Sweden’s Sara Kjellker hails from a family of sporting fanatics with golf rooted deeply in her DNA. Having started playing at the age of six alongside twin brother Jakob and older brother Emil, it quickly became Sara’s dream to become a professional and follow in the footsteps of her hero Annika Sorenstam.
As an amateur, Kjellker played alongside Linn Grant and Maja Stark as part of the Swedish super team which won three gold medals at the European Team Championships.
The Swede then earned a scholarship to play at San Diego State University where she was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Year in 2021. In her senior year, Kjellker went to LET Q-School and earned status in Category 16.
After two top-10 finishes in her first five LET events, we caught up with Sara to find out more about her golfing journey, her decorated amateur career, and her goals for the season…
Hometown: Malmo, Sweden
Home Course: Ljunghusens Golf Club
Age: 24
Started golf at: 6
Turned pro: 2022
Handicap: +7
My parents met on a golf course! So they used to play a lot in their early marriage. They got my older brother into it first and he was obsessed with golf. Then me and my twin brother came along, and we just followed my older brother with whatever he did, so we would follow him to the course every day during the summer and my brothers would compete against each other all the time. We live really close to the course in my town and in the summer golf is everything that people do.
I had to watch at first! But I remember I wanted to be able to play with them so much. Then after a couple of years I learned how to hit the ball a little further and I could join them. So that’s how I got into golf. My family is super sporty and we played golf a lot as a family on vacation. Now I get the better of them, but it took a while!
Annika Sorenstam and Tiger Woods are my heroes. Whenever Tiger hit an incredible shot on TV I would go to the course the next day and be like ‘What would Tiger do here?’ and imagine I was him trying to hit a flop shot. Obviously, I failed because I’m not Tiger and I was 12! But I always had him in mind when I played when I was little. I then met Annika when I played in the Annika Invitational as a teenager. It was insane to meet her and hear her stories. She’s super kind and I love what she’s doing for the game and how she’s trying to inspire and help the younger girls.
The European Team Championships were amazing. I had the honour to play with Maja Stark and Linn Grant. We had an insane team and all the girls are so sweet and supportive of each other. We’re still really close. We won gold three times and got to play in Austria and Scotland. Those memories are very close to my heart because we did it as a team. Golf is such an individual sport, but it’s so fun when you do it as a team because all the emotions get higher. We played Royal County Down in the last European Team Championships I played in and it’s one of my favourite courses.
I played with Maja and Linn for many years. Seeing how they’ve blossomed is incredible. But I’m not surprised at all because they’re so talented and are such smart girls and work on the right things. They’re super humble and very sweet girls and they try to help me along the way too.
I loved my five years at college. I wanted to go to college because education was still very important for me. In Sweden, it’s hard to combine golf and education and it also sucks in the winter! So I went to San Diego State which is an incredible city with a great golf programme. I got to play at some awesome courses like Torrey Pines. I loved it. It was amazing, especially playing with so many good golfers over there like the Number 1 Amateur Rose Zhang – I played with her a bunch which I’m really grateful for.
I’ve always been a pretty independent golfer. Being away from my swing coach so much when I was in the States helped me find my own keys and analyse my swing better alone. I used to travel a lot on the road which has prepared me for what I’m doing now. So I’m used to living out of a suitcase and really enjoy that part of golf.
I love being a professional and playing on the LET. I didn’t know how I would feel at first because you hear a lot of players saying it’s a transition, but I’m loving every second. Travelling is super fun. Some people say it’s lonely but I don’t think so because I already have great friends here. I love golf. I love practising. I love the challenge. And I love how there’s a new chance to win every week.
I can’t wait to play the rest of the season and I hope I can get into some of the bigger events too. I definitely want to win, that’s my major focus. I want to put myself contention as much as possible because when you’re up there it’s a learning experience. So the more I can put myself in that situation, the more I’m likely to eventually get it done.
Quickfire Q&A
- Who is your hero? Annika Sorenstam
- What makes you happiest? Friends, family and being able to play golf
- Best friend in golf? That’s a mean question! But Corinne Viden and Anna Magnusson are great friends of mine
- Favourite food? My mum’s salad and dad’s steak
- Golfing superstitions? I write down a lot in my yardage book. It’s covered
- Favourite travel destination? South Africa
- What is your most treasured possession? My first ever putter
- Favourite Course? Royal County Down
- Dream fourball? Tiger Woods, Rory Mcllroy and my two brothers (they can play 9 holes each)
