Linn Grant, 23-year-old, began the year with a bang winning the Joburg Ladies Open in her first start on the LET since clinching her card at Q-School last December.

From there, Grant recorded two top-10 finishes and one top-15 result but it wasn’t long before she was back in the winner’s circle securing victory at the Mithra Belgian Ladies Open.

After a week of rest, the Swedish star then cemented her name in the history books by triumphing at the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed – storming to a nine-shot victory and becoming the first woman to win on the DP World Tour.

Five further top-10 finishes throughout the summer – including at the Amundi Evian Championship – came her way before she won again on home soil, this time at the Skaftö Open to record her fourth victory of the year.

And Grant’s rapid rise in 2022 has seen her climb from 277 up to 24 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.

Rookie of the year and Race to Costa del Sol, How do you feel about it?

It feels so nice to get both titles. Rookie of the year was a little more straightforward and I knew that was coming but to get this one as well was more of the goal.

An amazing season!

Right nowRight now I am very happy with the season I had. I am feeling very good with my golf and seeing where that is compared to LPGA and LET. I am living my dream life”.

What is your goal right now, to be number one, winning a major? 

I want to become number one and win majors, I would like to be a consistent top five player.

Do you think It is easy to achieve? 

I don’t think so, It is not easy. I feel like some days I am clear on what to do. But sometimes it is more of a guessing game. I can look at all my stats and all my scores and try to figure out what to do with it, but then I go out and I get a bad score even though I knew where I had to improve. I think golf is very hard in that aspect. It is not like any other sport where you can go out and do your normal. As I heard from someone before, It is 99% mental and the rest is in your head. It is an interesting game where you can never take a good score for granted.

You have your father and grandfather, so you come from a family of golfers. What does this mean for you?

My father has played a lot of golf and he has been very successful at an amateur level, I think he is living his dream through me. My grandfather is unfortunately no longer with us, he passed away a long time ago. It would have been great to have him here because I know he loved golf. It is a nice legacy to carry on.

Do you remember your grandfather when you are playing?

Yes sometimes I do, not all the time but specially in the moments that I am in need, he pops up in my head. Unfortunately I don’t have a good memory of him because he was very sick when I was young. I remember going to the hospital and seeing him there and I didn’t like being there. In my mind he is with me on the golf course whenever I play.

Did you like to play golf when you started at 9 years old?

No, I didn’t like it, I think I have a good approach to it as a professional. I believe I would not play golf if I wasn’t a professional, I don’t love it that way. I like the feeling of getting better , seeing results and myself developing my game. I feel like I wouldn’t want to play seven weeks in a row if I don’t enjoy it. I enjoy it when I play well. Otherwise I don’t want to be there, I would rather spend time doing things I like.

Do you have your mind set on being a professional golf player or do you sometimes think of other things you could be in your life?

Yeah I mean sometimes golf can represent the best times in your life but it is also the opposite. For example when you have bad rounds and you feel like you put so much work into something and it doesn’t turn out good, it is a really hard punch to take. Those days I wish I had an office job, where I would just go to work at eight in the morning and do what’s on my list, with nothing really to worry about and getting my money at the end of the month. But I think I would like that for a week and then I would get bored.

You have been very lucky though, because since you turned professional you have won tournaments, so you didn’t have the problems other players had

Yeah that was one of my worries when I turned pro. I thought that I wouldn’t have the money and I would struggle and not enjoy it.

You have been playing LPGA and LET. What is the difference? 

I like the LPGA in terms that my golf gets better there. It is easier for me to push myself. In terms of competition among the others but also the difficulty of the courses. I feel game wise I love LPGA. I understand when Maja says that in terms of environment LET is nicer. It is great to be here but I think that as a golfer I will evolve more in LPGA and for now that’s where I want to be. 

You have won the mixed competition. What does that win mean for you? 

It is quite crazy also winning by nine that week. I think that playing that event is bigger than playing an LET event. It was already a big thing just playing it and being home in Sweden. Winning that week was crazy but It was so much fun. I really enjoyed the event and playing with the men. I think that sometimes It is a bit too much and sometimes you can learn a lot from them. It is good to have combination tournaments, look at each other and take what’s good from everyone. 

Who is your favourite player?  

I don’t have an idol but I think there are players who have very interesting stories like Ochoa. She was so good and then she said I am going to play for a certain amount of years and then I am going to have a family. I think that is so strong of her. I am not saying that I will do the same but I admire how her own thoughts and plans were more important than anything else.

Have you already made a plan like that for what you will do in the future?

A little bit but not too much because you never know what is going to happen. I haven’t said how many years I want to play but I don’t want to play until I am fifty. I want to have a family and I want to do other stuff. I don’t want to spend my entire life in a golf course. 

Have you been to Finca Cortesín yet, because you are most likely going to be part of the European team ?

No, I haven’t been to Finca yet. But yeah it feels surreal. It is something that I always thought was so far away and such a big goal. I thought it was for the real pros and now I am sitting here and maybe I will be there. It is very fun and I don’t think I will understand it until I stand there on the first tee. 

You have played the junior Solheim before, but you lost so how do you feel about this one?

Yeah I think whenever you play against the USA you want to win. It will be good to play in Spain and having a lot of the Spanish people with us, I think it will be really fun.

It is going to be a very nordic team, obviously with Suzann. Do you know her already?

I don’t know her but I have met her a couple of times. I have talked to her a little bit and I have obviously seen her playing. 

I remember from my interview with Maja Stark that the Solheim is obviously at the top of our minds. It’s that the same for you? 

No I think it is because it is still so far away, so right now I still think that’s next year. I think next year It will be more noticeable.

Do you think Spain is a good place to hold the Solheim Cup?

Yes I think so. I haven’t seen the course but I have heard that it is really nice. I believe that the Spanish and European audience will be great. The Spanish supporters are something else and it is going to be great to have them in the background. It is going to be amazing, the weather is also very nice there. 

You have already played the ARAMCO here in Spain so you have seen first hand how the public behaves

Yes I always love to come here. There is always lots of cheering and they really like the game of golf.

 

Do you ever feel nervous sometimes?

I am calm and confident but I feel nervous on the course many times. But I don’t push the feeling away, I actually enjoy it. 

Tells us the secret for us amateurs for what to do when we are nervous

When I feel nervous I don’t push it away, I try to be fine with it. I realise that it is okay and I can still play good golf even if I am nervous. 

And advise to recover from a bad hole 

Just think that it has happened and you can’t do anything about it and that you have to be in a good setup to still play good for the next holes.