Last year’s Scandinavian Mixed took place at Vallda Golf and Country Club in June and it was Northern Ireland’s Jonathan Caldwell, who claimed his maiden DP World Tour title.
Swedish golfing royalty Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam hosted the tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour (LET) and DP World Tour and saw 78 males and 78 females compete for the same prize fund and one trophy.
After a final round of 64, the Northern Irishman set the clubhouse target of 17-under-par and Spain’s Adrian Otaegui had a putt to win on the last but ended up three-putting as Caldwell won by one shot.
England’s Alice Hewson finished in third, as the best-placed female, and the then 23-year-old was the only player in the entire field to shoot four rounds in the 60s.
The 2020 Investec SA Women’s Open champion carded 68-67-69-69 to finish on 15-under-par, just two shots behind winner Caldwell.
Heading into the final day, Hewson was one of four players who shared the lead and afterwards she admitted how nervous she was.
She said: “It was really exciting. I got off to a bit of a shaky start and was definitely nervous on those first few holes, but I managed to get some momentum on the back nine. It was great fun; it was nice to see my name working this way up the leaderboard.
“It would have been nice to have holed that putt at 17 and given myself a chance on 18 but it is what it is. I’m just really excited with my performance this week especially after a tough start to the season.”
After securing his maiden win on the DP World Tour, Caldwell was emotional about entering the winner’s circle for the first time.
“It’s been a dream of mine for an awful long time,” he said. “A lot of hard work goes into it. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but hopefully more to come.
“In 2009 I played my first year, lost my card, played mini tours and Challenge Tour over the years, worked as well in a local golf store. It’s been a long road but finally I’m here.
“The golf club at home will probably be going bonkers so just put a tab on and crack on boys and enjoy! My parents have been with me the whole way, so I look forward to talking to them tonight.”
