amateur career edit

Karlsson started playing golf in the year 2000, when his father enrolled him in the junior golf academy at Vassunda Golf Club, near his home town of Uppsala.[2] Following his success on tour, the club later made him Honorary Member.[3]

Karlsson started competing on the junior circuits in 2007, and won his first of several titles on the Skandia Tour in his first season. He won the Vassunda Junior Open in the Junior Masters Invitational series in 2007 and 2012, and was runner-up in 2013 behind Adam Blommé, and again in 2014 when he lost a playoff to Viktor Jensen.[4]

In 2014, he won the Junior Masters Invitational season finale. As an amateur, he also won a professional event in the SGF Golf Ranking series.[4]

Professional career edit

Karlsson attended the Nordic Golf League Q-School and turned professional towards the end of 2013. He joined the Nordic Golf League in 2014, and came close to claim a maiden title when he lost a playoff at the 2015 Danish PGA Championship. In 2016, he joined the Challenge Tour, where he recorded four top-10s and finished his first season ranked 37th.[5]

He was one of the 2016 European Tour Qualifying School graduates and joined the European Tour as a 23-year-old rookie in 2017. He finished 190th on the money list and was relegated to the Challenge Tour for 2018, where he finished runner-up at the KPMG Trophy in Belgium, after losing a playoff to Pedro Figueiredo.[6]

Karlsson was one of the 2018 European Tour Qualifying School graduates and moved back onto Europe's top tier once again. On the 2019 European Tour he was runner-up at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, two strokes behind Justin Harding, and finished ranked 136th. At the Swedish Challenge, he missed out on a place in the playoff by one stroke, and finished tied 3rd.[1]

In March 2019, Karlsson reached a career-high world ranking of 288.[7]

Again playing on the Challenge Tour, Karlsson clinched his maiden victory at the Sunshine Tour co-sanctioned RAM Cape Town Open in 2020,[8] where he maintained the momentum from a bogey-free eight-under-par third round of 64 as he reeled off six birdies in seven holes from the 7th hole to move to the top of the leaderboard. With the win he moved to second place on the Road to Mallorca Rankings.[9]

Amateur wins edit

  • 2007 Vassunda Junior Open, Skandia Tour Distrikt #5
  • 2010 Skandia Tour Regional #6
  • 2012 Vassunda Junior Open
  • 2014 Junior Masters Invitational

Professional wins (9) edit

Sunshine Tour wins (1) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 9 Feb 2020 RAM Cape Town Open1 −14 (72-69-64-69=274) 1 stroke   Garrick Higgo

1Co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour

Challenge Tour wins (1) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 9 Feb 2020 RAM Cape Town Open1 −14 (72-69-64-69=274) 1 stroke   Garrick Higgo

1Co-sanctioned by the Sunshine Tour

Challenge Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2018 KPMG Trophy   Pedro Figueiredo,   Stuart Manley Figueiredo won with birdie on first extra hole

Nordic Golf League wins (1) edit

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner-up
1 5 May 2023 Golfkusten Blekinge −14 (66-64-69=199) 2 strokes   Axel Bóasson

Other wins (7) edit

  • 2010 Kåbo Open (as an amateur)
  • 2014 Ovako Bar Hagge Open (Swedish mini tour Future Series)
  • 2014 Dormy Challenge
  • 2015 District championship Uppland
  • 2015 Frösåker Open
  • 2015 Hårga Open (Swedish mini tour Future Series)
  • 2020 Burvik Open

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Anton Karlsson Bio". European Tour. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  2. ^ Hardenberger, Martin (2 November 2018). "Karlsson: "Att spela golf är det roligaste jag vet"" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Anton Karlsson åter på Europatouren" (in Swedish). Vassunda GK. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Player Profile Anton Karlsson". Golfdata. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  5. ^ Hardenberger, Martin (25 March 2017). "Lista: Här är Sveriges mest lovande juniorgolfare" (in Swedish). Expressen. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Plucky Pedro bites back to triumph in Belgium". European Tour. 10 June 2018.
  7. ^ "World Ranking, Week 12, 2019" (PDF). Official World Golf Ranking. 24 March 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Han hittade formen i Sydafrika: Blev bättre och bättre" (in Swedish). Upsala Nya Tidning. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  9. ^ "Karlsson clinches maiden victory in Cape Town". European Tour. Retrieved 10 February 2020.

External links edit