Marianne Skarpnord picked up her fourth Ladies European Tour trophy in Bonville on Sunday and is looking to make it back to back Australian titles in the ActewAGL Canberra Classic this weekend.
The 33-year-old Norwegian made an eight-and-a-half hour drive from Bonville Golf Resort to Royal Canberra via a sight-seeing trip to Sydney earlier in the week with her best friend on tour, Camilla Lennarth.
After seeing the harbour by boat, spotting surfers on Manley Beach and being forced to go shopping by Lennarth, Skarpnord was back in familiar territory by Tuesday, when she competed in a long-drive ‘Nation vs. nation’ shootout.
She said: “I’m a bit tired today but ready to go for successive titles. I think the course is good and I’m looking forward to it.
“I have a bit more confidence. I was a winner on Sunday, but this week, we all start from zero and you have to do it again. It’s obviously a great memory and it’s always nice to win, but at every new tournament, everyone starts at zero and you have to just fight as hard as I did last week. I feel like I’ve still got more to give.”
Skarpnord, the LET order of merit leader, is now eighth on the European Solheim Cup team points table, but says that she hasn’t been thinking about qualification.
Her next goals are the Olympic Games and majors. “I’ve been thinking a little bit about the Olympics in 2020 but the biggest thing would be to win the British Open, that would really be a dream come true.”
Skarpnord starts her first round of the ActewAGL Canberra Classic at 8.36am on Friday in the company of Australians Rebecca Artis and Grace Kim.
