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Alex Noren claims BMW PGA Championship title, but where were all the Americans?
A clutch birdie on the first playoff hole propelled him past Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson, making him the Swede with the most DP World Tour victories in history
- PUBLISHED: Mon 15 Sept 2025, 10:16 PM
- By:
- Nick Tarratt, Guest Golf Writer
Alex Noren added another milestone to his career, claiming his 12th DP World Tour title by defeating Adrian Saddier in a play-off to win the $9 million BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
The Swede, who famously shot a course record-equalling 62 to win here in 2017, started the day tied for the lead and went on to secure his second victory in just three weeks after triumphing at the Betfred British Masters.
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The 43-year-old, a Vice-Captain for Captain Donald’s Team Europe at next week’s Ryder Cup, held a one-stroke lead after the front nine of the final round, but Saddier hit back after the turn as he carded four birdies coming home. Noren birdied the 12th and 13th, and the pair matched each other with gains on the 17th as they moved to 19 under with one hole to play.
They both made par on the 18th to force a play-off, and on the first extra hole they went blow-for-blow down the left-hand side of the formidable par five. Facing tricky chips, Saddier went over the green and was left with a tricky downhill putt, while Noren hit his attempt to three feet.
Saddier missed his putt on the low side, with Noren making no mistake with his birdie effort to seal the victory and move ahead of Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson to become the Swede with the most victories in Tour history.
Aaron Rai and Patrick Reed shared third place on 16 under par, while Ryder Cup trio Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Viktor Hovland, Scotsman Ewen Ferguson, South Africa’s Darren Fichardt, and Si Woo Kim of South Korea were a shot further back in a share of fifth.
Flagship event, ever-growing
It was another exciting tournament, the flagship event on the DP World Tour that seems to get better and better each year. One question to be asked in this new world of golf is whether it is a collaboration.
With the PGA Tour having a significant strategic alliance with the DP World Tour, is it not time to look at global golf scheduling, especially after the FedEx Cup Play-offs? So many of Team USA for the Ryder Cup played in the Procore Championship on the PGA Tour – obviously on the encouragement of Ryder Cup Team USA Captain Keegan Bradley, which incidentally was won by Scottie Scheffler, his sixth victory of this season.
Could not the tours look at schedules and make it possible for these US stars to play on the DP World Tour? After all, any alliance is two-way.
The BMW PGA Championship is an outstanding tournament – it boasts a generous purse of $9 million - it just feels it deserves a global presence and be taken to the world stage, by encouraging the US stars to support.
The champion Alex Noren, who plays the PGA Tour but is still a loyal European, has encouraged some PGA Tour players to look at it for their schedule.
Ryder Cup year questions
A couple of questions that are relevant – would they travel, whether it is a Ryder Cup year or not – and what about appearance money?
As Paul McGinley has recently stated, the latter is one of the barriers for US golfers to play in Europe and further afield away from the PGA Tour.
He has mentioned this is one of the real catalysts for the game to grow around the world – genuinely grow.
Let’s see what is ahead, and it is surely the one missing piece of the jigsaw for the BMW PGA Championship, it deserves it!