Sweden’s Linn Grant earned her second career LPGA Tour title at The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, after 52 consecutive bogeyless holes over the weekend.
The Swede went into Sunday’s final round at Pelican Golf Club with the overnight lead under little pressure having yet to record a single bogey since Friday’s opening hole. However, that quickly changed as America’s Jennifer Kupcho joined her at the summit after a birdie at the first hole, but Grant birdied the 2nd and from that point on, no one could keep pace.
Three more birdies followed at the 5th, 7th and 9th holes before Grant made the turn three shots ahead of Kupcho who closed the front nine with a bogey. The American made another birdie at the 15th before parring the final holes to finish with a final-round 67 and conclude on 16 under. Grant, meanwhile, sunk two more birdies on the back nine as she reached 20 under by the 17th. As luck would have it, she finished with her first bogey since Friday, only just missing her chance to set the tournament record. On the 18th green, the Swede was handed the trophy by her fellow countrywoman and tournament host Annika Sorenstam, becoming the event’s first Swedish winner.
“You made this course look easy. It’s not easy,” Sorenstam told her.
“There are weeks where everyone feels like their game is really good and there could potentially be a win,” Grant said afterwards. “It’s just really nice to like see it go all the way and to really walk off 18 and be able to pat yourself on the shoulder and feel like I actually did it this week.
“Golf is such a vicious game,” she added. “One day, you can win everything, and the next, you don’t believe in yourself at all. I think today was just a win for me, and with Annika and her event, I think it was maybe a win for little me. Very fun to be sitting here with [Annika] and all the history we sort of have, and with all the events I’ve played — I think I’ve played in all the [Annika] events on every level. It’s a true full circle moment, both personally and sitting here with Annika.”
She went on to credit part of her performance to Kupcho, who kept up the final round pressure, saying: “I’m glad she was playing well because I think that really pushed me to play better. And overall, I just had the thought of whoever wins is going to have a really good job.”
Grant’s victory now successfully extends her streak of winning each year somewhere in the world since her time as an amateur in 2020. The 26-year-old has since won on the LPGA Tour, the Ladies European Tour, the LET Access Series, the Ladies Sunshine Tour, the Nordic Golf League, and the European Tour.
Mexico’s Gaby Lopez took home third after also carding a final-round 65 to finish on 15 under. A little further down the leaderboard in a share of 9th, America’s Brooke Matthews was a winner in her own right, after a hole-in-one at the 12th won her a two-year lease on a Lamborghini Huracán.
“It was wild,” Matthews said. “All week I was like, ‘I want to win the Lamborghini.’ … Just saw it bounce. I still can’t believe it. I blacked out. I can’t wait to watch it on film because I still can’t really remember it.”
What is the next event?
The next event on the LPGA Tour is CME Group Tour Championship taking place between 20-23 November at Naples, Florida in the U.S