[PHOTO: Valerio Pennicino]
After rounds of 63, 66 and 66, Sebastian Soderberg had a commanding eight-shot lead heading into the final round of the DP World Tour’s Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed in his home country of Sweden. It was not a matter of if he’d win for the second time on the European circuit, but by how many.
After an early birdie at the par-5 third, a potential double-digit victory was in Soderberg’s sights. Things took an ugly turn from there, though, when he went bogey-bogey and wound up playing the front nine in one-over par. His lead began to shrink, and two bogeys and six pars over his next eight holes saw his lead reduced to one shot on the 72nd tee.
Just one behind at 17-under was fellow Swede Linn Grant, who became the first female to win on the DP World Tour in 2022 when she won this tournament in just its second year of being a mixed male and female event. Grant began the final day 11 shots behind Soderberg and was able to close that gap with a bogey-free, seven-under 65.
Needing a Soderberg bogey to make it into a playoff, Grant headed to the range to stay warm. What happened next was downright shocking, as Soderberg’s approach found a greenside bunker. From there he hit his third to 25 feet, setting up a must-make to win or a two-putt to tie and head to a playoff scenario. However, Soderberg’s par putt came up a few feet short and his bogey effort violently lipped out:
SODERBERG HAS MISSED THIS AND LINN GRANT HAS WON THE SCANDINAVIAN MIXED pic.twitter.com/ZDLtaFKx9C
— PGALouis (@PGALouis) June 9, 2024
Soderberg’s stunning double-bogey capped off a final-round 77, earning him a T-2 finish with Callum Hill after beginning the day eight clear of the field. Brutal.
Grant, 24, produced a much different scene on the 18th at Vasatorps Golfklubb, which happens to be in her hometown of Helsingborg. Here was her third shot from just off the green, which pulled her within three of Soderberg at the time:
That shot turned out to be the one that helped her win in regulation, giving Grant her second victory in this event in three years. As incredible as that was, even Grant felt a little bad for her fellow Swede.
“Very mixed emotions,” Grant said. “I feel honestly terrible for Sebastian at the moment, I don’t even have words for it. I can’t imagine how he feels, but at the same time I’m just surprised, like so surprised. Standing here now as a winner again, in my hometown, amazing.”
While the men and women play from a different set of tees for this event, they play for the same prizemoney as well as Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup points. This win, Grant’s sixth on the Ladies European Tour, should go a long way in earning grant a second European Solheim Cup team appearance this September.
