European golf legend Suzann Pettersen is competing on the Ladies European Tour (LET) for the first time since 2022 at this week’s Aramco Korea Championship.
The $2 million USD tournament is staged at New Korea Country Club from October 8-11 with a field of 108 players teeing it up.
Pettersen produced her ‘mic drop’ moment at the 2019 Solheim Cup retiring on the spot after holing the winning putt for the European Team.
However, with her two children now a little older, the Norwegian has more time on her hands and wanted to test her game in Korea.
“It’s nice to be back. Obviously, I’ve been playing and practising quite a bit at home. Nothing close to playing competitions,” said Pettersen. “The game of golf, I’ve left it for quite a few years and I’m starting to get a little bit more time on my hands, I’m curious just to see where the game is at.
“Coming here to Korea feels quite a long way to come to test your game, but I might as well just get the gloves off and see what status is for the game. I have nothing to prove to myself. I’m just doing this because I love the game. The more you get back into it, the more frustration comes back as well.
“The circle of emotions with this game certainly hasn’t gone away, but I’m enjoying it in a quite different space, obviously. I’m just excited to go out there tomorrow with the scorecard in my hand and whatever number comes on that scorecard, it is what it is. It will really be brushing off some dust and rust on the game and I’m going to take from there.
“That’s why I haven’t decided if I don’t take the first flight home tonight! I look at this from a completely different perspective now. I have no reason to get upset. If I play bad, or if I hit a good or bad shot, the inconsistency is definitely there. The goods are great. The bads are bad. Hopefully, I will fly, try and play somewhere in between.
“The competitor side is part of my nature. Obviously, I haven’t tested it for a while at this level, and to come here I love Korea. I played here a lot. I’m not sure if I expected that much elevation, and the speed of the greens that we are facing this week, but I’m just going to take it on and hit one shot at a time and see what adds up.”
Pettersen returned to the game in 2019 after the birth of her first child and also played a tournament in 2022 on the LET.
However, the seven-time LET winner says coming back to competitive golf now is a completely different experience.
Course management will be important for the major champion and as she is eligible for the Legends of the LPGA and soon the women’s senior major championships.
She explained: “In 2019, I feel like it was a lot closer to my A-game, I really literally haven’t competed properly for six or seven years. Back in 2018, at least we had only nine months off from hitting. I actually hit golf course in between, so it can’t really relate. I don’t think I can lean on that, but hopefully with age, you get smarter. With course management, I will try to play myself around this course in a fashionable way, but we’ll see.
“If it goes well this week, is the key! I’m not going to come back and play a full schedule ever. That’s being very honest. I could ideally see myself playing five or six events a year. I do have a category on the LPGA where I can at least use the season to see where my game is at. I fancy that a little bit, if I get my hands around the game. Obviously, with my age, I have a few more of these legends and senior majors coming up.
“I want to keep the game going in my body, so I don’t have to pick it up in another three years, and then it’s going to be even harder. The clubs are the same. I have the same irons. I haven’t changed much since last time I hit a professional golf shot, so we’ll see how this goes.”
Pettersen arrived at New Korea Country Club on Tuesday with golf clubs in tow much to the surprise of some players in the field.
She added: “I think they’re all thinking ‘what the heck are you doing?’. Skarpy saw me yesterday and thought I’d had a stroke, I thought maybe I have. I’m a lot more laid back.
“I don’t practice half as much as I used to. I’ve been trying to come into a routine over the last month or so to feel a bit more up to the game, but I’m still one foot in and one foot out. So, it’s about getting the gloves off, get the status of where the game is at, and I’ll take it from there.”
Pettersen will tee it up in the first round on Thursday at 12.37 pm (local time) alongside Germany’s Alexandra Försterling and Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen.
Follow all the action from the Aramco Korea Championship on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram and X and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #AramcoKoreaChampionship.
