Former Patriot Golfer earns European Tour card

FLORENCE, SC - Francis Marion University graduate and former Patriot golfer Fredrik Ohlsson shot a final-round 6-under-par 66 to finished sixth at the PGA European Tour Qualifying School – Final Stage – and earned his tour card for 2010.

The final stage consisted of six rounds, held Nov. 28-Dec. 3, at the PGA Catalunya Resort in Girona, Spain.

The top 30 finishers in this final stage earned their playing cards. Ohlsson fired the third lowest score on the final day and finished the six-day event with a 16-under-par 412 tally, only four strokes behind the winner, Simon Khan of England. Ohlsson began the final day tied for 15th position, and his final round included five birdies and one eagle.

Ohlsson is the first Francis Marion golfer to have a PGA or European Tour card. His first Tour event will be the Alfred Dunhill Championship, Dec. 10-13, in Mpumalanga, South Africa.

To advance to the final stage of qualifying, Ohlsson won a second stage event at the Costa Ballena Ocean Golf Club. He fired a four-round score of 14-under-par 274 to beat out a field of 76 hopefuls.

Ohlsson, 30, has been a player on the Challenge Tour, which is Europe’s equivalent to the Nationwide Tour in the United States. He placed 59th at the ECCO Tour Championship event in October and currently stands 1015th in the world rankings.

He had two Top-10 finishes on the Challenge Tour in 2008 and finished 2007 ranked 128th on the Challenge Tour. This was his sixth year attending the PGA European Qualifying School.

A native of Gothenburg, Sweden, Ohlsson was a three-time All-American at Francis Marion, including first-team honors in 2003 when he helped lead the Patriots to the NCAA Division II national championship. He earned the B.B.A. degree in marketing in 2004.  He was also a three-time Peach Belt All-Conference golfer, finishing in a tie for third at the 2004 PBC Championships.

He also was named to the Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars Team for his work in the classroom following the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

As a senior, he compiled a 73.26 stroke average and posted eight Top-10 finishes.

Ohlsson did not miss a tournament after his Patriot debut in March 2001, and recorded a career stroke average of 73.56. He owns the FMU single-season record for lowest average, 72.3 in 2002-03, and shot what is believed to be the lowest round in the program’s history, a 64 in the opening round of the 2002 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament.

“What a great day for Fredrik!” said FMU golf coach Mark Gaynor. “I had the privilege to coach Fredrik during his senior year at FMU. He played his first three seasons under the tutelage of coaches Jonathan Burnett and Dr. Jim Von Frank.

“I spoke with Fredrik on the phone and he wanted to thank everyone in the Florence community and Francis Marion University for all their support over the years. He was very excited and I could tell that it had not yet sunk in that he is a European Tour player.

“We are very proud of him. It is great to see him reach one of his goals. It is the reality of golf – you play well enough – you can achieve anything. We look forward to following his success this year on Tour and hope it will be the first of many.”