Sweden’s Linn Grant grinded her way to a 3-under 69 on Thursday at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, recording one bogey and four birdies at Sentosa Golf Club’s Tanjong Course to sit in a tie for second and one shot back of 18-hole leader Sarah Schmelzel.
After parring the first hole, the 24-year-old quickly grabbed a birdie on the par-4 2nd hole to get to 1-under early, parring the next five holes before she picked up another birdie on the par-5 8th hole to turn in 34. She parred holes 10, 11 and 12 and then made a pair of back-to-back birdies on the par-5 13th and the par-4 14th to get to 4-under, but Grant dropped a shot on No. 15 to slip back to 3-under overall.
She ultimately parred in to post a 69, her lowest first-round score of the 2024 season, and it’s just her third round in the 60s so far this year, with the last time she recorded a sub-70 score on the LPGA Tour coming in late January on day two of the LPGA Drive On Championship at Bradenton Country Club.
Her 3-under effort on day one in Singapore was a score that Grant was definitely proud of with how difficult Sentosa Golf Club is playing this week, but she was even more so considering how much she has been struggling with her ball-striking as of late.
“I was a bit confused with my ball-striking for the past week,” said Grant, who hit 10 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens on Thursday. “This morning, I really tried to take my time on the range and find something that felt good enough and that I can play with. In my mind, I was just playing very simple, thinking one shot at a time. Especially with the wind, that's usually a good way of playing.
“Last week was a bit of a struggle, so coming into this week, I've gone back to some drills that I know can work on and try to figure it out. I think from today on, it will be a little better tomorrow. One step at a time.”
This is Grant’s second time teeing it up at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, and after a strong opening round, she’s well on her way to improving upon last year’s T14 performance. This is her fourth start of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and Grant has stalled a bit early, earning a T27 finish in her Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions debut, tying for 23rd at the LPGA Drive On Championship and then finishing T65 last week at the Honda LPGA Thailand.
While it’s been a somewhat sluggish start for the Swede, Grant is taking it all in stride, knowing that once her ball-striking settles down, she can contend with anyone on the LPGA Tour, having more than proved that fact in 2023. She also realizes that it’s early in her Tour tenure and understands that she still has plenty to learn. This is only Grant’s third season on the LPGA Tour, and 2024 marks her first full year competing against the world’s top talent since she first earned membership for the 2022 season via 2021 LPGA Q-Series.
“I feel like every year I play professional golf, I take it each week,” said the five-time Ladies European Tour winner. “Obviously, for the season, just try to get more comfortable with playing out here.”
And when that happens, watch out. Grant just might become a force to be reckoned with.
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