The first-of-its-kind Scandinavian Mixed will be remembered for two things: first, Jonathan Caldwell from Northern Ireland grabbed his first European Tour win with a fantastic approach to the 72nd hole; second, Alice Hewson was the only woman who stepped up down the stretch and her bold play over the final nine holes earned her a solo third place finish.
This one looked like a men-only contest going into the final nine until Hewson, the 23-year-old former Clemson golfer from the U.K., made an aggressive run with four back-nine birdies at the Vallda Golf Club for a closing 69 that got her to 15-under par, just two shots shy of Caldwell’s winning 17-under total.
Caldwell came to the last hole and put his drive in the rough. From there, he hit the perfect approach that hit the front of the green, bounced forward and pulled up just two-feet from the hole. He tapped in for an final round 64. He then had to wait for Spain’s Adrian Otaegui, who was 17-under when he hit his approach to the 18th to about 18 feet. Otaegui had a good look at birdie to win, a seemingly easy two-putt to force a playoff with Caldwell.
Otaegui then did the unthinkable. He ran his birdie putt four feet past the hole then missed coming back, handing Caldwell his first victory.
The road to victory was a long one for Caldwell. He came through the European Tour’s Q-School in 2008 and has played in just 47 events before this.
He lost his card then regained it again in 2019 after nearly 10 years away from the Tour. He worked in a golf shop and played in some mini-tour events.
“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.”
As for Hewson, her finish earned her 55,000 Euros, money she needed to keep her career going.
“Just really excited with my performance this week especially after a very tough start to the season,” she said. “It was great fun, it was nice to see my name, work my way up the leaderboard for sure. It would have been nice to put that putt in on 17 and give myself a good chance on 18 but it is what it is and I still had really good fun. This has been an exceptional opportunity for women’s golf as a whole. For us to be on this kind of stage and to prove to everyone how good women’s golf actually is has been such a great opportunity. I’ve been so happy to be a part of it.”
Germany’s Olivia Cowan was the only other female player to finish double-digits under par. She closed with a 70 and that earned her a tie for 10th at 10-under par.
Scandinavian Mixed Scoreboard:
Matilda Waltzes, Becomes First LPGA Winner From Finland:
LPGA Tour rookie Matilda Castren put together an incredible first nine holes Sunday at foggy Lake Merced Golf Club and went on to win the Mediheal and became the first player from Finland to capture an LPGA Tour event.
Castren, a former FSU golfer, was two shots behind Min Lee at the start of the final 18 on Sunday. Both had played in two Symetra Tour events prior. Castren vaulted into the lead with three straight birdies to start her run. At the par five fifth, she hit her second inside six feet and made eagle then scored another birdie at the par three ninth for an incredible 30 going out.
She made eight straight pars coming home then birdied the par five ninth for a seven-under par 65 and finished 14-under, two clear of Lee.
Lee was trying to become the first player to win a Symetra Tour event then an LPGA Tour event back-to-back.
Danielle Kang finished at seven-under and tied for fifth while Lydia Ko was a shot back and tied for ninth. Lexi Thompson finished at one-under, tied for 34th.
