What success looks like for Henrik Norlander
Join the Club by John Patrick
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If you follow professional golf, you can probably name the three male players that won the major championships this year. You might have a harder time naming the five women that won their major championships, but you would probably recognize the names.
That’s the upper echelon of the professional game. It’s the names you hear most often. But both professional tours are loaded with players you may have never heard of. Players, that at this time of the year, are fighting for their careers and trying to keep their dreams alive.
One of those players is Henrik Norlander. If the name seems familiar, it’s probably because Henrik played on the Augusta State national championship teams back in 2010 and 2011. Now, more than a decade later, he’s still out there keeping the dream alive.
He has not won on the PGA Tour. He’s come very close, losing in a playoff on more than one occasion. But, because he has yet to win, he has to continue to fight to keep his career going.
That is exactly what he had to do this weekend at Sea Island. It took a 63 on Saturday and a 68 on Sunday to secure his spot on the PGA Tour for 2025. Securing that spot requires being in the top 125. Henrik was 120th.
That’s just the start. You celebrate that victory, but then get right back to work. Beginning next year, Henrik will have to finish in the top 100 to retain his playing privileges.
Henrik still makes his home and is raising his family in the area. He’s very polite, courteous, and easy to root for. He’s far from alone. The PGA Tour is loaded with players like Henrik. In fact, there are a lot more like Henrik than there are like Scottie Scheffler. That’s what makes Scottie so special and Henrik so driven.
So, in 2025, as you’re marveling at the talent of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, also marvel at the grit and determination of Henrik and players like him. They have the talent and hearing us cheer for them could just be the noise they need to take them to the next level.