Sebastian Söderberg started his home tournament in fine fashion as he carded an opening round nine under par 63 to take a two-stroke lead at the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed.
Related: Laurie ‘Canters’ to maiden DP World title
Currently sitting in fifth place on the Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex, Söderberg brought his red-hot form to Helsingborg, having recorded two runner ups and a third-place finish in his last four starts.
View this post on Instagram
The Swede opened his round at Vasatorps Golfklubb with consecutive birdies on the first and second holes, and made two more gains as he reached the turn four under par. A fifth birdie of the day on the tenth was quickly followed by an eagle on the par five 12th and he carded two further birdies to sign for a flawless 63.
The 33-year-old is two strokes ahead of South Africa’s Dylan Frittelli, who won his third DP World Tour title earlier this season at the Bahrain Championship presented by Bapco Energies, and Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick. The pair also went bogey-free as they signed for seven under par rounds of 65.
View this post on Instagram
One stroke further back is Malaysia’s Gavin Green on six under par, while the closest female challengers are past champion and home favourite Linn Grant and Ireland’s Lauren Walsh, who share fifth place with South Africa’s Louis de Jager and the Scottish pair of Scott Jamieson and David Law on five under.
The innovative Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and Ladies European Tour, with 78 men and 78 women competing on the same course for one prize fund and one trophy.
Player Quotes
Sebastian Söderberg: “I felt like I hit my driver a little longer than I usually do and that gave me a few shorter clubs in. Every miss was in the right spot and I gave myself a lot of good chances. The putter was quite hot.
View this post on Instagram
“(The greens) I felt like I struggled a little bit earlier in the week, just seeing the lines and the colour of the grass. But today was a little easier. I hit some good putts on the lines I chose and made a few good ones.
“There’s a lot of family and friends here. It’s easy to put extra pressure on yourself wanting to play good in front of them. I did feel a little extra adrenaline on the first tee, which doesn’t happen that often on a Thursday. I got off to a good start and it was nice to have everyone out there the whole day.”
Dylan Frittelli: “It was awesome. It was a bit chilly this morning, I wasn’t sure what the target should be, we knew there was weather coming in around midday as well. Made a few birdies and thought if I’m making some I could keep making them.
“17 was a long one up the hill, I was just trying to two putt it to be honest. The DJ booth ended up spraying some white foam, I got such a fright, I didn’t know what was happening. 18 was a good one to get it into the hole there, I made a nice long putt.”
Alex Fitzpatrick: “Not disappointed at all. I felt like I played some really nice golf. Hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens, which is always key around any golf course. I actually missed a couple of putts to start the round, but then I holed a couple more coming in. Managed to get two on the front nine, which was nice to end. Then the eagle on three really pushed me on. Really happy with the round and I can’t complain.”
Linn Grant: “A bit up and down, really. But a good back nine; I had a double bogey at the beginning which set me back a bit. But every hole out here feels like a birdie opportunity, which helped. So I’ll stick to that tomorrow.
“It was amazing. I love crowds. It’s always so nice to have. It’s nice to have a group that follows you that really cheers for you. They were cheering for all of us, but it was just that extra support.”
Lauren Walsh: “I felt like the conditions were nice this morning. I got off to a good start, three under through six. Then the wind picked up, so I was hanging on for a while. I hit it nicely, so it was stress-free. If I did miss a green it was on the fringe, and I was putting. The one green I did miss long in the rough, I chipped to a foot. It was very stress-free, which is nice in golf. They don’t come around too often. The wind picked up, but it was nice to pick up two birdies at the end as well.”
