“I've been on Tour long enough now to accept that you can't really control what's going to happen. All you can do is your best.”
Anna Nordqvist knows what it takes to win on the LPGA Tour. Since becoming a Rolex First-Time Winner at the 2009 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship as a Tour rookie, Nordqvist has added a second major victory, the 2017 Amundi Evian Championship, and an additional six Tour wins to her name. A proven veteran, she conquered Carnoustie on Moving Day, surging into a share of the lead at -9 after a third-round 63, as she hopes to etch her name on the AIG Women’s Open trophy by Sunday’s end.
“Right now I'm just happy with my round. Had quite a bit of family and friends out there watching, so that meant a lot to me. I'm ready to get in, I thought we beat the rain in on last but hit a great shot in in the rain,” said Nordqvist, whose 65 was her lowest round ever in major championships. “I feel like the weather, we thought it was probably going rain a lot more today than it did, so got a good break there. But overall, Scotland has been pretty nice to us this week and we'll see what it gives us tomorrow.”
Nordqvist has ties to Scotland, with her husband Kevin McAlpine growing up in Dundee. She loves Carnoustie just as much as she loves returning to the Home of Golf. Back in 2011, Nordqvist finished in a tie for seventh on these links, with her mental coach Ken Lindahl working as her caddie.
“I remember it was me, Caroline Masson and Sophia Popov off at 6:15 in the first group the first day. We laughed about it the other day. I love Carnoustie, it's a great venue, good golf course. I've only played it a few times but every time I go it's just such a treat,” said Nordqvist. “It's a challenging course because you have to challenge some of the pot bunkers off the tee or you're going to be standing with real long irons in.”
A win would make her the 28th player in Tour history to hold at least three major titles. As Nordqvist goes for her first win in over 1,400 days, she’ll look to become the fifth Swede to win the event, and the first since Annika Sorenstam in 2003. Tomorrow, she’ll leave nothing on the table.
“I think golf, you just never know when your hard work is going to pay off. I feel like I hit the ball really, really well at the Scottish Open last week, especially in the hard winds. I think ended up finishing 12th or something. It just didn't seem like I scored good enough or for as good as I played. You just never know,” said Nordqvist. “You've got to keep plugging along and putting yourself in positions and all I can do tomorrow is go out there and try to shoot best round that I can.”
)
)
)
)
