There’s not much razzmatazz surrounding Alex Noren. The unassuming Swede can often be as quiet as a Trappist monk with a sair throat but he has made big noises since winning last year’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. That triumph at Castle Stuart was the first of five wins in 10 months as the 34-year-old propelled himself into top-10 of the world rankings. Noren is at Dundonald Links this week to defend his title amid an all-star gathering that is the strongest on the European circuit this season.

He may be flying high in the rarefied air of the global game but Noren, who added the flagship BMW PGA Championship to his collection back in May, tends to be happier ducking about under the radar. “I haven’t always been the most confident person and I’m still not the most confident on the golf course,” admitted Noren, who was at least among kindred spirits with the small gathering of Scottish golf writers. “I play with players I’m really impressed by. There’s not as much intimidation as before. But you look at players like Dustin Johnson and see the distance he hits it off the tee, which plays such a big part in today’s golf. That’s something I want to improve on. Winning the Scottish was big for me confidence wise. It was the biggest win for at that stage of my career. And then you get a double boost after the next one. I haven’t played good in every tournament after the Scottish but the one thing confidence does is that it makes you take the bad shots a little easier. You become a bit kinder to yourself.”

This week’s first visit to Dundonald will provide a different kind of links test to the one Noren experienced at Castle Stuart. “Castle Stuart played a bit more extreme, playing high up for a few holes and then a few holes down,” he said. “This is more like a Birkdale style. Everything is flatter but there are a lot of hills around it and it’s banked up and the greens are very undulating. I think it’s good.”