The Swedish golfer had a terrible start to the season, missing the cut in four consecutive starts. He turned professional in 2021 and joined the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 to earn a PGA Tour card for the 2026 season. But he knows that that is just the beginning. The real challenge starts after that, when expectations rise based on his performances before he turned professional or on the Korn Ferry Tour. However, that transition to the PGA Tour, while subtle, is difficult, especially when making swing changes, as highlighted by rookie Pontus Nyholm in the post-round conference at the John Deere Classic.
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“It’s been a weird year. I’ve been going through a lot of swing changes. Started the year horribly. Probably the worst I’ve ever played in my life, like the first four events. I decided to start working with a different swing coach in Orlando, Grant Waite. Grant and I have been working really hard, pretty much every day, when I’ve been home in my off weeks. Been doing two, three hours a day just grinding and trying to get the swing to a good spot.”
“Starting to see some good results at home. First it starts looking better on the range. Then you bring it out on the course. I feel like the final step getting it out to the golf course in tournaments has been a bit of a bump. I’ve been home, and it’s been really good. You come out here, and it’s not really working. I can’t really seem to figure out why, but I’m starting to get a better grasp of what my swing tendencies are and what produces what shots and what happens in left-to-right winds and so forth.”
Nyholm’s performance so far has not matched his expectations. He missed the cuts at the Sony Open (Jan 15), the American Express (Jan 22), the Farmers Insurance (Jan 29), and the Phoenix Open (Feb 5). Still, he has three top-25 finishes: T13 at the Cognizant Classic, T16 at the Puerto Rico Open, and T14 at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. But so far, he has made only four cuts in 14 starts this season.
Imago
As the 28-year-old highlighted, he started working with a new swing coach to change those outcomes. He was previously working with Kasper Hedblom. Although there’s no public update on when he started working with Grant Waite, he claims he can bring that practice range momentum to the course.
“Obviously seeing it these two days, seeing those swing changes starting to come into play has been really nice. I don’t know if it’s so much confidence. It’s more just knowing, you know, that I can do it, and we’re working on the right things, which I’ve known because it’s been good at home. It’s just nice seeing some sort of result.”
After 4 poor starts, Nyholm has finally made a good start at the 2026 John Deere Classic: a round of three-under 68, featuring six birdies and three bogeys. He took it a step further in his second round with five birdies on the front nine and three bogeys and three birdies on the back nine. He posted a five-under 66 in the second round.
Collectively, Nyholm is eight under 134 after the two rounds. While a few golfers are yet to finish their rounds, he currently sits at T8 alongside Chris Gotterup, Zach Johnson, and others.
But swing changes and bringing that transition to the course are not the only changes happening this season. Nyholm is playing on the PGA Tour, so the environment is different.
Pontus Nyholm on transitioning to the PGA Tour
The media asked the Swedish professional about his experience transitioning from the Korn Ferry Tour to the PGA Tour. According to him, there’s not much difference, except for a few things around the tournament.
“The golf itself is — different courses. You’re playing against different guys. At the end of the day, it’s just golf.”
Nyholm believes that if a professional were performing well on the Korn Ferry Tour, they would continue to do so on the PGA Tour. However, he acknowledged that the environment is different. More people are watching him play, and more people are moving with him. In fact, he even pointed out that the quiet of the Korn Ferry Tour is, in some situations, better, especially when a golfer is not in contention.
Adjustments to the PGA Tour extend beyond tougher competition. The atmosphere itself adds another layer of pressure for rookies. For Nyholm, that external shift has unfolded alongside an extensive swing rebuild. This makes his encouraging start at the John Deere Classic a promising sign that both transitions are now heading in the right direction.
