Emily K. Pedersen’s first go-round on the LPGA Tour was not one to remember. In her first two seasons on Tour, she made just 11 of 35 cuts across 2017 and 2018 and failed to notch a point for Team Europe at the 2017 Solheim Cup. After one made cut in seven tries in 2019, the Danish player opted to return to the Ladies European Tour in hopes of reclaiming what was once a vibrant future on the golf course.
Move ahead to December 2021 and Pedersen now holds a spot as one of the best players in the world. She broke back onto the scene with four LET victories in 2020, including three consecutive wins to close the season, and nearly earned her maiden LPGA Tour victory at the 2020 Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, ultimately falling in a playoff to Stacy Lewis. Add a tie for fifth at the Tokyo Olympics and a 3-1-0 performance for the winning European team at the 2021 Solheim Cup and Pedersen comes to Alabama with a new goal – regaining her LPGA Tour card.
“There are a lot of great players here. Hopefully I'm able to go out and do my thing and then walk on Christmas break with an LPGA card in my hand,” said Pedersen, the 2015 LET Rookie of the Year. “That's the only goal this week, is just to get the card.”
The week at Inverness Club in September for the Solheim Cup certainly ranks as one of the highlights of Pedersen’s career. “It was amazing to win on U.S. soil, and just holed a lot of good putts under pressure there, which also helped me build up the confidence,” she said. “It's amazing to play for Europe and something bigger than yourself, so obviously that's a great experience that I hold very dearly to me.”
Pedersen now has new Solheim Cup leadership to impress, as Suzann Pettersen was recently announced as captain for the 2023 European squad. After playing under Pettersen as a vice captain in 2017 and 2021, Pedersen has Spain’s Finca Cortesin and the 2023 Solheim Cup firmly in her sights.
“She's the one that's been my kind of idol in golf since I started, so it's amazing. I've gotten to know her over the last few years, and I think she's great,” said Pedersen. “She's going to bring so much to Team Europe, and I'll do everything in my power to play under her as captain.”
)
)
)
)
