MALMÖ: Sweden's Alex Noren played a solid final round on Sunday to easily protect his overnight lead and win the Scandinavian Masters by four shots over last week's Irish Open winner Soren Kjeldsen.
The 32-year-old, from nearby Stockholm, wins his fourth EPGA event and second at the Malmo-hosted event after winning by seven strokes in 2011.
A final round of one-under par 71 was enough to see the former Oklahoma University student home on a day when birdies were at a premium.
Noren's 72-hole total of 276 was 12-under par and left Kjeldsen alone in second on a difficult day of golf that was hindered by poor weather conditions at the PGA Sweden National.
"I'm so pleased. Now I can relax a bit because it was probably the toughest weekend in terms of wind I've ever felt," said Noren following his victory.
"When you're in the lead you can think a lot, and it was very tough. I hit a few bad shots - I think on the seventh, eighth and ninth - but I played quite well on the back nine.
"I didn't have to look for my ball in the rough or anything, so it was not that stressful.
"The win was very thrilling but this one is very pleasing.
"I wasn't too confident coming into this week because I've had a tough time in the wind lately and here you really have to hit the right shots to get around. I got better as the week went on.
"I've had a few good tournaments but I haven't played well on the last day. When I've had a chance - like at Wentworth, I had a small chance - I've had a slow round.
"I kept my poise and tried to hit the shots we needed, and it worked. My caddie really helped calm me down and make me stick to my routine.
"You have to enjoy the good days in this game because you have plenty of bad ones." he added.
Denmark's Kjeldsen, won the Irish Open in a playoff last week which qualified him for July's British Open at St Andrews, and again produced a world class display on the Malmo layout.
"I didn't quite feel that I'd done enough," said Kjeldsen.
"I played a really solid round today but I knew I probably needed something pretty special to give me a chance. I didn't quite do that but I was very pleased with the way I played."
Four players tied for third on six under and six shots adrift including Frenchman Alexander Levy, Swedish pair Jens Dantorp and Sebastian Soderberg as well as Germany's Maximilian Kieffer.
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