Alex Noren’s year began on a sour note. 

Preparing for the season-opening Sentry in January, the 43-year-old Swede suffered a tear to his hamstring tendon, sidelining him for nearly five months. The good news, though, was that it wasn’t a complete tear and didn’t require season-ending surgery. 

“That was lucky but also bad at the same time,” Noren said at the PGA Championship in May. 

The first part of that statement rings even truer now. Noren captured the BMW PGA Championship, the DP World Tour’s flagship event, in a playoff over France’s Adrien Saddier. It’s Noren’s second win in his last three starts, having won the British Masters in late August. 

MORE: Final results, payouts from BMW PGA Championship

Noren and Saddier stepped to the par-5 18th tee box in the pelting rain at Wentworth, tied for the lead at 19 under par after 71 holes. In a match play situation, Saddier hit his approach into the right rough as Noren laid up and both hit their chips to about 40 feet en route to pars. 

So back to the 18th tee box they went for extra golf. Each smashed their drives in the fairway, but as the rain settled down, they tried to go for the green in two with a 3-wood. With a creek running along the green’s left side, both hit their approaches left into the rough left of the water, leaving them a chip shot to the putting surface. 

And that short swing would decide the champion. 

Saddier went first and ran his shot across the green, while Noren knocked his to just a few feet. Saddier missed his birdie putt, and Noren made his for the victory. 

Saddier, a 33-year-old who entered the week ranked No. 120 in the world, won his maiden DP World Tour title earlier this year at the Italian Open, but fell just short of the biggest win of his career. 

Noren, meanwhile, claimed his second BMW PGA (2017) and 12th DPWT win, the second-most on the tour since 2009, behind Rory McIlroy’s 20. 

Now, with two new trophies on his shelf, Noren will head to New York with the European Ryder Cup team, with which he has vice captain duties.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Alex Noren Stays Hot, Wins PGA BMW Championship in Playoff.

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