There’s been history made in this sport of ours in the last week and I’m not sure things will ever be the same again.
No, I’m not talking about the LIV Golf Invitational that occurred just outside London last week. I’m talking about welcoming the first ever female winner on the DP World (formerly the European) Tour. I’m talking about real golf – proper golf, proper sport. To be really meaningful to the participants and the fans, sport has to be competitive.
Thankfully, over this never-to-be-forgotten weekend there was an abundance of proper stuff to watch. We only had to swivel our gaze towards Halmstad Golf Club in Sweden where 78 DP World Tour members and 78 Ladies’ European Tour (LET) members were competing in the co-sanctioned Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed hosted by Annika Sorenstam and Henrik Stenson. This is the second iteration of this event – Ireland’s Jonathan Caldwell was crowned the inaugural champion last year.
This time it was the turn of the women to triumph. A mesmerising display of power and precision from Linn Grant, a pro for a mere 10 months, left such stalwarts as Stenson and Marc Warren floundering nine shots adrift. It was a dominating performance from beginning to end as she cruised round in a best of the day 64 to finish on 24 under par.

Linn Grant – power, poise and ruthless efficiency all added up to a nine-shot victory. [Photo – DP World Tour]
When John’s daughter, Linn, was born in 1999 she soon developed the family love for the sport and in 2017 won the British Women’s Amateur Strokeplay Championship at, believe it or not, North Berwick, the very scene of her own granddad’s championship win.
At this stage I have a rather bizarre fact to share. The Inverness home that Jimmy grew up in, and emigrated from, was next (and still is) occupied by another pedigree golfing family, namely the Stewarts. Gillian, one of my oldest friends, grew up in the self-same house and went on to become one of Scotland’s finest professionals, winning four LET events including the European Open as an amateur. Brother Mike is also a very useful player and has carved a career in the game having spent most of his working life with the DP World Tour.
Strange but true. They often say there must be something in the water – in this case I think it’s more a case of there being something in the bricks and mortar.
Make no mistake, as far as Linn is concerned this will be no flash in the pan. She has a pedigree amateur record, which includes numerous European titles as well as four wins when playing for Arizona State University. She also rose to the No 2 spot in the women’s amateur world rankings.And now she has notched her sixth and most significant win since joining the paid ranks. Under her belt are three minor tour victories, two LET wins and this co-sanctioned triumph which, incidentally, comes with a two-year exemption on the DP World Tour.
Ryder Cup captain and tournament host Stenson was playing in the group ahead of Grant on the final day and commented, “Every time I looked back she was in prime position and just gave herself birdie chance one after another, I would imagine. So, there wasn’t much I could do against a player like that.”

This final hole birdie enabled tournament host Henrik to finish joint second with Marc Warren. [DP World Tour]
Since the Swedes began taking their golf seriously back in the 1980s their approach has always been innovative, inclusive and non-limiting. They have been leaders in so many different ways and are undoubtedly improving the sport on multiple fronts.
Pity that isn’t the goal of everyone in positions of influence.
Excellent article – except to point out that ‘the Swedes began taking their golf seriously’ in the mid-1960s.
Hi Maureen, hope your feeling better these days, and getting back on the fairway. I have been a fan of Linn Grant’s since her days at Arizona State a ( sun devil) . Olivia Mehaffey, also a “sun devil” informed me Linn is the next super star of the game, to come from Sweden.
To hear she has strong connections with Scotland only makes me a bigger supporter.
Best wishes from
Enniskillen.
Amazing connections with Scotland, Gordon. Looking forward to her teeing it up for us in the Solheim one day soon.
Oops! Apologies Ivan….and Sweden!