Grant makes final day surge to win Scandinavian Mixed

Linn Grant came from 11 shots back at the start of the day to become the first woman to win two DP World Tour titles, as runaway 54-hole leader Sebastian Soderberg saw the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed title slip through his fingers.

Swede Soderberg took an eight-shot lead into the final round but a front-nine wobble saw his advantage cut to four strokes at the turn.

And with 2022 champion Grant piling on the pressure with a flawless final-round 65, Soderberg made yet more mistakes on the back nine, with bogeys on the 13th and 15th reducing his cushion to one shot with one hole remaining.

Things then went from bad to worse for the overnight leader as he three-putted from 25 feet on the 18th green to not only scupper his chances of winning outright but also miss out on a play-off.

FINAL LEADERBOARD

Home-town hero Grant, who had been preparing for the possibility of extra holes, suddenly found herself in the winner’s circle, with her 17-under-par total proving good enough to earn a second win in this event, which saw 78 men and 78 women compete for one prize fund and one trophy.

Soderberg’s closing 77 meant he finished in a share of second place alongside Scotland’s Calum Hill on 16 under, with Swedish Ladies European Tour star Johanna Gustavsson three shots further back in a tie for fourth with Englishmen Alex Fitzpatrick and Andy Sullivan.

Lauren Walsh was the only Irish player at the event with the Kildare woman finishing in a tie for 65th on level par after a final-round 71.

Grant flew out of the blocks on day four, making four birdies in five holes from the second to close the gap.

The 24-year-old took dead aim at the ninth to set up a six-foot birdie before holing from 15 feet on the 10th for back-to-back birdies.

She gave herself further chances down the stretch but could not add to her birdie count until the 18th, where she chipped in from the bank around the green to finish with a hole-out gain.

Grant said: “I’m so surprised.

“Standing here, now as a winner again in my home town. Amazing.

“Honestly I just tried to go out today and give myself an opportunity. I didn’t even think that I had the chance of winning – 11 shots is a huge gap.

“So I just wanted to go out, have fun and make as many birdies as possible.

“And enjoy it with my brother on the bag and being at home.

“It turned out to be an incredible day.”