Madelene Sagström was fifth and was the best of the Swedish players before the final round at Ullna. She was eight strokes behind leader Whitnell, so it took something extra to get involved in the fight for the win.
But Sagström did not have a particularly successful Sunday out on the golf course.
Immediately after sinking a short birdie putt on the first, the 30-year-old stepped onto the second tee and dunked the putt into the pond. It was a double bogey and after that Sagström never really found the flow.
Third best lady
After another double bogey on another short hole (16th), the Swede managed to finish in the best way, with a low birdie putt in front of the large home crowd around the green on the 18th. Sagström finished the round on even par and finished a total of -11 and a shared twelfth place.
She was third out of all the ladies in the starting field and enjoyed playing at home in Sweden for the first time since 2015.
— You don’t feel forgotten in the US, but you don’t feel the support in the same way. Now it was fun to really show off. I am very happy with my decision to come home. “I expected it to be good, but it’s been even better,” said the Orlando resident.
The best of all Swedes was instead Alexander Björk, tied for ninth at -13. Blue and yellow amateur Hugo Townsend (eleven) and returning PGA tour star Alex Norén (shared twelve) also climbed during the final round.
— I had fun out there and it’s been a long time since I played this well. It was fun playing golf again. I found a little back to what works, says Norén after his 67 round.
Grant was tired
Last year’s winner Linn Grant said on Saturday that she went on a course of penicillin due to problems with her tonsils. The 23-year-old also had to fight during the final round, which she went on par to finish tied for 41st.
— I’m not disappointed, I won’t say that. Above all, I’m tired and it’s clear that you always want more. But I still feel that I have the game with me for the coming weeks and that is probably the most important thing, says Grant, who has enjoyed being able to play at home again.
— It gives so much that it is people who are out and have a look and create a good atmosphere.
The spectators at sun-drenched Ullna also got to see some drama in the fight for victory. Whitnell’s four-stroke lead before the final lap shrunk for a while to two.
In the end Whitnell won quite comfortably after all at -21, three strokes ahead of the American Sean Crocker. The victory was Dale Whitnell’s first on the European Tour and brought a prize check of $340,000 (almost SEK 3.7 million).
He laid the foundation for victory when he went Friday’s round in a phenomenal 61 strokes.
“It was the best round of golf of my life and it gave me a nice buffer for the weekend,” says the 34-year-old after the triumph.