It is time for the third renewal of the Scandinavian Mixed. This event, which took over from the existing Scandinavian Invitational on the DP World Tour, is one of the most exciting tournaments of the season.
This is because as part of a brilliant initiative from the two European-based tours, the DP World Tour and Ladies European Tour puts 78 players from each tour in the same field as they compete against one another in the same event.
Jonathan Caldwell won the 2021 renewal and last year, Linn Grant was the runaway winner, meaning a win each for the men and ladies. Now it is time to see what the 2023 renewal will bring.
There will be a different venue this year once again, with Ullna Golf and Country Club playing host this time around.
Let's look into the field and the course, to see what it takes to win here, and whether the winner might come from the men's or ladies' tour this time around.
Before we get into our picks for the 2023 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed, we have teamed up with OddsChecker to bring you the very best in terms of sports betting promotions this week. Take a moment to claim $400 worth of guaranteed bonuses, and $1000s in first bet cover with the offers below!
2023 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed: Course Preview
- Par 72
- Men's Yardage: 6,819
- Ladies' Yardage: 6,067
Ullna Golf and Country Club is based in Stockholm and was originally designed by Sven Tumba, before Jack Nicklaus and his course design team came in, in 2010.
Nicklaus did not want to touch the line of the course and instead wanted to focus on modernizing it without losing much of its natural routing.
This course was then opened again in 2013, and whilst this will be the first time we see how it stands up to the modern game, we are sure it will make for an interesting test.
Lake Ullna will likely come into play on all holes and other than that, the bunkers will provide the biggest challenge for each golfer this week. We expect this to be a fairly simple test, and the winning score will likely eclipse the -20 mark once again this year.
Look for those that are brilliant with a wedge in their hand and those that can get streaky enough with the putter, to make birdies in bunches.
Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed: Key Stats
- SG Approach - You won't be able to win here without consistently knocking your short irons and wedges closes, so those that are hitting their approaches the best this week, will prosper.
- SG Putting - With that said, there is very little point in regularly threatening the hole if you cannot make your fair share of putts, so look for those that can make plenty of putts during a round, to keep their scores going.
Leading Ladies Contenders at the Volvo Scandinavian Mixed
- Linn Grant +1600 - Last year's winner returns to this event as the most lkely winner again. Grant has already won again on the LET this season, and will like her chances of going well in this renewal. At +1600, she is the outright favorite, including the Men's field.
- Madelene Sagstrom +3300 - Madelene Sagstrom has not yet played in this event, but she has finished 17th, 10th and 13th in her last three starts on the LPGA Tour, and that form should crossover.
- Klara Spilkova +5000 - Klara Spilkova has finished 17th, 2nd and 4th in her past three starts on the LET, and like Sagstrom, is making her debut start in this event. With three top 4 finishes this season and a win in the Irish Open last year, Spilkova will look to make an impact this week.
Volvo Scandinavian Mixed Picks and Predictions: Outright Winner
Joost Luiten +3500 (Bet $100, to collect $3600) The best odds for this Joost Luiten pick are at DraftKings Sportsbook
Joost Luiten is historically one of the most successful players in this field, with six DP World Tour titles to his name. He might not have won since 2018, but his current form and the length of this course suggest a seventh title might be on the horizon.
We have already seen Marcel Siem and Pablo Larrazabal win three events between them this season, and Joost Luiten is firmly in that mix of senior DP World Tour players, who are finding form this season. Luiten is slightly younger than both players and whilst he did spend some time in the doldrums due to injury, Luiten is back playing strong golf again.
Luiten has already posted three 3rd place finishes this season, and after posting back-to-back top-22 finishes at the KLM Open and Porsche European Open this past fortnight, he can finally break through with another win in Sweden.
The Dutchman was 2nd in this event going into the weekend back in 2021, and despite not being able to hold on for the final two rounds, that is at least a good sign that the sort of courses they play for this event should suit. The shorter the course the better for Luiten, and this is the shortest course they have played yet, for this event.
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Santiago Tarrio +13000 (Bet $100, to collect $10,400) Get the best odds for this Santiago Tarrio pick at DraftKings Sportsbook
Santiago Tarrio is the type of player, like Joost Luiten that will relish a shorter test and if he can keep up his strong iron play and wedge play and find a big week with the putter, this could be the site of his first DP World Tour win.
Tarrio finished 4th in this event last year, and when looking at his 20th-place finish last week, there is plenty of reason for optimism.
Green Eagle was not the ideal course for Tarrio last week, yet he was 5th at the halfway stage and still stuck around inside the top 20, which was a positive performance. This feels akin to when Si Woo Kim was T29 at Colonial two weeks ago, which is a course he didn't really like, then he went on to contend at Memorial.
Tarrio has made 3 of his last five cuts, with a 16th place finish at the Italian Open giving him two top 20s in that span, and I think that bodes well coming into this week, as the field strength weakens.
At a huge price, I will give Tarrio a chance to contend here.
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