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1-3; +0.75pts Matthew Jordan Top-20 finish - 2.5 points @ 17/10 (Bet365) 12th Matthew Jordan - 1 points each-way @ 33/1 (1/5 5 places BetVictor) 12th Garrick Porteous - 0.25 points each-way @ 150/1 (1/5 10 places Bet365) mc Gabriella Cowley - Women's only - 0.50 points each-way @ 33/1 (1/5 5 places Skybet) 12th
Whilst there have been some ropey innovations on tour - the Belgian Knock-out being the most difficult to grasp - the success of the Scandinavian Mixed comes as no surprise. This year 78 members of each sex battle it out around the same course at the same time, providing a fascinating duel often discussed heavily on social media.
It took just a year to catch the attention of many but after Adrian Otaegui had let in Jonathan Caldwell for his only win at the top level, Linn Grant levelled it up for the ladies with a stunning nine-shot triumph at Halmstad, taking the lead and going further away with every stride.
Last time out, again at a new venue, Dale Whitnell was another to break his DPWT maiden, beating Sean Crocker by a comfortable three shots and, like Cauldwell, overcoming a rotten run of recent form. That factor makes the men's section difficult enough this week without being hosted by the fourth new club, this time Vasatorps Golf Club, near the tips of Southern Sweden.
I'm not sure that the three runnings of the LET Helsingborg Open (2013-2015) are of much use to us now and maybe travelling golfers give the best insight.
"You find some parkland holes where trees may catch your ball, some farmland holes, some links-feeling ones (and the rough and hillocks to go with the style). Risky spots are generated by several water hazards (coming into play on 6 holes), a few waste areas (affecting 8 holes), clusters of sand traps here and there, and you encounter a number of big, low, dry stone walls around, or across the fairways," mentions one on-line review and we may as well row along with that.
Set up as something of an exhibition, the difference in length is adjusted so that both sexes get a fair shot with their approach shots, something that both male winners exploited when winning in their respective years.
Whilst we don't have the figures for Grant's demolition, anyone watching wouldn't be at all surprised if she hadn't at least matched Caldwell's ranking of 4th for approach, more likely bettering Whitnell's second place in the field.
Points to note
Don't rule anyone out!
Cauldwell was outside of the world's top 450 when he won here in 2021, whilst his fellow Englishman also left behind a series of poor results when defying his world ranking of 308.
Grant, of course, had established herself as one of the best LET players, coming off a tremendous start to 2022 and subsequently winning on the LPGA and proving a pivotal part of the victorious Solheim Cup side.
Grant and compatriot Madelene Sagstrom were both fancied to go well a year ago. However, the former, a joint 14/1 favourite, disappointed fans, whilst her Solheim teammate couldn't finish off a promising Sunday position, ending up just outside the top-10.
The women's side remained well represented, as they have been in all years, with Anne Van Dam and Gabriella Cowley finishing T-3 and T-5, respectively, the latter following her win in the 'without Grant' market 12 months earlier when tying for 15th place.
Go back three years and (another Solheim winner) Caroline Hedwall led the field into payday at Vallda, succumbing badly on the final day and allowing Alice Hewson (3rd) and Olivia Cowan (T10) to grab places on the front page.
Iron play
This is certainly not the trial that the old Scandinavian/Nordea Masters used to be. With victories in 17, 24 and 21 shots under the card, this is very much about pin-seeking and finishing it all off.
To give that thought more of a boost, whilst both English winners have been out of form, Whitnell's longer history sees some of his best approach and tee-to-green figures at Galgorm, Joburg and linksy St Francis Bay whilst Caldwell sees some good work at The Belfry and, like the defending champion, at Leopard Creek. If course reviews are correct, these courses are bang-on correlations.
It's doubtful you can get too hung up of comparisons this week, but both players finished top-10 behind Renato Paratore in the 2020 British Masters at Close House, the Italian's only other victory at this level being the 2017 Nordea Masters, beating links specialist Chris Wood and wind/tree-lined lover Matt Fitzpatrick, with a host of similar types in behind.
Selections
Whilst the event itself is a great advert for golf, punters might be in for a tough time grabbing any real value here. 156 players set off around a new course which looks likely to be affected by some rain this week and therefore may just side with the longer hitters.
For once, many of the top lot look strong although it takes a bit of faith to side with the pairing of Rasmus Hojgaard (totally out of form) and Seb Soderberg (very hard to win with) at a coupled price of around 5/1.
At last week's European Open, eventual champion Laurie Canter became the fourth Englishman to win in seven outings at the track, and the third to break his European Tour duck.
If that, admittedly, simplistic formula was to continue this week, then both Alex Fitxpatrick and Matthew Jordan have to contend on Sunday, both following on from Caldwell and Whitnell as maidens.
Both rank highly with their style of play but at a few points bigger, the 28-year-old makes more appeal after leading the way for greens-in-regulation at both Soudal and Green Eagle.
Nothing much is secret when it comes to the 2017 Walker Cup player. A long history of amateur success preceded a first round lead at the 2019 British Masters at Hillside with a host of more recent top-20 finishes.
13th and 19th at Ras Al Khaimah and 5th and 17th at Himmerland are enough to validate his qualification on links without last year's top-10 in The Open at Troon. Form on more neutral tracks is represented by similar finishes at Bernardus, last year's Andelucia Masters and Soudal, whilst the current year sees finishes of 16th in Bahrain, 4th in Kenya, 13th at the tough Indian Open and latest top-5 at the Soudal and 13th last week in Germany.
The selection has certainly had his chances, particularly when leading in Qatar last season, but that's easy enough to say about an awful lot of these.
Happy to leave him at around 25/1, I'll take the chance that he'll make a top five place at a bigger price, backing him with much more confidence to be top-20 though, a feat he has achieved in half his 10 outings so far this year.
Adrian Otaegui owes me nothing, having won in Valderrama and China when backed. He seems to have gone slightly off the boil, though both he and compatriot Jorge Campllio will be watched for halfway betting, the latter coming off a relatively successful stint on the PGA Tour.
To complete a short-list in the outrights, I'll row along with another English player on the verge of breaking his duck.
34-year-old Garrick Porteous has more in common with the two previous home winners, being far less of a known name than the two Englishmen already mentioned as shorter-priced winners. That didn't stop either of the former event winners though, and after a very encouraging 8th last week at Green Eagle, this place would certainly suit more than the more compact challenge of previous years.
Winner of the 2013 Amateur Championship at Royal Cinque Ports, a true links test, the Essex man (as is Whitnell) has won just a pair of professional events, seven years apart on the Challenge Tour. The first of those was the inaugural Prague Golf Challenge, six years before Lorenzo Scalise, a player that took Matt Jordan to a play-off for his only outright success so far.
Following a spell mixing the two main tours, the selection finally won again, beating multiple European Tour winner Alex Levy by a stroke in Abu Dhabi.
Never the most consistent, a poor opener of 74 put him on the back foot in Belgium, though a follow-up 66 meant he missed the cut on the number, perhaps a sign that he would improve given a better reward for his long driving. That it was, fighting back after losing a halfway place in the top five, dropping to 20th, and rallying again with a final round 70 on a tough final day last week.
Porteous should relish the links side of things this week but also has a pair of top-20 finishes in Kenya and in Austria to back up any claim when it gets a tad tighter.
It's no gimme, of course, but at the price he's worth a shekel or two.
There are separate markets for the two sexes and it's the women that make most appeal for the final bet.
The front two are going to be very difficult to beat but there are five places available with one firm, and Gabriella Cowley is the pick at 33/1.
A former junior national team member, the 28-year-old is best known for dominating the Rose Ladies Series, a run of events run by Justin and Kate Rose, winning four events over the 19-event life of the innovation.
Significantly, Cowley beat Georgia Hall and Charley Hull in her first win in 2020, and Becky Brewerton and Alice Hewson at The Berkshire a year later for her third and has proved consistent since.
2022 saw the Harlow-born selection (Essex again!) finish 8th at the Women's Irish Open and 7th at the South African equivalent, as well as 15th in Linn Grant's domination of her field.
Last season's fifth place at this event backed up a top-five at the Czech Ladies Open and a sixth-place in France, all trumped by a three-hole play-off loss to LPGA player Alexa Pano at the co-sanctioned ISPS Handa at Galgorm Castle, an event run at the same venue but featuring separate mens and womens events. Perhaps significantly, Charley Hull ran up to Stephanie Meadows in 2019, 2021 champ Pajaree Anannarukarn subsequently won the LPGA Match Play whilst top-class Maja Stark won by five shots in 2022.
2024 has been satisfactory thus far, with seven consecutive cuts since the end of February, and form since April reading 26/2/51/3/18. I can ignore last week's missed-cut given her focus may well have been on this week, and if she can continue her excellent greens-in-regulation figures (four top-10s, two further top-20s in seven starts) she can make an impact on the placings at least.
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