Linn Grant becomes first woman to win on DP World Tour, crushing field of men and women by nine shots at Scandinavian Mixed

One week after an historic $10 million purse at the U.S. Women’s Open, Linn Grant made another leap for the game.

One week after the women played for an historic $10 million purse at the U.S. Women’s Open, Linn Grant made another leap for the game by becoming the first woman to win on the DP World Tour.

Grant, 22, crushed the field of 78 men and women by nine strokes with a closing 64 at the Scandinavian Mixed, hosted by Henrik and Annika. The nearest woman finished 14 back.

Beating the men, she said, was most important.

“All week i just felt like it’s the girls against the guys,” she said, “and whoever picks up that trophy represents the field.”

Grant, a former Arizona State standout, came into the final round with a two-stroke lead and birdied five of the first six holes at Halmstad Golf Club to begin her tear. She posted 26 birdies and an eagle in her 24-under performance in front of massive crowds. Her nine-stroke victory is the largest on the DP World Tour so far this season.

2022 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed
Linn Grant is presented with the trophy by tournament hosts Annika Sorenstam and Henrik Stenson after winnng the 2022 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed Hosted by Henrik & Annika at Halmstad Golf Club in Sweden. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Swedish co-host Henrik Stenson, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the 2016 British Open, finished second along with Scotland’s Marc Warren, who closed with a 65. Stenson shot 70 on Sunday.

The unique event, co-sanctioned by the LET and DP World Tour, features two different sets of tees for the men and women, who competed for the same $2 million purse. A total of 30 Swedes took part in the competition. Grant, who lives about an hour away from the course, embraced Swedish icon Annika Sorenstam after her extraordinary triumph.

Grant has now won three times in six starts this season, including her last event, The Mithra Belgian Ladies Open in late May. Grant won $30,000 for that victory in Belgium, and $319,717 dollars for the Scandinavian Mixed.

“I just hope that people recognize women’s golf, more sponsors go to LET than the men’s tour,” said Grant. “Hopefully this pumps up the women’s game a little bit more.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Jonathan Caldwell claims inaugural Scandinavian Mixed; Clemson’s Alice Hewson places third

“I think what they’ve done this week is fantastic. I hope we have more weeks like this,” said Caldwell.

Jonathan Caldwell hit the shot of his life out of the rough on the 72nd hole at the Scandinavian Mixed. The journeyman pro wasn’t sure where he stood on the board at the time, but his approach to two feet set up a closing birdie that clinched his first European Tour title. As he walked off the 18th green, tournament co-host Annika Sorenstam gave him a fist pump after carding a closing 64. He called the moment “incredible.”

It was like that all week at the Scandinavian Mixed, where elite male and female players from around the world played alongside each other and against each other – from different tees –  for one trophy and one purse. Swedish legends Sorenstam and Henrik Stenson both hosted and played in the tournament.

The historic event saw a woman, Christine Wolf, tied for the lead after the first round. Swedish pro Caroline Hedwall took the outright lead at the midway point, and two men and two women shared the lead heading into Sunday.

“I think what they’ve done this week is fantastic,” said Caldwell. “I hope we have more weeks like this.”

England’s Alice Hewson was behind Caldwell on the course and, along with Spain’s Adrian Otaegui, posed a considerable threat down the stretch. Hewson, a former Clemson standout, had birdied three of her last four holes when she came into the 17th two shots behind Caldwell. Her birdie putt on the penultimate hole seemed to touch every bit of the cup but amazingly didn’t drop.

Meanwhile Otaegui, up ahead, had a birdie putt to win the tournament on the 18th and instead wound up three-putting for bogey. When Hewson failed to hole out for eagle from the fairway on the final hole, Caldwell’s 17-under total could not be touched.

Caldwell first joined the European Tour in 2009 but lost his card and bounced around on mini-tours and the Challenge Tour while holding a second job in a pro shop.

“It’s been a long road,” said an emotional Caldwell, “but finally, I’m here.”

Hewson finished solo third at the Scandinavian Mixed and was the only player in the field to break 70 all four rounds. The 23-year-old began her career on the LET with a victory at the Investec South African Women’s Open in March of 2020 and then watched that momentum grind to a halt when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“This has been an exceptional opportunity for women’s golf as a whole,” said a smiling Hewson, “for us to be on this kind of stage and to prove to everyone kind of how good women’s golf actually is.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Ryder Cup stalwarts Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson giving it one more try at Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Ryder Cup stalwarts Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson are giving it one more try at the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson have a unique, shared history in golf.

The two go way back to their amateur days, but are most known for their dominant partnership in the Ryder Cup, where they boast an impressive 6-2 record. Rose won the gold medal in the 2016 Olympic Games, beating Stenson, the silver medalist. Both players have won 20-plus professional events worldwide and each has earned a FedEx Cup title, Stenson in 2013 and Rose in 2018.

But that shared history and past success has yet to make its way to TPC Louisiana and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In two previous appearances together, the pairing missed the cut in 2017 and finished T-19 in 2018, poor performances by their lofty standards.

“Teamed up the first two years and we didn’t have much success, so we obviously are hoping and looking to turn that around this time,” said Stenson in the team’s pre-tournament press conference. “It’s like a bit of a fresh air to see something slightly different compared to the regular 72-hole tournaments that we play most of the time. So really fun week and looking forward to teaming up with Justin and turning that fabulous record that we have here around this week.”

“I actually feel like there’s a lot of pressure on us because reading between the lines, Henrik phoned me up and said, ‘Hello, partner, should we give it one more try?’” joked Rose, a Zurich ambassador who won the event in 2015 before it became a team event in 2017.

[listicle id=778100371]

If anything, the two less-than-stellar performances at the Zurich are somewhat of a benefit for Rose and Stenson.

“I think that is always that temptation to say ‘sorry’ or that temptation to try to be too perfect or that temptation, yeah, it’s not wanting to let your partner down, but we have let each other down multiple times already, so I think we’re over that hurdle,” explained Rose.

“There’s certainly that element that you don’t want to let your partner down, but you do that by trying to do your best and trying to play as freely as you can,” added Stenson. “And, yeah, we are both going to miss and no one’s doing that intentionally, so it’s just to move on and get on with it, and I think a key part is that we know each other so well for many years, both playing together in the Ryder Cups but also playing amateur golf, and kind of, yeah, going way back, as they say.”

“So we know each other and trust each other and I think that’s been obviously key to our success as well in the Ryder Cups and having that comfort. And we also play a very similar game, I would say, when we play our finest and that makes it kind of easy out of a strategic and tactical standpoint as well.”

As Michelle Wie West launches her #HoodieforGolf initiative to grow the women’s game, it’s worth noting the work that both Rose and Stenson do to increase the opportunities for women to play the game.

Rose and his wife, Kate, founded the Rose Ladies Series in 2020 to provide playing opportunities while the Ladies European Tour was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Stenson and LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam will host the Scandinavian Mixed, a co-sanctioned event by the European Tour and Ladies European Tour, June 10-13 at Sweden’s Vallda Golf & Country Club. The tournament will feature 78 men and 78 women on the same course, competing for one prize fund and one trophy for the first time.

“It’s a unique one, the first of its kind having both men and women playing together in the same tournament for the same prize check,” Stenson said of the mixed event. “And it is going to be interesting to see, I’m sure we are going to have some little challenges getting the setup and getting all that to work out perfectly the first year, but it’s innovative and inclusive concept and it’s not just going to be a celebration of golf in Sweden on the men’s and women’s side, it’s, I think it’s going to be an event that’s going to be seen and heard around the world, really, and that’s really the part where you can get those benefits and really spread the word around.”

Rose said he doesn’t see an even pay structure happening in golf without the women’s game being highlighted to the point where fans at home have the chance to get to know the players as more than a name on a leaderboard.

“And obviously that’s sort of been what the Rose Ladies Series is all about, creating a platform for them to play through lockdown and also try to support times of the year where their schedule isn’t as strong,” said Rose. “So just giving – like as an athlete you got to keep your skill set sharp, so we’re trying to support the playing opportunities, but at the same time very cognizant of telling the stories and trying to create the upward profile so the journey towards a better pay equality is possible and that’s why (the Scandinavian Mixed) is amazing.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]