Annika Sorenstam and Henrik Stenson - © LET

The Vallda Golf and Country Club hosts the tournament which will see the first two mixed rounds comprising either two men and one woman, or two women and one man starts. 8 French entered including 5 players present with: Celine Herbin, Camille Chevalier, Astrid Vayson De Pradenne, Agathe Sauzon, Anne-Lise Caudal, at men's : Benjamin Hebert, Robin Roussel et Robin Sciot-Siegrist.

Sorenstam, who won 17 titles on the LET, enjoyed talking to players around the course and can't wait for the tournament to begin.

“I'm super excited to be here. It's fantastic, coming back to Sweden, and especially playing, it's been 13 years since I hit a shot in competition in my home country, so I can't wait to have a fun week ”, declared the ten-time winner of Majors.

“It is an honor to organize this event with Henrik, to come back to Sweden and to host this unique and historic event in our country. It's a beautiful place and it's fun to see and talk with some of the players. Many of them are impatient. It's fun to walk around the course and see the mix of players and the interaction is really fun. I am delighted to be here and look forward to having a wonderful week. "

Stenson, who won the 2016 Open Championship at the Royal Troon, hopes the format will allow golf to be seen by a new generation of players.

"We have the opportunity to inspire the next generation of golfers in our country, which is something that both Annika and I are passionate about through our foundations and other initiatives," said the five-time Ryder Cup participant.

“It's a whole new concept to play together with girls, and doing it in our country, which is a leader in equality and has done a lot of good things in this area. It's an exciting week and I think it's great to be a part of this new format in Sweden. Being able to do it with Annika is really something special. "

The three things to watch out for at Scandinavian Mixed

The LET season continues with its third consecutive week of tournaments and the next one is the Scandinavian Mixed which takes place at Vallda Golf and Country Club. Here are three things to watch out for in Sweden ...

Top hosts

Henrik Stenson and Annika Sorenstam host this week's tournament in Sweden, with the two legendary Swedes also competing. Stenson was the first male Swedish and first Nordic male major champion after winning the 2016 Open Championship at the Royal Troon. He has also represented Europe five times in the Ryder Cup, which he has won three times.

Expression "The greatest of all time" is used in sports and Sorenstam fits that description perfectly with 72 LPGA wins, including 10 majors, and 17 LET wins, no one can doubt that she dominated during her time on the tour. The 1995 LET Order of Merit winner also competed in eight Solheim Cups, which she won twice. She was captain in 2017 and is the captain of the European PING Junior Solheim Cup team this year.

An innovative format

As part of an exciting week on the circuit, the Scandinavian Mixed sees players from the European Tour and LET play on the same course and compete for a prize and a trophy. The field consists of 156 players and is evenly split between 78 men and 78 women.

During the first two rounds, the groups will be mixed: two men and a woman or two women and a man will play together. After the second round, the 65 best players and the ties will participate in the weekend, regardless of gender. The groups of the third and fourth rounds will always be mixed and the course will remain the same for all participants.

Race to Costa del Sol champion starts her LET season

2020 Race to Costa de Sol champion Emily Pedersen kicks off her LET season this week at Scandinavian Mixed. After a solid start to the season, the Danish star enjoyed phenomenal success in the final months of 2020 when she won the Tipsport Czech Ladies Open to clinch her first LET title since 2015.

Pedersen then found his cruising speed and quickly followed a series of victories at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International Presented by Public Investment Fund and the Saudi Ladies Team International (individual and team). To cap off his year, Pedersen won his fourth trophy and third individual title in three weeks with a victory at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España. The Dane finished T23 at the US Women's Open last week and hopes to start her LET season on a high note.

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To read our last article on the same subject :

Scandinavian Mixed: Annika is back