ROGERS, Ark. - Anna Nordqvist thought a two-hour lightning delay likely meant crickets and player caddie chatter would be the only thing heard on the Loudest Hole on Tour when she returned to the spot where she had left a beautiful 7-iron approach into the 17th green. Surely, the brigade of fans lining every inch of the grandstands surrounding the 17th hole like a football stadium wouldn’t still be out there, she thought, as she headed back to her ball on a volunteer’s cart.
Only Nordqvist underestimated one thing – not even thunder, lightning and a rain storm can halt the party on the 17th hole.
“I was surprised!” Nordqvist said. “It’s so much fun playing that hole. I was looking forward to the putt and I really wanted to make it bad, so when it dropped I was so excited. The guys were screaming so loud.”
Her return only served to crank up the noise when her ball took a nose dive into pay dirt on a putt that pushed her into a tie for the lead. As her act of reciprocity for the love, Nordqvist tossed into the stands a new pair of JBL headphones to fans vying for her gift toss. It’s a hole that now creates a level of buzz only rival by one other event in Nordqvist’s mind.
“Reminds me a lot of the Solheim Cup so it definitely got me in a pretty good mood there,” Nordqvist said.
Bobby Jones once famous said of competitive golf that it was “played mainly on a five and half inch course…the space between your ears.” And Nordqvist has found that to be true too. The more happiness and tranquility she’s found off the course, the more success she’s found on it.
Therefore, it’s little surprise that she’s found her family to be her good luck charm recently. Her mother was there on Sweden’s version of Mother’s Day when she won the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer a month ago and she’s had another visitor for her ninth place finish at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and during her off week last week.
“I’m just trying to be happy,” Nordqvist said. “Had my brother in town for the last two weeks, and his girlfriend, so we had a blast just hanging out in Orlando last week. All I’m trying to do is be happy because if I’m happy off the course, it seems to translate to the course, too.”
It’s certainly easier to smile with the play Nordqvist has found recently. She’s posted four consecutive top-15 finishes in the last month and half and has now posted three wins in the last two seasons. It’s a stark contrast from two years ago when she wasn’t enjoying the game and the results weren’t matching the work she put in. She was homesick and openly questioned whether she’d be happier if she walked away from it all.
“Well, overall I’m just trying to find happiness. It’s easier said than done, but I figure I need to surround myself with great people,” she said. “I need to be surrounded by my family. Try to make the effort. They made an effort to come out to see me just to, you know, keep me in a good mood. So it’s a process, taking it one day, like day by day and I’m trying to wake up with a smile on my face every day. Sometime it’s easier said than done. Had a couple rough weeks coming into Atlantic City, but just got to continue to put your best foot forward every day and that’s kind of been my motto and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
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