It’s a family affair for Finnish players Noora Komulainen and Linda Osala this week at the Åland 100 Ladies Open by Alandsbanken as they both have their one-year-old daughters, Elli and Mimosa, with them at Ålands Golf Club and their husbands, Roope and Oskar, will be caddying for them during the tournament.
Noora and Linda had their daughters only eight days apart in April and May 2021 so their situations are very similar.
Both back on Tour, the players travel with their families whenever possible but they both rely on the support of grandparents and their husbands to enable them to compete in international professional golf tournaments on the LET.
“Life is different now, definitely,” said Noora. “It’s been tough. I played quite a lot this year and I’ve been away quite a lot as well. I still enjoy playing golf right now. Before motherhood, it was all about me and my golf and now it’s all about her.”
Linda said: “I’m trying to make sure that she can be with me every other week so that I’m not away more than one week at a time. I hope that I’m inspiring others. It seems like some of the other players like kids and like to play with our kids. I don’t know that many athletes are that have kids other than Noora and Ursula (Wikstrom) and Minea (Blomqvist) who quit. Everyone around here has been very nice.”
“Family support is very important and that’s the only reason that we can keep playing, with support from the grandparents, and husbands as well,” continued Noora. “My husband used to caddie for me a lot as well but now he needs to take care of our daughter.”
Linda added: “We have help from grandparents this week as well.”
This was Noora’s first tournament back after Elli’s arrival last year and Noora finished in a highly impressive tie for 15th. She played in two further events last year and this will be her 16th start on the LET in 2022. Her best individual finish was joint 11th in the Joburg Ladies Open but she has enjoyed success in the Aramco Team Series events, finishing joint third in Bangkok and winning in Sotogrande a fortnight ago, alongside teammates Jessica Korda, Tereza Melecka and Malcolm Borwick.
Linda also returned for the 2021 Gant Ladies Open in Finland and this week will mark her seventh appearance on the LET in 2022. Playing under her maiden name, Henriksson, during the Jabra Ladies Open, she sprained her ankle, just before her wedding to former Finnish ice hockey player Oskar Osala at the end of May. Her best result so far this year was a tie for 19th at the Skaftö Ladies Open last week, so she feels that her game is trending in the right direction.
Both players are looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd over the next three days and will be eager to make their daughters proud when they look back on this historic week and the LET’s first visit to Åland.
