IVINS, Utah — Sophia Popov had a pretty wild finish to her Local Qualifying Round on Monday afternoon at the Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion.

She was in the first twosome off No. 10 at Black Desert Resort alongside Christina Kim, and the pair flew around the golf course, wrapping up their qualifying round at approximately 5:20 p.m. local time.

Popov had a bit of an up-and-down day, making three bogeys and four birdies to ultimately post a 1-under 71. Convinced she had no chance of winding up in a playoff, as a 71 doesn’t often make it through Monday Qualifying on the LPGA Tour, the 2020 AIG Women’s Open champion went to have dinner and put her daughter, Maya – who is on-site with Popov and her husband Max Mehles this week in Ivins, Utah – to bed.

But as she was doing her daughter’s bedtime routine, Popov’s phone started ringing. It was Missy Jones, Senior Manager of Rules and Competitions at the LPGA, informing Sophia that she was actually in a 3-for-1 playoff with Jing Yan and Amelia Garvey for the second available spot.

“Max basically just told me, he said, ‘Grab your bag and go. I got Maya. It's all good. Don't worry about me,’” Popov said.

Getting back to the course quickly wasn’t an issue. Popov is one of several players taking advantage of the free accommodations offered to players by Black Desert Resort this week.

The bigger problem was that she didn’t have a caddie. Thinking that she wasn’t going to qualify, Popov had told her caddie they could go on home and not to worry about sticking around for a playoff, what was now proving to be an issue with extra holes needed to decide a second qualifier.

Fortunately for Popov, though, an unlikely looper volunteered to help her out. “Haley Sturgeon, her dad caddied for me,” said Popov. “He was like, ‘I’ll grab your bag.’ I was like, ‘Okay, awesome.’ We went out there, cold start, and I think we just had fun.”

Despite the stressful rush to get to the first tee for the playoff, Popov played like the veteran she is, going par-birdie to secure a spot in the field for the inaugural Black Desert Championship presented by Greater Zion. Max had even brought Maya out to watch Sophia play as the sun was setting behind the mountains surrounding the course, something that made the end of the 32-year-old's Monday Qualifying experience even more fun.

“It was nice to go out there and see her behind me, too, because she was laughing and clapping the whole time,” said Popov. “It was so cute. She couldn't care less what happened, so I think that was also beneficial.”

Popov is now set to go at 7:22 a.m. on Thursday morning off the first tee at Black Desert Resort, and after having a solid T30 finish at The Chevron Championship, she’s excited to continue building on the momentum she generated in the year’s first major in The Woodlands, Texas this week at Black Desert Resort.

“After a good week last week, I think I took that momentum with me into yesterday,” Popov said, “and it just kind of felt like everything is coming together for me. It's nice.”

Sophia Popov Secures Spot in Black Desert Championship Field After Wild Monday Qualifying Experience

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