Preview
Course Info
Designer: Sundblom and Steele
Type of Course: Parkland
Used Since: First event
Fairways: Average/Wide
Greens: Undulating
Water Hazards: On 4 holes
Par 5's: 2nd, 5th, 11th & 14th
Premium on: Accuracy
Significant Info To Be Aware Of
This event was meant to go ahead in 2020 but was cancelled and last year's competition was the first. It features 78 golfers from the European Tour alongside the same number from the Ladies European Tour (LET). There will only be one winner.
It is the first time we have seen this course on the DP World Tour. It has hosted events on the Challenge Tour and LET.
Continue to exercise caution in relation to Covid-19 related withdrawals.
Course Info
The club hosted the Solheim Cup in 2007, the European Amateur Championship in 2011 and the European Amateur Team Championship in 2015. An article on the European Tour website from 2010 described the course as,
"The club, situated midway between Malmo and Gothenburg, was voted second behind Valderrama among the best courses in Continental Europe by Golf World magazine, and 16th in the World by Golf Digest. With such a pedigree, it is little wonder that the club, formed in 1930, has staged a number of top events, including the European Amateur Championship in 1985. It is also the headquarters of the Swedish PGA. Although situated just 300 metres from the sea, Halmstad is more parkland than links with every hole being tree-lined. The club has 36 holes but it is the par 72 North Course that will be used for the tournament. Measuring 6909 yards (6317 metres) it is the work of Rafael Sundblom and Donald Steel. The signature holes are the par four 12th and the short 16th. Both have water features while the green at the latter is bordered at the front and side by a stream."
The course website describes the North Course as,
"A real jewel that a true golfer never gets tired of. Beautifully and carefully laid out in the beautiful nature, Norra banan provides a nature experience at the same time as it is a real test for any golfer. Each hole is its own room among tall pines with the wind from the nearby sea as a constantly influencing factor."
The North Course is a magnificent design, inspiring and demanding in equal measures. A golf experience and a nature experience in one. The tangy sea air mixes with the lovely pine scent as you walk the long wooded corridors undisturbed by other players. This is the longer of the two courses, 6,317 metres (6,908 yards) from the black tee (championship tee), but also with more generously wide fairways and gently undulating greens where it is generally wise to read a little less break than you think."
Weather Forecast
A mixed forecast for the week with rain and wind expected to challenge the players.
Thursday
Sunny intervals with moderate breeze. Wind 7-12mph.
Friday
Light rain throughout the day with a moderate breeze. Wind 8-14mph
Saturday
Mixed showers and a moderate breeze. Wind 11-16mph
Sunday
Mixed showers and a moderate breeze. Wind 9-15mph
Stats Analysis
N/A - There are no stats available for this course.
In Play
Tough Holes
The 5th and 12th play as the two hardest holes on the scorecard.
Birdie Holes
All four Par 5's are reachable in two for most and will provide birdie opportunities.
Closing stretch
The closing holes offer birdie opportunities.
Players We Almost Backed
NOTE - These are players who we shortlisted for this event but ultimately didn't advise to subscribers. If you want to find out who we did tip, you can subscribe using the link below.
Ingrid Lindblad 40/1
Promising amateur who was 11th as last weeks US Open. This is her home course and has plenty of experience of playing here. 3rd at last years Amateur competition at Augusta and European Amateur Champion.
Thriston Lawrence 45/1
Opened up with a 78 last week but was par or better for his final three rounds to finish 18th. Much improved since his win at the Joburg Open but price is a little on the skinny side.
Niklas Norgaard Moller 66/1
The big hitting Dane played Halmstad as part of the Danish team at the 2015 European Amateur Team Championship. He's finding his feet on the DP World Tour, having made four of his last 5 cuts. Tenth last week in Germany is a result to build upon and he was last man off our list this week.
Darren Fichardt 125/1
Darren has been consistent of late, 4 of his last 5 finishes have been top 40. He ranked 11th for SG Approach last week and 26th Driving Accuracy. He's a player who can go low when the putter gets hot and there's every reason to think he can get in the mix this week.
Marcel Siem 100/1
Marcel is a player who is always worth siding with when he's in form and full of confidence. Four of Marcel's 5 career wins have been preceded by an encouraging run of form and last week's 18th place finish has set him up nicely. He has a particularly poor record at the Porsche European Open (2 MC's, 60th and 54th) so last week's performance was even more notable.
Ashley Chesters 200/1
Two top 25s in his last 6 starts and stats were good last week despite a missed cut due to a poor opening round. An accurate driver with solid approach play, he could feature on the leaderboard come Sunday.
In-play
Volvo Scandanavian Mixed In-Play Blog
12 June 2022, 7:55am (UK time)
| Player | Total |
|---|
| Grant |
-16 |
| Scrivener |
-14 |
| Stenson |
-13 |
| Garcia Rodriguez |
-12 |
| Five players tied |
-10 |
Round 3 Summary
A bogey free 66 has given Linn Grant a two shot lead going into the final round.
Notable Round 3 Quotes
"A very solid day again. I really found my swing yesterday on the range, and this morning was a good warm-up, a bit stressed, but that is pretty much a good thing to me. i got out there and hit good drives, I think I hit pretty much every fairway, on the greens and solid putting." Linn Grant
"I feel like I got myself back in the ball game at least with those late birdies, and I felt like it would have been a shame to finish with anything worse than five under today given that start." HenrikStenson
"It was looking like a pretty good round up until the 13th or 14th really, I played nicely and then was a bit scrappy coming in, but all in all pretty happy with it." Jason Scrivener
Round 3 Weather
Variable clouds and windy with a chance for scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms. Wind 15-25mph.
How do we expect the market favourites to perform?
Linn Grant is the 6/5 favourite. She's also the only woman in the top 16. A win would be a huge achievement but it's not a price we're keen to get involved with. She carries the hopes of the women on her shoulders but a win would likely mean more to her than the men chasing her. Two women jointly led last year and they would go on to finish 3rd and 18th.
Jason Scrivener is next in the betting at 3/1. We mentioned yesterday that he's yet to win on the DP World Tour and certainly didn't inspire confidence when leading this event through 54 holes last year. He'll enjoy being the chaser today but he's not a player we are keen to back at short odds.
Where is the value?
It may pay to side with experience in today's final round. A low score is possible from the group at 10 under par but with only 2 or 3 each way places available we don't see much we like.
Round 4 Bet
We were cursing not backing Henrik Stenson yesterday when he reeled off four birdies in his opening five holes. Dropped shots at the par 5s on the back nine set him back and he has three shots to make up going into the final round. He would be our selection today if pushed but we are content to cheer on Kristoffer Broberg. Broberg was excellent with his irons yesterday but was once again lacking on and around the greens. He's capable of fireworks though and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him mount a challenge if the putter behaves.
10 June 2022, 8:55pm (UK time)
| Player | Total |
|---|
| Scrivener |
-12 |
| Melgrati |
-10 |
| Grant |
-10 |
| Lorenzo-Vera |
-10 |
| Tarrio |
-9 |
| Howie |
-9 |
| Gavins |
-9 |
| Four players tied |
-8 |
Round 2 Summary
Jason Scrivener has opened up a two shot lead at the top of the leaderboard.
Notable Round 2 Quotes
"It has been a frustrating couple of months, and I felt a round like this was close and I am pretty happy with it. I have been playing decent just not really holing any putts and making a few mistakes here and there, and not putting a score together, so for it all to come together today it was nice." Jason Scrivener
"It has been great. I’m excited and I just want to keep going. I can’t wait to play tomorrow! I love playing, so that’s my dream." Carolina Melgrati
Round 3 Weather
The weather forecast indicates conditions will be similar to the first two days. It is forecast to be cloudy/sunny with the wind expected to peak around 10-12mph.
How do we expect the market favourites to perform?
Jason Scrivener is 5/2 favourite. He's yet to win on the DP World Tour and we're happy to take him on. The Aussie jointly led this event after 54 holes last year before slipping to a final round 73 and 6th place. His sole career win came at the 2017 NSW Open Championship and he's bound to feel the pressure over the next two days.
Linn Grant is 2nd favourite at 15/2. She's won twice this season on the LET but as we mentioned in yesterday's blog, the pressure of winning this event for the first time may weigh heavily on her over the next two rounds.
Where is the value?
With doubts over the leader, we're looking at the outright market. Henrik Stenson is a definite danger but we wanted a slightly larger price.
Round 3 Bet
- 1.5pts Each Way Kristoffer Broberg 20/1 @ Unibet/Coral (1/5 1-4)
Kistoffer was a pre-event selection at 66/1 and we're happy to top up given how impressive he has been tee to green so far. He ranks 7th SG: Approach and is gaining shots off the tee too. Some sloppy play on and around the greens cost him several strokes in round 2 and were it not for that, he could well be closer to the leader. He was a winner on Tour, most recently last year, something that can't be said for many on the leaderboard. Ten of the fourteen winners on Tour this season had won an event previously and we are happy to side with Broberg's experience.
9 June 2022, 9:55pm (UK time)
| Player | Total |
|---|
| Melgrati |
-7 |
| Howie |
-7 |
| Pavon |
-7 |
| Tarrio |
-7 |
| Grant |
-6 |
| Broberg |
-6 |
| Janewattananond |
-6 |
| Young |
-6 |
Round 1 Summary
Benign conditions saw six men and four women make up the top 10 on the leaderboard. Scoring was good throughout the day, there was no advantage for the early starters.
Notable Round 1 Quotes
"It is a very good round of scoring," he said. Last week, in the last round I shot one over and that was one of the best rounds I ever had on the golf course. The thing is sometimes you have a good bounce, or sometimes you make a chip or a nice up-and-down on the par five, and it’s just the momentum and gives you more opportunities. This is a little bit of what I had today, it wasn’t my best ball-striking day but my ball was in play all the time and no big misses." Matthieu Pavon
Round 2 Weather
The weather forecast indicates conditions will be similar to round one. It is forecast to be cloudy with the wind expected to peak around 10-15mph.
How do we expect the market favourites to perform?
Matthieu Pavon is the 9/1 favourite but it's a bunched leaderboard and we don't see any value backing him at single figure odds. He's yet to win on Tour and hasn't always convinced when in contention.
Linn Grant is 2nd favourite at 10/1 and will aim to become the first female winner of this event. She played really nicely today, missing several birdie putts inside 10ft and she has to be considered a threat. However, as several players commented during television interviews, winning this event would be hugely significant for any woman and that pressure may weigh over the final three rounds.
Where is the value?
Four shots separates the top 40 so there is plenty of value to be had in the outright and 2nd round leader markets.
Round 2 Bets
- 0.5pts Each Way Julian Suri 2ND ROUND LEADER 100/1 @ Unibet (1/5 1-4)
Julian caught our eye last week when he bounced back from an opening round 83 with a 1 under par second round of 71. It looked like he was going to get off to another poor start today when he was +2 for his opening five holes. However, six birdies over his final 13 holes has given him some momentum and he's a big price to make a run at the top of the leaderboard in round 2. He probably doesn't have three consistent rounds in him to mount a challenge in the outright market but he's worth a small gamble in the 2nd round leader market.
- 0.5pts Each Way Marcel Siem 150/1 @ Skybet (1/4 1-5)
Marcel was in our thoughts pre-event (see Players We Almost Backed) and we're happy to add him to the staking plan after a solid opening round of 70. He was the 7th best in SG: Off The Tee out of the male players and gained strokes with his approach play too. He has five shots to make up on the leaders but there are three rounds left and odds of 150/1 are sufficiently tempting.
