Suzann Pettersen has announced her four captain’s picks to round out the home team that’s trying to win an unprecedented third straight Solheim Cup for Europe next month in Spain. Much like the eight automatic qualifiers who locked up their spots two days earlier, Pettersen chose experience along with a fresh face, taking one rookie (Gemma Dryburgh) and three veterans (Madelene Sagstrom, Caroline Hedwal and Emily Kristine Pedersen). With the matches set for Finca Cortesin Resort in just four weeks (September 22-24), here’s what you need to know about the newest members of Europe’s Solheim Cup squad.

Madelene Sagstrom

Madelene Sagstrom. Jack Thomas

This is the 30-year-old’s third Solheim Cup, though it’ll be the first time she’ll play the event in Europe. The Swede was a stand-out on the Epson Tour, winning three times in 2016 and earning her LPGA Tour card for the 2017 season. She has won once on the LPGA Tour and is currently ranked No. 42 in the Rolex World Rankings. Her overall Solheim Cup record is 2-4-0.

Emily Kristine Pedersen

Emily Kristine Pedersen. Charlie Crowhurst/R&A

This is Pedersen’s third Solheim Cup as well and her first start in Europe, too. You may remember her as the player who holed the winning put for the Europeans when they closed out their upset victory at Inverness Club in 2021. The 27-year-old Dane has won five LET events in her career, including four in 2020 alone. Notably, she is one of the longest hitters on the LPGA Tour, averaging 273 yards off the tee. Her career Solheim Cup record is 3-4-0.

Caroline Hedwall

Caroline Hedwall. Getty Images

Hedwall is the most experienced of Pettersen’s picks, set to make her fifth appearance. The 34-year-old Swede who was a stand-out at Oklahoma State who played 10 years on the LPGA Tour but never claimed a title. She does have seven wins on the Ladies European Tour, the most recent coming late last year at the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España —  which was played about an hour from the 2023 Solheim Cup site.
“Having great memories from the end of last year in Andalucía, I hadn’t thought much about Solheim until I won and after that, it was a goal for the season,” Hedwall said. “I’m just really happy it became a reality and super pumped to play in Spain again.”
Her career Solheim Cup record is 8-6-1.

Gemma Dryburgh

Gemma Dryburgh. David Cannon

This is Dryburgh’s first Solheim Cup, though she has experience in team play, having competed in the 2014 Curtis Cup. The 30-year-old Scot played college golf at Tulane before turning professional in 2015. In 2022, she won the Toto Japan Classic, her first LPGA victory. She will make a good foursomes partner as she is one of the most accurate drivers of the golf ball on the LPGA Tour, hitting more than 82 pe rcent of fairways in the 2023 season.

Team Europe’s complete roster for the 2023 Solheim Cup

Celine Boutier
Maja Stark
Charley Hull
Leona Maguire
Georgia Hall
Linn Grant
Carlota Ciganda
Anna Nordqvist
Gemma Dryburgh
Caroline Hedwall
Emily Kristine Pedersen
Madelene Sagstrom

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With eight of the 12 players now locked in for Team Europe ahead of their Solheim Cup title defence, Suzann Pettersen and her side can now finally turn their attention fully to the challenge ahead as they welcome the American stars to Finca Cortesin in Spain next month.

France’s Celine Boutier, the Amundi Evian and Women’s Scottish open champion, is on fire right now and topped the LET Solheim Cup Points standings with 264.57 points thanks in part to those back-to-back victories.

“I’m really looking forward to being part of Team Europe at the 2023 Solheim Cup,” said the Frenchwoman, who made her Solheim Cup debut in 2019, is a two-time winner and has won 5.5 points in her seven matches at the previous two editions.

“It’s going to be such an enjoyable week and it’s always a lot of fun. I’ve had such a great year winning on the LPGA in March and then to get my first major title at Evian and to win in Scotland the week after.

“It’s been unbelievable and I’m so excited to have qualified to play in the Solheim Cup. To be able to share the week with my teammates and be able to compete for Europe on European soil for the first time since 2019 will be amazing.”

Celine Boutier. Stuart Franklin

The newly crowned major champion is joined by Sweden’s Maja Stark, who clinched the second spot with 262.42 points.

Stark, who turned professional in August 2021, has won six times on the LET in the past two years including the 2022 edition of the co-sanctioned ISPS Handa World Invitational which secured her membership of the LPGA Tour.

The 23-year-old was part of the Junior Solheim Cup team in 2017, just six years ago, and will now be teeing it up as a rookie at the 2023 Solheim Cup which takes place between September 22-24.

“It feels like there have been very many gradual steps towards this moment,” Stark said. “I have just been doing my job since turning professional to get to this point. It’s something I have wanted to do for a long time, to represent Team Europe at the Solheim Cup and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be so much fun.”

Charley Hull. Warren Little/R&A

Six players have qualified to Team Europe via the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings with England’s Charley Hull leading the way.

This will be Hull’s sixth consecutive Solheim Cup, having made her debut aged 17 and she has been on the winning team on three occasions.

After an outstanding rookie performance in Toledo in 2021 where she earned 4.5 points out of 5, Ireland’s Leona Maguire returns to Team Europe.

Maguire said: “I’m really excited to be part of the European Team at this year’s Solheim Cup. I had an incredible time in Toledo, it was way beyond my expectations, but I can’t wait to be part of Team Europe on European soil and to play in front of home fans. It’s great to be flying the flag for Ireland once again and I hope to have lots of support in Spain.”

Georgia Hall. Getty

England’s Georgia Hall has qualified for her fourth Solheim Cup after making her debut in 2017 and being on the winning team for the past two editions.

There will be another rookie on the team as Linn Grant secured qualification for her first Solheim Cup in September in Spain.

The Swedish star has won five times on the LET in the past two seasons including at the 2022 Scandinavian Mixed where she became the first woman to win a DP World Tour event, and she recently secured her maiden victory on the LPGA Tour.

Grant explained: “I’m very proud. It’s the first Solheim Cup that I can play in and I’m in it which is pretty cool. It has obviously been a dream since I found out about the Solheim Cup. We’re a great team, I love Suzann and all our vice-captains, and I think we will have a really fun week. I’m looking forward to it.”

Spain will have a home hero in the team at Finca Cortesin as Carlota Ciganda will be making her sixth consecutive appearance for the European Team.

“The Solheim Cup is my favourite week of the year and to be able to play at home in Spain is a dream come true,” said Ciganda, who clinched her seventh LET title earlier this season.

“I love playing for the team and I am very excited to be able to play in front of home crowds. Hopefully, we will see a lot of girls come out and watch us play and I hope that we can inspire them for the future and for the next generations to come.”

Anna Nordqvist. Getty Images

While Anna Nordqvist will be a playing vice-captain in Spain after she secured her place in the final automatic qualifying spot via the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

The Swede will be making her eighth consecutive appearance in the competition having won 15.5 points from the 27 matches she has played.

“I’m very proud to be taking on vice-captaincy and playing this year,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a secret how much I love the Solheim Cup and it brings out the best in me. It’s always my biggest goal every two years to make the team and try to help Europe win. There’s no feeling like stepping up on the first tee box.”

Speaking about her team captain Suzann Pettersen said: “I’m very happy with my team right now for the 2023 Solheim Cup. Congratulations to the eight players who have automatically qualified, we have so much experience in the team and it’s great to have our rookies Maja and Linn representing Europe for the first time. We have never had such a strong group of players in terms of world ranking. The European players have been playing well this year and putting in strong performances across the board.”

Pettersen will finalise her team and name her four captain’s picks this evening as Europe look to win their third Solheim Cup in a row.

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The end of the ISPS Handa World Invitational also marked the end of the qualifying period for Europe’s Solheim Cup roster. All eight players in line for automatic spots heading into the week held their places, as the Ladies European Tour announced on Sunday that Celine Boutier and Maja Stark earned their way on to the team through LET Solheim points. Charley Hull, Leona Maguire, Georgia Hall, Linn Grant, Carlota Ciganda and Anna Nordqvist claimed the remaining six qualifying spots from their placement in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings.

Six of the eight qualifiers have previous experience in the Solheim Cup, with Boutier, Hull, Maguire, Hall and Nordqvist playing for the victorious European team at Inverness Club in 2021. Stark and Grant are the two rookies to qualify, each winning their first-ever LPGA events during the qualifying period. Stark won the 2022 ISPS Handa World Invitational last season, and Grant won the Dana Open in July.

“I’m very happy with my team right now,” said European captain Suzann Pettersen via a release, the biennial competition set for Sept. 22-24 at Finca Cortesin in Andalucia, Spain with the Europeans looking to win for a third straight clash, something they haven’t done since the start of the competition in 1990. “Congratulations to the eight players who have automatically qualified, we have so much experience in the team, and it’s great to have our rookies Maja and Linn representing Europe for the first time. We have never had such a strong group of players in terms of world ranking. The European players have been playing well this year and putting in strong performances across the board.”

Congratulations to the eight players who have qualified for the ???????? ??????? ??? ???? ???

Boutier ??
Stark ??
Hull ???????
Maguire ??
Hall ???????
Grant ??
Ciganda ??
Nordqvist ??#TeamEurope | #SolheimCup

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) August 20, 2023

Boutier led the points list with a commanding European swing, winning the Amundi Evian Championship and the Women’s Scottish Open in back-to-back weeks starting at the end of July. The 29-year-old from France will be playing in her third Solheim Cup, having impressively earned 5.5 of a possible seven points combined in 2019 and 2021.

Outside of Grant, the Rolex Rankings group has played in a combined 21 Solheim Cups, with Nordqvist (who is also serving as a vice captain) leading the way with seven consecutive cups dating back to 2009.

“I’m very proud to be taking on vice-captaincy and playing this year,” Nordqvist said. “I don’t think it’s a secret how much I love the Solheim Cup and it brings out the best in me. It’s always my biggest goal every two years to make the team and try to help Europe win.”

Pettersen will fill out the remaining spots on her 12-player roster on Tuesday when she announces her four captain’s picks. The United States end their automatic qualifying period after next week’s CPKC Canadian Open, with only four of the nine spots already locked up (Lilia Vu, Nelly Korda, Allisen Corpuz and Megan Khang). US captain Stacy Lewis then will name her three captain’s picks afterward.

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Linn Grant won her first LPGA event Sunday at the Dana Open, winning at Highland Meadows Golf Club with a closing three-under 68, good for a three-stroke victory at 21 under par. Here’s how Grant, 24, won in Sylvania, Ohio.

Leaderboard: Grant (-21), Allisen Corpuz (-18), Lindy Duncan (-15), Xiyu Lin (-14), Stephanie Kyriacou (-14)

What it means: The heralded Swede announces her arrival on tour, winning in her fourth stateside start since becoming a tour member in 2022. Due to the United States COVID-19 international travel policy, Grant couldn’t travel to the county last year during her LPGA rookie season. Instead, she spent most of the year dominating the Ladies European Tour with four victories on the circuit. Grant maintained her LPGA card for 2023 in only six starts, including four top 10s and made her tour debut in the U.S. with a third-place finish at the Bank of Hope LPGA Match Play in Las Vegas in late May.

How it happened: Grant effectively won the championship Saturday. She broke away from the field with a third-round nine-under 62, the Dana Open’s best score of the week.

The Swede was nine under through 13 on the par-71 layout, holding a chance to join compatriot Annika Sorenstam as the two players to shoot 59s in tour history. Instead, Grant went even over the final five holes to walk away with a six-stroke lead at 18 under par going into the final round.

Grant started slowly Sunday, parring her first seven holes until missing the green on the par-3 eighth. Sitting in the rough behind the green, Grant chipped in for her first birdie of the day to move to 19 under par.

Another day, another chip-in

Linn Grant has turned on the burners ? pic.twitter.com/rbZIZVVVjc

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 16, 2023

Despite a five-way tie for second place behind Grant to start the final round, only two players got to within four of Grant’s lead Sunday. Minjee Lee, who began seven back at 11 under par, entered the picture with a four-under charge through her first 10 holes. However, a double bogey on the 11th pushed the Australian out of contention. Lee ended up with a one-under 70 Sunday to finish at 12 under for the week and a T-7 result.

Allisen Corpuz birdied four of the last five holes to bring the American within two sitting in the clubhouse, posting a bogey-free six-under 65 to finish the week at 18 under par. Corpuz showed no weariness despite playing only a week after winning the U.S. Women’s Open, along with the travel issues she faced from Monterey, Calif., to Highland Meadows.

However, Grant displayed no nerves in her close, posting three birdies on the back nine and reaching the par-5 18th in two shots. Her win denied Corpuz from becoming the fifth player to win their first start after winning the U.S. Women’s Open. Meg Mallon last did it in 2004.

The winning moment for our newest star ? pic.twitter.com/ToHTbINmaD

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 16, 2023

Best of the rest: Xiyu Lin posted her third top-five in her last four starts. Her torrid stretch began a month ago at the Meijer LPGA Classic (T-3), then another T-3 at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, followed with a T-13 at the U.S. Women’s Open. The Chinese native remains searching for her first career LPGA victory.

Stephanie Kyriacou’s T-4 finish is a new career best for the Australian. Her previous high mark was a T-7 at last year’s AIG Women’s Open. The 2022 LPGA rookie was part of Australia’s runner-up at the International Crown in May, where Kyriacou, 22, went 3-2-0 at the team match-play tournament at TPC Harding Park.

Mia Hammond, a 15-year-old amateur who qualified into the event on Monday, shot 68-68-70-72 for a six-under-par week, ending T-26. She’s a rising sophomore and ranked No. 6 in the Class of 2026 junior rankings.

Biggest disappointment: Lydia Ko sat at T-24 heading into Sunday after opening with a 67-68-72 at six under par. She went out in 42, a challenging eight-over-par start to her final round, culminating with a 78 for the worst round of the day, sending Ko down the leaderboard to T-65. She was assessed seven penalty shots during the round because she played preferred lies on holes where it was not allowed. The No. 3 player in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings has yet to finish in the top 30 since her first start of 2023 at the Honda LPGA Thailand.

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Drill even deeper and something else stands out: Not one of those six starts in 2022, or the three she has made in 2023, came in the United States.

Which is what makes this week a much anticipated event for the 23-year-old as she tees it up at the Bank of Hope Match-Play in Las Vegas. It’s the first time she will be competing on American soil in the LPGA. Earlier this month, the US government lifted its COVID-19 vaccination requirements for international travellers coming from overseas, which kept Grant from coming stateside last year after playing two seasons of college golf at Arizona State and earning her LPGA card at Q-Series in December 2021.

“I think actually looking back at it now, I really appreciate not coming here earlier,” Grant said during a Tuesday press conference at Shadow Creek Golf Club, site of this week’s event. “I think I wouldn’t have had the experience I’ve had with the LET and all the confidence that I’ve gained through that year. I think that was a great year for me to kind of get into professional golf and learn about my game and travelling and getting used to all the stuff you have to get used to. So I feel like I’m more prepared now coming here now than I would’ve been a year ago. I’m just really think everything happens for a reason.”

Due to her inability to get into LPGA events, Grant spent most of last year competing on the Ladies European Tour, winning four times in 17 starts and earning Rookie of the Year honours along with the Race to Costa del Sol title, the LET’s order-of-merit award. She also was a nine-shot winner at the Scandinavian Mixed, a tournament with male and female golfers competing together for one prize that was co-sponsored by the LET and the DP World Tour. That’s why Grant can boast of being the first woman to claim a tournament title on the DPWT.

Grant’s first four LPGA starts in 2022 came in Europe, where she made a splash in her debut at the Amundi Evian Championship with a final-round 64 to finish T-8. She also finished T-19 at the AIG Women’s Open, her only other major start of the year. Grant ended the season with three straight top-10s, including a third-place finish at the TOTO Japan Classic.

The successful year across both tours vaulted her from 258th in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings at the start of 2022 to No. 27 to begin 2023, to No. 22 entering this week after a fifth LET win earlier this month. She also competed

“I’m just going to continue on this path now and just really enjoy it and enjoy being a professional golfer I guess,” said Grant, who finished T-21 last week in Aramco Team Series event at Trump National in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Grant’s impressive play under unusual circumstances lends credence to her achieving her most important LPGA goals. She wants to make this year’s Solheim Cup team — given her Rolex Ranking spot and notable lead on the LET points list, that appears a near given. Grant also eyes winning multiple LPGA events, including a major.

But for now, her main focus is adjusting to playing in the States, where she’ll compete in pool play against Maddie Szeryk, Eun-Hee Ji and Elizabeth Szokol. “I’m just going to try and enjoy and not think too much about it and get into the mood that this is my workplace now,” Grant said.

With how well she’s played so far, it will likely be her workplace for a while.

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The Swede prevailed by two strokes from Anne van Dam on nine-under in France.

The pair were level on seven-under at the start of play on Sunday but the Dutch star soon found herself in front after Grant bogeyed the opening hole.

With Italy’s Alessandra Fanali and France’s Celine Herbin also in the mix, the Swede then dropped another shot on the par-4 6th before Van Dam birdied the following hole to stretch their gap to three shots.

“I knew there was a lot of birdie opportunities out here,” Grant said. “So I knew if I kept calm and did what I usually do, I’d be able to bounce back sooner or later.”

Approaching the turn, Grant regained her composure to post back-to-back birdies on the ninth and 10th with fellow LET winner Van Dam unable to respond.

A tense back nine then saw a string of pars from the duo with fellow Swede Johanna Gustavsson closing in after four birdies in 12 holes moved her to six-under-par.

The 15th then proved to be the turning point. Leading the charge, Gustavsson found trouble down the right to eventually post a double-bogey and see her title charge drift away.

A group later, Herbin made a clutch birdie to move to seven-under before Grant also birdied the par-5 after reaching the green in two. Van Dam was then unable to match the pair after hitting the bunker, leaving a grandstand finish with the Dutch star and Grant tied on eight-under-par.

“[Anne] made me focus a bit more,” Grant continued. “I knew she could make birdies at any moment so I had to be aggressive. The birdie on 15 gave me some hope. Then I just kept being patient knowing that 18 was coming up.”

One hole later, Van Dam failed to get up and down again as Grant saved par to take the lead.

Chasing Grant for the first time since Thursday, Van Dam dropped another shot on the 17th to give the 23-year-old a two-shot advantage over her with Herbin the clubhouse leader on seven-under.

After reaching the green in two on the par-5 18th for a third consecutive day, Grant would two-putt for birdie for a 69 to win by two shots and claim her fifth LET title, and first with coach Steven Jeppesen on the bag.

“I’m feeling really happy,” the Swede said. “This course is tricky and I feel like today with some patience and good golf I really managed to hold on. I’m really happy. I said to my coach that if I win I want to get pancakes, so we’ll see!”

A birdie finish for Van Dam saw her end the week T2 alongside Herbin on seven-under.

“I’m very happy with how I played today,” the Frenchwoman said. “It was very good and I enjoyed myself. I could feel that it might come down to the last hole. But it was a lot of fun and I’m really lucky to have played on this course. It’s always nice to play in France, it was awesome!

“It’s my first event of the year on the LET, so it’s nice to start with a second place.”

In a tie for fourth on six-under finished Gustavasson, Fanali, and her Italian teammate Virginia Elena Carta — who soared up the leaderboard on the final day with a 67.

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Hosted by 10-time Major Champion Annika Sörenstam, the tournament was a first-of-its-kind event when it was staged in 2021 and sees 78 men and 78 women compete on the same course for one prize fund and one trophy.

Co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Ladies European Tour, home favourite Grant made history at Halmstad Golf Club in 2022 as the first female winner of the event, storming to a nine-stroke victory on home soil.

The 23-year-old Swede had a season to remember in 2022 going on to win the ‘LET Rookie of the Year’ after claiming four victories in her first year on Tour and was crowned the Race to Costa del Sol champion, following in the footsteps of fellow Swede Sörenstam.

“I’m really excited to come back and defend my title in front of Swedish fans,” said Grant.

Linn Grant

“I played the first round with Annika last year and it was such an incredible experience to win against a mixed field. It’s a unique event and I am proud that Sweden is pushing to bring female and male golfers together both on and off the golf course.

“I think my victory last year was a big step in our sport and I hope it brings women’s golf into the spotlight and it gets people’s eyes on us a little bit more. To be able to speak Swedish and hear everyone out there cheering for you, it was amazing, and I can’t wait to get back in June to defend my title.”

Ryder Cup star Noren will return to his hometown of Stockholm for the mixed tournament and is excited to tee it up in front of family and friends, as he aims to impress the Swedish fans.

“I’m looking forward to coming back to Sweden,” said Noren, a previous winner of his home open in 2011 and 2015. “I played last year and thought it was amazing. Linn Grant obviously ran away with it and she played unbelievable, but I think the tournament is really great and I am proud it is taking place in Sweden.

“Going to Stockholm, especially to Ullna, it’s a really cool place right on a lake with very interesting holes, and it will be good for both the men and women in competition mode.

“Being in Sweden and being a dad to a little girl, I like for women to have the same opportunities. I grew up watching an LET event at my home course and we loved it as kids trying to get their balls after 18, and just watch them play.”

Sörenstam added: “Linn and Alex are fantastic golfers in their own right, both proven winners on the global stage, and both are even better people, so I look forward to welcoming them to Stockholm for this fantastic tournament. Linn played our ANNIKA Foundation events as a junior, so it was really special to see her win last year. The Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed is so unique and I know the fans in Sweden will come out to support both the men and women this summer.”

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Taking place at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City from February 16-19, the tournament is the third stop in a record-breaking 2023 LET season, featuring 30 events across 21 countries with a total prize fund of €35 million up for grabs.

The trailblazing event made a strong statement in the world of golf, signalling its steadfast commitment to women’s golf through a prize purse boost to $5million, the largest outside of the majors. The purse matches the men’s event, the PIF Saudi International.

Thai 19-year-old Thitikul is the latest big name to strengthen the world-class field competing for the bumper purse. She said: “It has been a while since I last competed in Saudi Arabia. I remember playing at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in 2021 and had strong results in both events. I hope to go one better than I did at the 2021 Aramco Saudi Ladies International and enjoy a great start to my 2023 season.”

Thitikul has genuine star quality and golfing credentials to match. In her rookie year of the LPGA last year, she claimed two victories and 16 top-10 finishes and unsurprisingly took home the 2022 Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year award. The young superstar also performed impressively in the majors, securing three top-10 finishes in five majors last year.

Before her time in the LPGA, Thitikul wrote her name in the history books of the LET. In 2021, she became the youngest player to win the LET’s Race to Costa del Sol while also taking back the Rookie of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year titles. She was also the youngest golfer, male or female, to win a professional golf tournament when she won the LET’s Thailand Championship 2017 at just 14 years of age.

The former world No.1 is only the second player under 20 to claim the ranking other than Lydia Ko, who will also compete in Saudi.

The pair will be joined by Swedish star Grant, the world no. 28 who claimed four wins and nine top-10 finishes last season to take home the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol, Rookie of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year titles.

The Swede also made history last year when she became the first woman to win an official event on the DP World Tour when she secured victory at the Volvo Scandinavian Mixed.

The complete list of the 15 of the world’s top 30 players are:
Lydia Ko (1)
Atthaya Thitikul (4)
Lexi Thompson (7)
In Gee Chun (8)
Hyo-Joo Kim (9)
Nasa Hataoka (10)
Leona Maguire (11)
Celine Boutier (12)
Charley Hull (13)
Xiyu Lin (14)
Danielle Kang (17)
Hannah Green (19)
Ashleigh Buhai (21)
Georgia Hall (24)
Linn Grant (28)

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Swedish stars Linn Grant and Maja Stark go head to head in the season-ending tournament and will battle it out at Alferini Golf to earn the prestigious Race to Costa del Sol title.

It has been an outstanding year for the duo, who only turned professional in August of 2021, and has seen them rise to the top 50 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

Grant, who clinched LET Rookie of the Year a few tournaments ago, has 3,394.91 points to her name with compatriot and friend Stark just 69.77 points behind her heading into the final event.

Four-time LET winner Grant said: “I feel like we’ve had a battle on and off throughout the year and it would be sad to have it be over already. I’m glad it made it to the final event, and we’ll give it a good go this week. I feel like it was supposed to be this way, it feels good.

“Especially now it’s fun and nice having someone to share every week with and the situation. Looking back at amateur events we played a couple of years ago; I think it’s going to be the same where you look back and go ‘wow that’s pretty cool’ not knowing what it means 100% right now.”

Stark added: “I am going to miss this season when I go home next week, and I realise it’s one-and-a-half months until the next tournament. I’m so tired, but I have learnt a lot this season and have a lot of things that I want to do differently.”

What a journey these have been on through the years & this week will battle it out to be #RaceToCostaDelSol number ?#RaiseOurGame | #OpenDeEspaña pic.twitter.com/2DmEFJ5cLP

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 22, 2022

The Swedish duo have picked up plenty of silverware in the 2022 season with Grant winning four titles throughout the year starting with the Joburg Ladies Open followed by the Belgian Ladies Open and the Scandinavian Mixed, and finally the Skaftö Open.

While Stark won two LET titles in 2021 just weeks after turning professional and has followed it up with three further victories this season starting with the Women’s NSW Open, then the German Masters and finally the ISPS Handa World Invitational – where she earnt her LPGA Tour card.

But despite all theirs win on the courses, it is the moments shared outside of the golf course that have made this season extra special.

Stark explained: “When I look back on the year, it’s not the results that come up it’s more the fact it’s been so fun to hang out with a friend for the whole year.

“All the competitions that we have done together, one of my favourite moments was at the Amundi German Masters and we were just so tired. We were sharing a room and talking and something silly came up and we were dying of laughter. That has been the best part about doing this together. It’s fun that one of us is going to win it too.”

Linn Grant and Maja Stark. LET

The pair have been drawn alongside defending champion Carlota Ciganda and the group will tee it up in the first round at 12.05pm local time.

With the 2022 Race to Costa del Sol coming down to the final event, there are several scenarios with the main ones being Grant can finish ahead or level with Stark and she will win the title, whereas Stark must beat her compatriot to have a chance of winning.

But what will each player be thinking if it is tight going into the final few holes of the tournament?

“It depends on the situation,” said Grant. “The finishing holes here are two par-fives and one par-three, I think you can be quite aggressive — which we both are.

“Speaking for myself I think I’m going to stick to be aggressive on those holes. Coming up on 18 that could be a little scary with the wind, the water and I think maybe it will be take your two-putts and go situation.”

While Stark added: “We’re both very aggressive players and we don’t hold back even if we have a lead. The plan is to keep pushing for birdies and we’re playing against ourselves too and you always want to do better for yourself. If I was to just take the pars and leave and Linn ends up making two birdies to pass me, I’d be annoyed at myself, so I don’t feel like there’s any reason to hold back.”

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The post Grant and Stark set for Swedish showdown at top of the Race To Costa Del Sol appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Mind you, that hasn’t necessarily been by choice. Grant, 25th in the Rolex Women’s Rankings, has been unable to come to the US this year because of travel restrictions related to her COVID-19 vaccination status. Those same restrictions also mean Grant, who has not been vaccinated against COVID, won’t be playing in the LPGA’s upcoming season finale, and thus missing out on the opportunity to compete for the first-place prize money payout of $2 million.

Grant’s situation is similar to the circumstances of tennis star Novak Djokovic, who could not compete in the Australian Open or US Open this year. She released a statement about the matter through her agent:

“Under normal circumstances, I would naturally love to partake in the CME. Like everybody else out there it is a clear goal to play the season-ending event, especially this year when CME is putting out the biggest check in women’s golf history. In isolation it is of course fantastic for us players, but more importantly it is a clear statement that shows direction of the true worth of women’s golf. Nevertheless, with travel restrictions to enter the US for unvaccinated still remaining, it is still not an option for me to play LPGA events in the US. This is the sole reason I am not playing the CME.

“I understand some people want to know why I am not playing in the US. I respect that. The simple reason is that I am not vaccinated. Regarding why, I ask the same respect back. It is something I want to keep internally with my family and team. What I can say is that currently there are only two scenarios making it possible for me to play events in US  — either through a positive outcome on a medical relief process or by US easing up on the travel restrictions.”

Grant earned a LPGA Tour card via Q Series last autumn, competing in Alabama. She has split her time in 2022 playing in LPGA events overseas (France, Scotland (twice), Ireland, South Korea and Japan) as well as competing regularly on the Ladies European Tour. She has four LET victories in 2022 and will play in the tour’s finale in Spain the last week of November, where she has a chance to earn LET player-of-the-year honours.

Among those four wins was a victory at the Scandinavian Mixed, a tournament run in conjunction with the DP World Tour. Grant’s nine-shot victory in the event allowed her to become the first woman to win a tournament on the men’s circuit in the tour’s history.

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The post Rising star Linn Grant forced to miss out on LPGA season finale due to vaccination issues appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.