By Sarah Kellam- LPGA
Linn Grant got some practice in last week at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, and even though she wasn’t able to get any tips about this week’s host course from Orlando resident Leona Maguire, who bowed out because of the frigid weather, that pre-tournament prep is proving useful to the Swede so far at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
After opening with a 2-under 70 in the first round, Grant carded a near-perfect 5-under 67 on day two to climb into solo second with 36 holes to play in her second appearance in the season’s first event. The 2023 Dana Open winner got off to a quiet start, making six pars in her opening six holes before picking up her first birdie of the round on the par-4 16th hole. She struck again with a birdie on 18 to turn at 4-under overall and then grabbed two more on the first and third holes to move to 6-under for the tournament.
Grant’s only misstep of the second round came on the par-4 7th hole when she made a bogey, but she quickly cleaned up her mistake by carding an eagle on the par-5 9th hole, one of three eagles made on Friday at Lake Nona, and ultimately posted a 67, moving into solo second on the leaderboard with the weekend ahead at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
“I feel like yesterday, I didn’t have a tough time on the first nine, but it’s always kind of odd to come into the first tournament when you’re not playing tournament golf for a while,” said Grant. “I found something on the back nine that I really liked and tried to keep that with me today. I know I play my best golf when I keep it simple and not be too aggressive and let the putts do the job for me.”
The 2024 LPGA Tour season was a steady one for the Swede, who made 19 cuts in 22 starts in her third year as an LPGA Tour member. Grant collected five top-10 finishes throughout the season, two of which came in major championships when she tied for ninth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in June and then tied for 10th at the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews in August.
Grant also got to represent Sweden for the first time at the Paris Olympics, finishing in a tie for 27th at Le Golf National, and was a member of her second European Solheim Cup Team at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va. But she was unable to find victory lane for a second consecutive season on the LPGA Tour and only collected one worldwide win, picking up her second career Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed title on the Ladies European Tour, something Grant will be working to rectify this year.
Another goal on Grant’s list is securing a spot in the field for the first time at the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown that is set to be played in the Republic of Korea this October, whether that be as a representative of the Sweden Team or the recently announced World Team if Sweden doesn’t end up qualifying, an unlikely scenario at this juncture. Sitting at 29th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Grant is the second-highest ranked Swede in the world, meaning that she is currently qualified to represent her country in the international team competition, with Sweden being the sixth team eligible for participation as of the latest rankings.
It’s an opportunity that Grant is hungry for, having plenty of first-hand experience playing for Sweden in other global golf competitions, but never doing so in a golf-crazed country like Korea.
“It would be my first time playing the event, so that would be fun,” Grant said. “Obviously, it’s really fun to play match play and also team play. It will be exciting. Excited to be in Korea. Golf is so big there. I think it will be an experience for sure. I look forward to it. It will be fun.”
But that’s something that Grant knows will take care of itself if she plays consistent golf throughout the rest of the qualification period. So, her current focus is on continuing to climb the leaderboard at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions over the next couple of days as she contends for her second career LPGA Tour title at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club.
