Alexander Knappe back in the fast lane after Sweden ace

Alexander Knappe revealed he could not have picked a better time to produce a perfect shot as made a hole-in-one on day one of the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed.

The German holed a nine-iron from 156 yards at the 14th to earn himself a two-year “Care by Volvo” subscription of a fully electric Volvo EX30.

That would be good news at the best of times but the timing is perfect for Knappe, who is currently seeking a replacement for his nine-year-old car, which struggles to start and has no air conditioning.

"It's unbelievable because my car is actually breaking down," he said.

"I have a nine-year-old car and the engine is not really running. Sometimes it takes five minutes to get it running and the AC is broken so I was looking for a car anyway - this is perfect timing."

• Alexander Knappe - The DP World Tour iron man aiming to play every event in 2023

Knappe made the 21st ace of the season in his 20th appearance as he maintains his remarkable iron man record of playing in every event for which he is exempt in 2023.

The 34-year-old got into this week at Ullna Golf and Country Club as first reserve and revealed his unfamiliarity with the layout left him unsure if he would win a car.

"I actually wanted to hit a wedge but my caddie told me to hit a nine-iron as there's too much wind off the left so we committed to a 130 nine-iron shot," he said.

"It drifted nicely with the wind, pitched five metres short and then released and I saw it going in. It's nice to have another hole-in-one.

"I looked around and checked if there was a car in the background because I haven't really played the back nine this week as I was first reserve so I didn't really know what the set-up was going to be like. There was a picture of a car so I thought it could be a car.

"One hole later they told me that I get a car sponsorship for the next two years."