<
>

Dale Whitnell closes out Scandinavian Mixed victory

STOCKHOLM -- Dale Whitnell held his nerve to win the Scandinavian Mixed event Sunday for his first career victory on the European tour.

The 34-year-old English player, whose sole appearance at a major was 11 years ago, shot a 2-under 70 in the final round to finish at 21-under 267 overall -- 3 shots clear of American Sean Crocker in second place.

Whitnell set the tone for the men's and women's tournament at Ullna Golf with a closing 96-yard hole-out eagle in the opening round and maintained that momentum with a second-round 61 for a 6-shot lead at the halfway stage.

Crocker finished with a 7-under 65 to cut that lead to 2 with two to play, but Whitnell birdied the 17th to ease the pressure and see out the win.

Yannik Paul of Germany and Anne Van Dam of the Netherlands -- widely considered one of the biggest hitters on the Ladies European Tour -- tied for third at 15 under, followed by Richie Ramsay, Gabriella Cowley, Paul Waring and Søren Kjeldsen at 14 under.

The co-sanctioned event on the men's European tour and the Ladies European Tour featured a field of 78 men and 78 women. Swedish player Linn Grant produced one of the big stories of 2022 by winning the tournament by 9 strokes to become the first female winner of a European tour event. Grant finished at 5 under overall and was tied for 41st this year.