First female winner of mixed tournament hopes victory can boost women's golf

The first female winner of a mixed golfing tournament has said she hopes her victory will inspire more women to get into the sport.

Linn Grant claimed a commanding nine-shot victory at the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed in her native Sweden.

The DP World Tour event at Halmstad Golf Club saw 22-year-old Ms Grant beat her male counterparts with 24 under par for the tournament.

She said: “I hope this victory is big. I hope it brings women more forward and it gets people’s eyes on us a little bit more.

“It is always nice to say that you beat the guys for a week. To be able to speak Swedish and hear everyone out there cheering for you, it was amazing. All week I just felt like it’s the girls against the guys and whoever picks up that trophy represents the field.”

Ms Grant only turned professional last summer but already has three LET titles to her name and six worldwide.

Fellow Swede and tournament co-host Henrik Stenson was in a tie for second on 15 under alongside Scotland’s Marc Warren.

The event saw 78 men and 78 women play the same course for one prize fund and one trophy.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know

Ms Grant said after she won: “I’m speechless and I’m so happy that I’m at home just to see all the kids, and my family is here and everyone that I care about is watching.

“I was actually surprisingly calm on the first tee. I felt happy and relieved, and to be able to get in the zone and just enjoy golf for a last day was very nice.

“When I walked up on the 13th green, I saw the leaderboard and I saw it was eight shots and it was very relaxing to not have to change gears and I could just go out and continue doing what I was doing.”