Five Things to Know - Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed Presented by OCEANTEE

Innovation and gender equality at the forefront again

For the third year running, DP World Tour members and leading players on the Ladies European Tour will come together in Sweden.

The co-sanctioned event will feature a field of 78 men and 78 women playing in the same groups for one prize fund and one trophy, the only tournament of its kind on both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR.

This year's tournament also runs alongside the first G4D event of its kind, where equal numbers of men and women compete on Monday and Tuesday for their own title. The tournament is the first equal split of five male players and five female players competing for the same trophy on the same golf course from June 5-6.

Grant defends

Linn Grant made history in emphatic fashion in front of her home fans last year, storming to a dominant nine-shot victory at the 2022 Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed to become the first female winner of a DP World Tour event.

Then 22, the Swede produced a nerveless display of frontrunning on Sunday to keep a host of DP World Tour stars at bay, near immediately stretching her overnight lead from two shots to seven with five birdies in her first six holes.

She would go on to add more birdies at ten, 11 and 14, before parring her way in for a flawless 64 to get to 24 under par and claim the biggest winning margin on the DP World Tour last season.

She returns to defend this season

New venue

The Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed makes its way to the Swedish Capital this week and Ullna Golf & Country Club for the first time.

Designed by Swedish sports hero Sven Tumba in 1981, Ullna is situated on the banks of Lake Ullna. It is located 20 minutes north of Stockholm and offers the perfect balance among soft shaped hills and ever-present streams – a mix of Tumba’s original design and the renovation overseen by Jack Nicklaus in June 2013.

Ullna previously hosted the Scandinavian Enterprise Open from 1983–1987, featuring many of the biggest stars from the European Tour (now DP World Tour), including past champions Sam Torrance (1983) and Ian Woosnam (1984).

The stunning venue is no stranger to some of the biggest names in the world of golf walking its fairways, with Annika Sörenstam winning the HP Open on the Ladies European Tour 2004 and Tiger Woods playing as part of the SAS Invitational team competition between 1998-2001. It also hosted the 1988 Eisenhower Trophy.

Sustainability initiatives

The Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed is an innovator in sustainability, with several initiatives in place this week that are both environment friendly and promote and support various social aspects too.

A rare feat for an event of this size, the tournament is powered entirely from grid electricity with no generators. It also boasts an all electric buggy fleet, while a remote TV production from ETP for the third time this year takes 30 people off the road.

Furthermore, there is a heavy emphasis on zero waste to landfill. No potable water is needed for the event, and around the tournament there will be a big focus on local produce and suppliers - 40% of which is vegan food - with all food waste going to local charities. All tickets are also electronic, while any accreditation will be recyclable.

In the spirit of charity, there are two further big activations. This year, there will be the removal of all but one grandstand, which will be replaced with chairs and bean bags that fans can purchase to take home, with proceeds going to charity. All youth ticket sales revenue will also go to local charities.

Swedish stars targeting success

Tournament host Annika Sörenstam is joined by a number of home favourites in the field this week that are hoping to build on Grant's history-making triumph last season.

While last year it was all about Grant, during the first edition Caroline Hedwall was the one making history as she became the first female player to lead after any round on the DP World Tour. She ended up in a tie for 18th, which she followed last year with a finish inside the top 30. This week, she comes to Ullna fresh off a top five in the Helsingborg Open, which was won by Sweden's Lisa Petterson, who is also in the field this week for a second time.

Meanwhile, Simon Forsstrom will hope to build on his fairy tale 12 months which has already included victory at both DP World Tour Qualifying School and the Soudal Open. Last week he consolidated his position in the DP World Tour U.S. Open Qualification series to earn his place in his first Major championship this month, and this week makes his debut in a mixed event on Tour.

Marcus Kinhult,also tees up this week hoping to build on a string of consistent results that include a tie for 21st in Korea, a tie for 22nd in Belgium and a tie for 29th at the KLM Open.

They are joined by several other Swedes including in Ryder Cup star and ten-time DP World Tour winner Alex Noren, who returns to Sweden after his tie for 15th last year bidding for a third career victory on home soil after doing so in 2011 and 2015.