Matteo Manassero recovered from being “beaten up” at the US Open to claim a
share of the lead in the first round of the KLM Open.
Manassero came through a 36-hole qualifier to take his place in the field at Pinehurst last week, his first US Open since 2016 and a first major appearance since that year’s Open Championship.
And although it proved an unhappy return to the game’s biggest events for the 31-year-old Italian, he bounced straight back with an opening 64 at The International in Amsterdam to share top spot with Finland’s Mikko Korhonen.
“On the weekend I was tired even though I didn’t play,” said Manassero, who carded a triple-bogey eight on his opening hole at Pinehurst and went on to miss the cut following rounds of 79 and 75.
“It’s stressful in a good way because you put a lot of energy in to prepare for a US Open and then it beats you up and then you kind of have a drop in adrenaline.
“I was a little tired, but I’m really happy to be playing and glad I that I have tournaments coming up to be honest. The US Open was a really tough experience, but you need to take it for what it is and reset.”
Manassero certainly did that on Thursday as he carded seven birdies and no bogeys in pursuit of a sixth DP World Tour title, his fifth coming in March after a gap of almost 11 years.
“It was very, very satisfying,” Manassero said. “It’s a tough course so you need to earn a round like this round here and it was nice.
“It was a goal to win again, but not necessarily a short-term goal. I wanted to do well, be myself on Tour again after going through different changes.
“My goal was that and then I was going to see what results come and I’ve been really satisfied with those.”
Korhonen made a hole-in-one on the fourth – his 13th hole of the day – and also recorded six birdies, the last two coming on the eighth and ninth, to join Manassero at the top of the leaderboard.
Rikuya Hoshino was a shot off the lead on six under in just his second event back following an 11-week lay-off.
Hoshino had to withdraw from the ISPS Handa Championship in his native Japan in April after being diagnosed with a collapsed lung and was ordered to undertake a month of complete rest by his doctors.
The Qatar Masters winner returned to action at the US Open, where he struggled to rounds of 78 and 81, but fired nine birdies and three bogeys in his opening 65.
Welshman Jamie Donaldson, a Ryder Cup winner in 2014, carded a one-over-par 72 on his 500th DP World Tour start, one shot better than defending champion Pablo Larrazabal.
Watch PGA Tour and DP World Tour action live this season on Sky Sports. The 152nd Open at Royal Troon is live from July 18-21 on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, majors and more with NOW.
Grace Kim broke away on Saturday at Blythefield Country Club, birdieing four of the final six holes to take a five-stroke lead into the final round of the Meijer LPGA Classic.
Tied for the second-round lead with Ally Ewing, Kim shot a six-under 66 to get to 17 under. The 23-year-old Australian won in a play-off last year in Hawaii for her lone LPGA Tour title. She lost a large lead in April in Los Angeles at the JM Eagle LA Championship.
“Giving myself another chance to do it again and actually get it done,” Kim said. “I know I’m going to try my best for tomorrow and everyone else will. This golf course calls for lot of birdies and there are a lot of good players out here. “
Ewing followed her second-round 63 with a 71 to drop into a tie for second with Lexi Thompson, Anna Nordqvist, Allisen Corpuz and Narin An.
“It was a little bit of a scramble today,” Ewing said. “I made some really good putts to just kind of hang in early.”
Thompson, the 2015 winner who has said this will be her last year playing a full schedule, played the final six holes on the front nine in seven under in a 65. She has gone more than five years without winning.
“Just kind of got into a groove,” Thompson said. “This is a golf course [where] you have to come out and play aggressive and make lots of birdies. Just came out feeling very comfortable, made a few good swings, and rolled in some putts.”
Nordqvist also shot 65. Corpuz had a 68, and An shot 69.
Kim had three straight birdies on the front nine on holes five to seven, dropped a stroke on the par-five 10th, then made the late charge with birdies on on the par-three 13th, par-five 14th, par-four 16th and par-five 18th.
“I finished pretty strong so hopefully I can just keep that going,” Kim said. “Have a good night meal. Watched a movie yesterday. That’s probably helped a little bit as well. Maybe do that again tonight and see. Fresh for tomorrow.”
Lilia Vu, a former No 1 player and double major winner last year, was tied for 14th at nine under in her return from a back injury that sidelined her since the Ford Championship in late March. She shot 68.
Brooke Henderson, the Canadian who won the event in 2017 and 2019, shot a 73 to drop into a tie for 24th at seven under. Defending champion Leona Maguire of Ireland was tied for 57th at three under after a 72.
Top-ranked Nelly Korda left Friday after missing her second straight cut following a stretch of six victories in seven events. She won at Blythefield in 2021 at a tournament-record 25 under.
The major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is next week at Sahalee outside Seattle, live on Sky Sports.
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Bryson DeChambeau will take a commanding three-shot lead into the final round of the 124th US Open, with Rory McIlroy part of the chasing pack despite a frustrating finish at Pinehurst No 2.
DeChambeau overcame a hip issue and slow start to his third round to card three birdies in a five-hole stretch to pull clear of a congested leaderboard, with only a double-bogey late in his round preventing him from an even bigger advantage.
The world No 38 also recorded six birdies and one bogey during an eventful third-round 67, moving him to seven under and in pole position to win the event for a second time as he sits three clear of McIlroy, Matthieu Pavon and Patrick Cantlay.
Leaderboard after R3 (USA unless stated)
-7 Bryson DeChambeau; -4 Matthieu Pavon (Fra), Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy (NIrl); -2 Hideki Matusyama (Jpn), Ludvig Åberg (Swe); -1 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Tony Finau
Selected others: E Collin Morikawa; +1 Xander Schauffele; +3 Brian Harman; +5 Wyndham Clark; +6 Brooks Koepka, Scottie Scheffler
Rory McIlroy reflects on a solid one-under 69 in the third round of the US Open at Pinehurst No 2
McIlroy remains in contention to claim an elusive fifth major despite two late bogeys in his 69, with Hideki Matsuyama and overnight leader Ludvig Åberg five back ahead of England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Tony Finau.
How DeChambeau took charge of Pinehurst test
Dechambeau started the day one adrift of the Swede and scrambled a par at the first to avoid falling further behind, only to then drop two behind when Åberg rolled in from 30 feet at the third and he missed from four feet to match the birdie.
Ludvig Åberg drained a huge putt on the par-four third hole
The 2020 US Open champion bounced back from bogeying the par-four fourth to get up and down from a greenside bunker to birdie the par-five fifth, then added another from 11 feet at the seventh to join Åberg one behind Pavon.
Frenchman Pavon – playing three groups ahead – carded a front-nine 32 to reach the turn one ahead but missed an opportunity to double his advantage at the par-five 10th, before a bogey at the next saw him slip into a four-way tie with Åberg, DeChambeau and Finau.
DeChambeau has fun with the crowd at the US Open and jokingly asks them not to boo him after deciding against using his driver
DeChambeau moved into the solo lead after matching Åberg’s birdie at the 10th, with the American then receiving treatment in the woods for a hip injury before making a 15-footer at the next to double his advantage.
As several of the chasing pack dropped shots over the back nine, DeChambeau recovered from burning a six-foot birdie look at the 13th – where Åberg made a triple-bogey – to pick up a shot at the next and get to eight under.
Åberg made a triple-bogey at the 13th to slip down the leaderboard
McIlroy had been three under for his round until bogeying both closing par-threes, dropping him back to four under alongside Pavon, leaving DeChambeau briefly four clear until he saw his ball roll back to his feet on his way to a double-bogey six at the 16th.
DeChambeau replied strongly as he birdied the par-three next and two-putted the last to stay three ahead, with the 30-year-old now hoping to go one better than last month’s runner-up finish at the PGA Championship and add to his major tally.
Image: Bryson DeChambeau is looking to win the US Open for a second time
“I gave it everything I had out there today,” DeChambeau told Sky Sports. “The crowd support has been fantastic. It’s amazing. I can’t thank them enough – and I’ll continue to feed off of them. Tomorrow it’s about fairways and greens and let’s see if I can give them something special.”
Cantlay carded a third-round 70 to set up a Sunday showdown with McIlroy – who mixed four birdies with three bogeys – in the penultimate group, the first time the pair have been grouped together since their fiery encounter at last year’s Ryder Cup.
Live US Open Golf
Sunday 16th June 6:30pm
“I’m pretty much in the same position that I was last year going into the final day at LACC,” said McIlroy, who finished runner-up to Wyndham Clark in 2023. “So familiar position, been here many times before, and hopefully I produce the golf that’s needed to go one better.”
Only eight players remain under par for the tournament heading into the final day, with Collin Morikawa moving inside the top 10 following a round-of-the-day 66, while world No 1 Scottie Scheffler’s hopes ended after a 71 dropped him to six over.
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Ally Ewing shot a scorching, nine-under 63 to move into a tie with Australia’s Grace Kim for the lead at the Meijer LPGA Classic in Belmont, as world No 1 Nelly Korda missed the cut.
Ewing and Kim stand at 11 under after two trips around Blythefield Country Club after Kim posted a 65 on Friday. They are two shots ahead of Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen (64 Friday) and South Korea’s Narin An (68).
Korda couldn’t recover from an opening-round 76. She shot a second round five-under 67 but missed the cut line of two under by a single stroke, missing her second straight cut after winning six of seven events.
“I’m very pleased with the way that I struck the ball today off the tee, something I’ve been struggling with this year,” Korda said. “This was by far the best I’ve hit it off the tee, so a little bit of positivity.
Ewing’s bogey-free round began with three birdies over her first five holes, and she chipped in for eagle at the par-five eighth hole. She sank four more birdies coming home, including a short putt at the par-three 11th after an excellent tee shot.
“I think you can make a lot of birdies out here,” Ewing said. “At the same time, I approach a golf course with what it gives me, so I try to play smart but aggressive golf.”
The 31-year-old, who has three LPGA wins to her name, found her form again after tying for third at the US Women’s Open two weeks ago.
“Yeah, I think any time you get a good finish in any tournament, much less a major, you just see good golf for four days, definitely helps your confidence when you carry it over,” Ewing said. “The golf ball doesn’t know what I did last week, but it’s still important to attack it but also have confidence with it.”
Kim started her round on the back nine and also piled up three birdies over her first five. After bogeying the 17th, she bounced back with an eagle at the par-five 18th. She added a final bang with three straight birdies from the sixth to eighth holes.
Kim said the conditions changed drastically for her after playing Thursday’s round in heavy wind.
“I think I was the second-lowest scorer of the day [Thursday] in the afternoon, and, yeah that says a lot of how tough the conditions were,” Kim said. “But to be able to pull through and make a few more birdies, back-to-back birdies to finish my round, yeah, very much topped it off.”
Brooke Henderson of Canada, a two-time winner of this event, shot 69 Friday and is part of a tie for fifth at eight under with Lauren Hartlage (69), Allison Corpuz (68), South Korea’s Jin Hee Im (65) and China’s Jing Yan (68).
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Rory McIlroy made a dream start to his bid to claim an elusive fifth major title by grabbing a share of the first-round lead at the 124th US Open.
McIlroy, chasing a first major victory since his 2014 PGA Championship success, carded five birdies in a bogey-free 65 at Pinehurst No 2 to match the early clubhouse target set by Patrick Cantlay.
The Northern Irishman said ahead of this week that he was “closer than ever” to ending a decade-long major drought, and McIlroy – who has already claimed three worldwide victories this season – backed it up with his first blemish-free start to a US Open since his wire-to-wire win in 2011.
US Open: Leaderboard after R1 (USA unless stated)
-5 Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy (NIrl); -4 Ludvig Åberg (Swe); -3 Bryson DeChambeau, Matthieu Pavon (Fra)
McIlroy shot an impressive five-under-par 65 to tie the clubhouse lead at Pinehurst No 2 in the US Open
Cantlay birdied three of his last five holes to also get to five under, with debutant Ludvig Åberg a shot back in third ahead of 2020 US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and Frenchman Matthieu Pavon.
McIlroy was playing alongside PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, who carded rounds of 70 and 71 respectively, while defending champion Wyndham Clark struggled to a three-over 73 and Tiger Woods fell nine behind with an opening-round 74.
Tiger Woods shot a disappointing four-over-par 74 in the first round of the US Open at Pinehurst No 2
How McIlroy made early major move
McIlroy opened with three straight pars and followed a seven-foot birdie at the fourth by chipping in for another at the par-five next, with the 35-year-old reaching the turn in 33 and then taking advantage of the par-five 10th.
The former world No 1 ended a run of two-putt pars by converting a 10-foot birdie at the par-four 16th, before a 20-foot birdie at the last saw him complete his first bogey-free start to a major since his 2014 victory at The Open.
McIlroy birdied the final hole at Pinehurst No 2 to tie the lead with Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay mixed six birdies with a lone bogey during an impressive start, while DeChambeau – who impressed off the tee during the opening day – threatened a late push for the lead when he carded a first-nine 33 and added further birdies at the third and fifth.
The American missed from eight feet to save par at the seventh, though, and slipped back to three under alongside Pavon, who held a two-shot lead earlier in the day following two eagles in the space of six holes.
Bryson DeChambeau chipped in on the par-four 18th hole to reach the turn in 33 in the US Open at Pinehurst No 2
England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Tony Finau started with 68s and Sergio Garcia took advantage of a late entry into the event to post a bogey-free 69, while Collin Morikawa recorded a birdie-birdie finish to salvage a level-par 70 to sit five back alongside Schauffele and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka.
Schauffele – chasing back-to-back major victories after last month’s win at Valhalla – mixed four birdies with as many bogeys during an erratic open day, as Scheffler struggled off the tee and fell six behind in his bid for a sixth PGA Tour title in nine starts.
Live US Open Golf
Friday 14th June 12:30pm
Open champion Brian Harman started with a one-over 71 and Clark made just one birdie in his title defence, carding four bogeys along the way, as Woods cited a lack of sharpness and a poor display on the greens after being unable to build on his strong start.
Woods held a share of the lead lead after playing the first six holes in one under but then slipped back with five bogeys in a seven-hole stretch, although he was later seen on the range offering support to Justin Thomas after the two-time major champion slumped to a seven-over 77.
Woods started his US Open campaign with a birdie on his first hole, the par-five 10th at Pinehurst No 2
McIlroy leads after ‘controlled start’
McIlroy, who started with a bogey-free round in three of his four major wins, said: “I went through a run there for a while where my starts at major championships weren’t very good. Probably got myself a little too worked up at the start of the week.
“But back to the PGA (Championship) I opened with a five under there at Valhalla. Even going all the way back to this tournament last year, I opened with a low one. It wasn’t quite as low as Rickie (Fowler) and Xander (Schauffele), but it was nice to open up with a low one and feel like you’re right in the tournament from the first day.
McIlroy claims staying patient and disciplined throughout his first round at Pinehurst No 2 was the key to shooting a five-under-par 65
“Certainly the major championships that I’ve won or the ones that I’ve played well at, I’ve always seemed to get off to a good start, and it’s nice to get off to another one.
“My short game was good early on. I chipped in at five and had a really good up and down on six and on eight. But apart from that, I think I hit every other green. It was a really controlled round of golf.”
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As Scotland prepare to open Euro 2024 against hosts Germany on Friday, Sky Sports News reporter Luke Shanley explains why Steve Clarke’s side have to believe they can spring a surprise…
Scotland are ready to take centre stage and I don’t mean John McGinn and his Bavarian dancing band. Steve Clarke’s team will open Euro 2024 against hosts Germany and they don’t want to be the supporting act.
It is the first overseas tournament Scotland have qualified for since the World Cup in France 1998, ironically another tournament in which Scotland played in the opening game. That was against world champions Brazil in Paris.
Image: Scotland’s training base is in the Bavarian town Garmisch Partenkirchen
Scotland can look back 26 years and see the benefits of being written off, forgotten, and looked upon as bit parts in a global event. The team lost 2-1 that day to a late Tom Boyd own goal after a good performance that almost pulled off a shock with an approach that got the balance between defence and attack right while also riding their luck until Boyd’s unfortunate moment.
Image: Tom Boyd’s own goal ended Scotland’s hopes of a shock against Brazil at the World Cup in 1998
This time around Scotland will face the hosts who have the weight of expectation on their shoulders with signs of improvement under Julian Nagelsmann. The Scotland coaching staff never believed the narrative that Germany were on the downward path and it was the best time to play them.
Scotland themselves have won just one of their last nine games and that was against Gibraltar last week in a warm-up match in Faro, Portugal. Clarke has spoken about not having any ‘Negative Normans’ around the camp and fair enough, given the fantastic form early in the qualifying campaign. It is just one defeat in their last eight competitive games, including five wins in a row at the start of qualifying.
Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour is hoping to start the Euro 2024 opener against Germany and go up against ‘one of the best midfielders in the game’ in Toni Kroos
The national team need to rediscover that level of performance, especially the approach in the win over Spain at Hampden Park last year. The friendlies against top nations like England, France and Netherlands served a purpose, even if the results didn’t go Scotland’s way.
Clarke will already have his mind made up on his team selection. He will have had some big decisions to make given the pre-tournament injuries, firstly to right wing-backs Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson before the squad was announced and then to strikers Lyndon Dykes and Ben Doak, who did make the cut.
Celtic’s Anthony Ralston and Bristol City’s Ross McCrorie are vying for that right wing-back position. My money would be on the former with the latter only making his debut in the win over Gibraltar.
Image: Will Lawrence Shankland or Che Adams lead the line?
Lawrence Shankland scored in the last game against Finland with a good header and is the player of the year in Scotland thanks to 31 goals with Heart of Midlothian, but it is likely Che Adams will be given the nod ahead of him. He scored 18 goals for Southampton as they won promotion back to the Premier League via the play-offs and previous form for Scotland could be enough. He ended a 10-game drought at international level with a goal in Faro last week.
There may be one or two other tough picks for Clarke in central defence, but he has plenty of options who can slot in in that position.
John McGinn joins in some Bavarian dancing as Scotland arrive in Germany ahead of Euro 2024!
When Scotland arrived at their training base in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, they were met by thunder and lightning but also a fantastic welcome from the mayor Elisabeth Koch and local residents, including some ex-pats. The team got off the bus to head into a small hall for an event in which John McGinn, who else, decided to partake in Bavarian dancing. It was great to see the team and the locals mix with no police, no barriers and no restrictions, a throwback considering what football is today.
Remember the saying, ‘No Scotland, No Party’. It was great to see the town and the team come together but don’t let the optics cloud the reality. The hard work has been under way for some time now. Clarke will have this Scotland team ready, the big question is, will it be good enough to perform on one of the biggest stages?
It has been 25 years since Scotland beat Germany in Bremen thanks to a Don Hutchison strike, The Tartan Army want to party like it’s 1999 again.
Scotland’s record vs Germany
Image: James Forrest and Grant Hanley played in Scotland’s last match against Germany in 2015
The teams have faced each other 17 times and last met in a European Championship qualifier in 2015 with Scotland losing to the then world champions 3-2 at Hampden Park.
Two of Scotland’s current squad, James Forrest and Grant Hanley, started that match in Glasgow.
Image: Don Hutchison scored in Scotland’s late win versus Germany in 1999
Scotland have only beaten their opening opponents four times, with the last victory coming in a friendly in 1999.
Managed by Craig Brown, Scotland defeated a German side that included names such as Oliver Bierhoff and Lothar Matthaus thanks to the second-half goal from Hutchison.
Scotland’s Euro 2024 schedule
Scotland take on Germany at the Munich Football Arena (Allianz Arena) on June 14.
The Scots also face games against perennial qualifiers Switzerland in Cologne on June 19, with Hungary – who reached the knockouts in 2016 – awaiting in Stuttgart on June 23.
Scotland’s potential route to the final finishing as group winners…
If Scotland finish as winners of Group A but all other results at Euro 2024 go with the world rankings, the Scots’ opponents in the knockout rounds would be…
Round of 16: Saturday June 29 – Scotland vs Denmark (Westfalenstadion, Dortmund)
Quarter-final: Friday July 5 – Spain vs Scotland (MHPArena, Stuttgart)
Semi-final: Tuesday July 9 – Scotland vs Netherlands; kick-off 8pm (Allianz Arena, Munich)
Final: Sunday July 14 – Scotland vs France; kick-off 8pm (Olympiastadion, Berlin)
Scotland’s potential route to the final finishing as group runners-up…
If Scotland finish as Group A runners-up but all other results at Euro 2024 go with the world rankings, the Scots’ opponents in the knockout rounds would be…
Round of 16: Saturday June 29 – Scotland vs Italy (Olympiastadion, Berlin)
Quarter-final: Saturday July 6 – England vs Scotland (Merkur Spiel-Arena, Düsseldorf)
Semi-final: Wednesday July 10 – France vs Scotland; kick-off 8pm (Allianz Arena, Munich)
Final: Sunday July 14 – Spain vs Scotland; kick-off 8pm (Olympiastadion, Berlin)
If Scotland finish as one of four best third-placed teams…
One of:
Sunday June 30 – Group B winners vs third-placed side from Group A/D/E/F (RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne)
Monday July 1 – Group F winners vs third-placed side from Group A/B/C (Waldstadion, Frankfurt)
Tuesday July 2: Group E winners vs third-placed side Group A/B/C/D (Allianz Arena, Munich)
Quarter-finals
If Scotland finish first in Group A and win round-of-16 game…
Friday July 5 (MHPArena, Stuttgart)
If Scotland finish second in Group A and win round-of-16 game…
Saturday July 6 (Merkur Spiel-Arena, Dusseldorf)
If Scotland finish as one of four best third-placed teams and win round-of-16 game…
One of:
Friday July 5 (MHPArena, Stuttgart)
Friday July 5 (Volksparkstadion, Hamburg)
Saturday July 6 – (Olympiastadion, Berlin)
Semi-finals
If Scotland finish first in Group A, win round-of-16 game and win quarter-final…
Tuesday July 9 – kick-off 8pm (Allianz Arena, Munich)
If Scotland finish second in Group A, win round-of-16 game and win quarter-final…
Wednesday July 10 – kick-off 8pm (Westfalenstadion, Dortmund)
If Scotland finish as one of four best third-placed teams, win round-of-16 game and win quarter-final…
One of:
Tuesday July 9 – kick-off 8pm (Allianz Arena, Munich)
Wednesday July 10 – kick-off 8pm (Westfalenstadion, Dortmund)
And finally, the final…
Sunday July 14 – kick-off 8pm (Olympiastadion, Berlin)
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Scottie Scheffler stretched his lead at the Memorial Tournament to four strokes, despite carding a triple-bogey in his third round.
Chasing his fifth win of the season, the world No 1 started the day with a three-stroke advantage which he still held on the ninth tee at Muirfield Village.
He walked off the green having seen his advantage vanish, courtesy of a drive out of bounds en route to a seven.
But three birdies on the back nine for a 71 re-established his cushion on 10-under 206, despite another dropped shot on the last – courtesy of his first three putt in 154 holes.
Image: Scottie Scheffler shot a seven on the ninth hole during the third round at the Memorial Tournament
“Obviously I wish I could have 18 back, but overall I think I played pretty solid,” Scheffler said. “Just got a couple of bad breaks and it’s going to happen around this golf course.”
Adam Hadwin was his closest challenger for much of the day after eagling the par-five fifth, but a double-bogey on the 14th and another dropped shot on the last left the Canadian among a trio four strokes off the pace.
“I don’t know if I have a chance,” said Hadwin, who is searching for his first win in seven years. “You know, you give four shots to the best player in the world, it’s kind of difficult.”
American Collin Morikawa and Austria’s Sepp Straka joined Hadwin on six under after both carded bogey-free rounds of 68, two ahead of PGA champion Xander Schauffele and Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg.
Rory McIlroy is eight strokes off the pace after a third-round 73, one ahead of Ireland’s Shane Lowry, England’s Tommy Fleetwood and defending champion Viktor Hovland who saw his challenge unravel with four successive bogeys and a double-bogey on the back nine en route to a 77.
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Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg stormed into an eight-shot lead after day three of the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed in Helsingborg, with Scotland’s Callum Hill and England’s Alice Hewson the nearest challengers.
Soderberg is looking to convert his fine recent form into a first DP World Tour win since 2019, with the 33-year-old Swede coming into his home event having recorded three top-three finishes and made the cut at the PGA Championship in his last four starts.
He has kept that momentum going at Vasatorps Golfklubb, shooting rounds of 63, 66 and 66 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday respectively to reach 21 under par after 54 holes.
Hill was Soderberg’s nearest challenger on 13 under after mixing eight birdies with three bogeys to sign for a 67.
Hewson was the leading Ladies European Tour player after three rounds, another shot back on 12 under alongside home hope Alexander Bjork and Spain’s Santiago Tarrio, with this week’s event seeing men and women playing in the same groups for one prize fund and one trophy.
Starting the day with a three-shot lead, Soderberg fired four birdies on the front nine to stretch his advantage to six strokes at the turn.
After back-to-back birdies at the 12th and 13th had taken him to 21 under, Soderberg dropped his first shot of the week on the 14th.
But he bounced back with a gain at the 15th before parring his way home to sit in a strong position to win his second DP World Tour title.
He said: “It was all-around super solid. Still a lot of good shots and a lot of good putts, so I’ve got nothing to complain about.
Image: Soderberg is seeking his first DP World Tour title since 2019
“I’ve got so many friends and family here. It might not look like I’m taking it all in but I do. I’ve just been good at staying in my zone, my bubble so far.
“And that’s what I’ve got to continue to do tomorrow.”
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