Taxman cometh for Sandelin

Jarmo Sandelin's extraordinary victory in the Canary Islands Open made the front pages of the newspapers in Stockholm yesterday. That was the good news. Unfortunately Sandelin's success coincided with a "wanted" poster of the golfer on the back pages.

A public notice from the Swedish tax authorities appeared in the same publications announcing that they urgently needed to contact him.

"We have been trying to find him for a month and he is not at his latest known address in Stockholm," the notice said. "His company has gone into liquidation."

Sandelin's Sweden Golfing and Trading Co owes the taxman Skr28,000, about £2,800. Although he does not know it, he is due to appear in court in Stockholm next Monday. The notice added that the sum represents unpaid taxes for the last 12 months.

If the taxman had read the front pages of Sweden's national newspapers he would have been reassured. Sandelin, 27, won more than £40,000 when he beat Seve Ballesteros by a stroke in Gran Canaria on Sunday after taking the lead for the first time only at the 15th hole in the final round. He is making his debut on the European Tour after gaining his card via the Challenge Tour last season.

It is not suprising the authorities could not find him. Sandelin, who plays with a longer driver than anybody else - he claims it gives him extra distance - has spent recent weeks in Dubai and Manila.

Following his victory over the weekend, Sandelin, who was born in Finland, travelled to Malaga in southern Spain, where friends have been trying to contact him.