2024 DP World Tour/Ladies European Tour
Scandinavian mixed race
Championship course at Vasatorps Golfklubb
June 6-9, 2024
Laurie Canter took advantage of some loopholes last week and won his second DP World Tour Despite being ranked low on the LIV Tour, the win had a certain symbolism, foreshadowing a future where players might very naturally switch between all the major tours (I know, calling the LIV a major tour takes some getting used to).
The tour quickly turned to one of its newest, fancier inventions: the Scandinavian Mix Recently retired DP World Tour CEO Keith Pelley really left no stone unturned when trying to revive the stagnant DP World Tour schedule.
The event, which replaced the old Scandinavian Masters, is designed to bridge the huge gender gap in the sport. Men and women will play the same 72 holes in a classic stroke-play format (men play from men's tees, women from women's tees). The problem is that, with the exception of Lynn Grant's surprising nine-stroke win two years ago, men have dominated the event since its inception (this is only the fourth edition of this experimental event).
Scandinavian mixed race
This will be the fourth of four editions of the tournament, which has been held sporadically since its inception. Jonathan Caldwell won the inaugural event in Varda, finishing in the top 20 for the first time that season (he has not finished in the top 20 since).
Grant obviously won it handily two years ago, while Dale Whitnell was a surprise winner in last year's event. Long story short: You don't have to be the favorite to play in this tournament.
Championship course at Vasatorps Golfklubb
This week's tournament will be played on the Vasatorps Golfklubb's championship course, designed by Arthur Hills and Steve Forrest and completed in 2008, which blends traditional parkland holes with pseudo-links holes (the tournament is held six kilometres inland).
That being said, it does lean more towards the links style overall. The course looks a bit longer than some of the more recently renovated courses (the men's course is nearly 7,300 yards long). This may be an effort to create more equality in the so-called “battle of the sexes.”
I know we don't have much to go on, but I foresee low scores. Look for players who can make a lot of birdies and maybe those who have some golf course knowledge.
competitor
Rasmus Hogaard had a bad first round last week, scoring only 80 and failing to qualify, but he fought back with a score of 5 under par on Friday. He has been in a very bad state recently and seems to have not fully recovered from the failure of missing the PGA Tour.
I really don't understand why Hoggard is ranked ahead of Sebastian Soderberg. The Swede has been doing really well lately and this is just a classic example of fame trumping common sense.
Elsewhere, the likes of Yannick Paul and Alex Fitzpatrick remain long-term threats in these pretty scary fields. One good news this week: It's nice to see Jordan Smith isn't leading the market (he didn't make a move this week). Linn Grant, at 28/1 trade odds, may still be the woman most likely to crash this party.
Previous winners
2023: Dale Whitnell
2022: Line Grant
2021: Jonathan Caldwell
Direct win:
Rasmus Hoggard 14/1 | Sebastian Soderberg 18/1 | Jesper Svensson 22/1 | Alexander Björk 22/1 | Yannick Paul 25/1
Value betting
Conner Syme – 30/1 to win | 13/2 to place
I hope Connor Simm can learn from Laurie Kanter's performance last week and use it as a springboard to his first DP World Tour title. He has won the title multiple times since winning the Turkish Airlines Open on the Challenge Tour in 2019. The Scot entered Sunday with ten top-three finishes in the DP World Tour leaderboard. It has already happened twice this season, with Simm third at the Kenya Open and tied for the lead at the SDC Championship after 54 holes. I hope he can benefit from MacIntyre's big win in Canada and maybe take advantage of some of the more linking holes. He was 22nd in Germany last week and third in the SG: Hole in the Hole.
Calum Hill – 40/1 to win | 17/2 to place
I also hope that Callum Hill can take some confidence from Robert McIntyre’s fantastic performance last week. In fact, the two of them once shared a coach and are of similar age. Hill’s only previous win came on London GC, a race that seemed as big and exposed as Vasatorps. He’s had two consecutive top 20s and his attacking skills are starting to show real signs of improvement.
Hardest Man to Beat – Sebastian Soderberg – Win 18/1 | Place 39/10
Swede Sebastian Soderberg is not only the local favorite, but also the most in-form player in the field by far. He has five top-10s this season (including three top-3s in his last four starts). He made the cut at Valhalla and had a strong showing at another Hills-Forrest joint design: Hills Golf Club in Mölndal, where he tied for fifth in 2019 (when the event was still known as the Scandinavian Masters).