Kristoffer Broberg may have played only seven events during the 2012 European Challenge Tour season, but his campaign will go down as one of the most successful in the circuit’s history.
The Swede wrapped up his European Tour card within five starts of his Challenge Tour debut, winning three times during that period to become the fastest player to earn automatic promotion to Europe’s top tier via the three-win rule.
Broberg announced his arrival in emphatic style, blowing away the rest of the field at Kytäjä Golf as he recorded a six-shot victory at the Finnish Challenge in just his second Challenge Tour appearance.
The victory came as little surprise to those who had followed his budding career, with the Swede already racking up two victories on the Nordic League in 2012 and recording a top ten finish in his maiden Challenge Tour start at the AllianzOpen Côtes d’Armor Bretagne.
Following his first win, the Swede’s title blitz continued a week later with a second title in Scandinavia, at the Norwegian Challenge, where he holed a 60-foot birdie putt in the second play-off hole to clinch a second win in as many weeks.
After a tie for third place at the ECCO Tour Championship hosted by Thomas Björn & Mercedes-Benz and less than a month after recording his first victory in Finland, Broberg would secure his European Tour card in dramatic fashion, again sinking a monster birdie putt, this time on the 72nd hole at the 2012 Rolex Trophy.
The 40-foot putt saw the 26-year-old sign for an impressive 27 under par, one ahead of his closest competitor Sihwan Kim, to ensure he took the coveted crown and earned the coveted title of fastest graduate in Challenge Tour history.
The victory capped what is often considered to be one of the finest stretches the Challenge Tour has ever seen, with his cumulative score for his first five tournaments a staggering 71 under par.
Incredibly, Broberg returned to the Challenge Tour later that season for the Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Challenge hosted by Royal Golf Club where he claimed his fourth win in six appearances, a record that is yet to be surpassed.
One final start, at the season-ending Challenge Tour Grand Final, saw Broberg finish in a tie for seventh, ensuring he finished inside the top ten in all of his seven Challenge Tour appearances that season.
