Scorching back-nine 29 at Marco Simone breaks three-way tie with fellow Swedes and earns young Nordic League pro a $30,000 paycheck

A record-breaking 908 players from 47 countries entered the Season 2 opener of the NEXT Golf Tour Powered by Trackman, but after 10 days of competition at Marco Simone, three Swedes — Oliver Lilliedahl, Oliver Gillberg and Erik Oja — stood alone at the top of the leaderboard at 8-under-par.

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Oliver Lilliedahl (-8) Wins Next Golf Tour Season 2 Opener (Graphic: Business Wire)

With a closing stretch that featured six birdies and an eagle, the 25-year-old Lilliedahl won the low-back-nine tiebreaker and took home $30,000 for his efforts. Gillberg and Oja slipped to T–2 and earned $14,611 each.

Round 1 of the seven-event series concluded at the stroke of midnight on Sunday, Dec. 3. With so many players in the field and a $190,800 purse on the line, the NEXT Golf Tour needed some extra time to review video and validate scores before declaring the official results.

"It felt amazing once the clock hit midnight,” Lilliedahl said. “I have been refreshing the leaderboard 100 times a day all week. It's been filled with anxiety and stress because you never know what the other players are going to do, but it feels amazing to win this one."

Lilliedahl said his first professional win could be a game-changer when he returns to the Nordic League.

“It's all about finishing in the top 5 [on the Order of Merit]. In order to do so, you have to play a lot of tournaments,” Lilliedahl said. “A lot of travel, and it's not cheap. On top of it there might be a Q-school at the end of the season. So, winning $30,000 certainly brings financial freedom for a while.”

A group of nine players, including Season 1/Round 3 champion Nikke Tyry of Finland and veteran Canadian pro Wes Heffernan, tied for fourth at -7 and earned $4,489 each — except for the tournament’s top amateur, Emil Elkjær Petersen of Denmark, who was limited to $1,000 in earnings due to his amateur status.

Another logjam of 11 players finished T–13 at -6 to earn $683 each. Notables in the group included DP World Tour pro Wil Besseling of the Netherlands, S1R5 winner Sigurdur Gardarsson of Iceland, and top American finisher Michael Davan.

Ladies European Tour winner Jenny Haglund of Sweden was the top female player in the field, joining a group of 21 players at -5 (T–24) who earned $360 each. Her round included a hole-in-one from 145 yards at No. 4. Jamie Dick of the UK also made an ace from 205 yards at No. 17 and finished -5.

While getting the season off to a strong start, Round 1 was not without its controversies. Three players were disqualified for rules infractions related to the use of alignment aids. The NEXT Golf Tour issued a statement during the round to clarify that lines or markers embedded in the hitting surface are allowed, but lines or objects (such as an alignment rod or a piece of tape) placed on the hitting surface are not allowed. The players were interviewed by a member of the Rules Committee before the disqualifications were handed down.

Round 2 of the NEXT Golf Tour Season 2 will be played at Medinah Country Club in Trackman simulators worldwide. Sign-up closes at 23:59 CET (5:59 p.m. ET in the U.S.) on Thursday, Dec. 7. With a full field of 1,000 players, the purse will climb to $200,000, and the winner will again take home $30,000.

SIDE GAMES WINNERS

Closest-to-the-Pin (Aggregate): Gregor Main, USA (40’ 7”) — $4,000

Longest Drive (Men): Kaleb Gorbahn, Canada (384.1 yards) — $2,500

Longest Drive (Women): Michelle Forsland, Norway (296.1 yards) — $2,500

Birdie Streak: (tie) Oliver Lilliedahl, Sweden, and Dominik Pavoucek, Czech Republic (6) — $1,250 ea

Most Greens in Regulation: (tie) Victor Sidal Svendsen, Denmark and Mathias Thybo, Denmark (18) — $1,250 ea

The full Round 1 results — including all side games winners, individual payouts and updated Order of Merit rankings — can be found at NEXTGolfTour.com. Follow the action all season long on Instagram and Facebook: @NEXTGolfTour and #NEXTGolfTour. Tune in to the NEXT Golf Show on YouTube every other Tuesday beginning Dec. 5, or follow on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.

ABOUT THE NEXT GOLF TOUR

The NEXT Golf Tour Powered by Trackman is a series of mixed-field professional golf competitions played indoors on Trackman simulators worldwide. NEXT was founded by Trackman in 2023 to provide elite players an opportunity to earn income and develop their brands as professional golfers. Men and women compete straight-up from different tee boxes, the top 30% of the field earns a paycheck, and in-round side games provide another level of competition and earning potential. During its inaugural season, 994 players from 41 countries competed in six 18-hole stroke play tournaments for a combined purse of $876,100. Season 2 features six 18-hole events open with purses up to $250,000 and a 36-hole, $100,000 Season Finale for the top 100 players on the Order of Merit. Learn more and follow the live leaderboards all season long at NEXTGolfTour.com.

ABOUT TRACKMAN

Proudly based in Vedbæk, Denmark, Trackman is the world’s leading developer of radar tracking technology for use in golf performance analysis. The iconic Trackman 4 launch monitor — aka “the little orange box” — is trusted by elite players, coaches, equipment manufacturers and clubfitters to provide ultra-precise data on virtually every aspect of club motion and ball flight. Trackman Range and indoor golf simulator solutions bring our tour-proven technology to the masses, featuring the best practice, virtual golf and entertainment software in the industry. Trackman is the official provider of club and ball tracking and tracing data to the PGA Tour for broadcast on TV and digital platforms. Learn more at Trackman.com.

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