Last week Johanna Gustavsson finally achieved her goal of winning on the Ladies European Tour (LET) securing victory at the Lacoste Ladies Open de France.
The Swede had been a runner-up four times previously but got over the line in France producing a three-stroke victory.
Since her win, Gustavsson hasn’t had much time to think but after a few days, the reality of being a winner on Tour has finally begun to sink in.
“The reality has hit a bit, but it’s been quite full on since then,” she said. “After prizegiving, we rushed straight to the airport because Emma [Nilsson] and I had a flight to catch.
“I watched the Ryder Cup on Sunday and then we were off again. I’ve had some time to reflect on it and it is good fun to be a winner finally after all these years. I have always known that I can do it and have the game for it, but it’s been a matter of is it going to happen because it still has to be that week that the putts roll in and things go your way, and it was nice that I had that last week.”
A pivotal moment during her final round in France was when the 30-year-old made a hole-out eagle on the par-4 13th.
That was also the point where Gustavsson, who has moved up to second in the 2023 Race to Costa del Sol, started to believe that maybe it was her turn to win on the LET.
She explained: “When I holed out that shot, I did think okay it could actually be my turn now. Moa [Folke] was playing great, it felt like she wasn’t going to go away but when I holed that shot it was like okay this could be it.”
After heading back home on Saturday night, Gustavsson sat down to watch the Ryder Cup on Sunday with husband and swing coach Alex Wrigley.
In her winning interview, the tears came flowing when the Swedish star mentioned her husband and she is happy to be able to spend some time with him over the next few weeks.
However, there is a slightly different role for Alex this week as he is caddying for Gustavsson for the first time in four years.
“Alex had a few friends over from England so we watched the Ryder Cup, and my mum and dad came over as well so I could see them before I went again,” continued Gustavsson. “It was a good couple of weeks for Europe.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stop myself from crying when they mentioned Alex. He is so involved, and he is such a big part of it, it’s not just my win, it’s our win.
“It would have obviously been nice to have him there but the fact that I got to go home that night and see him was great. It’s good to have him here this week, we get to spend a few weeks together now.
“He’s going to caddie for me this week, it’s the first time in four years! We said maybe it’s time and I’ve matured hopefully, so we’ll see if it works out. He is making a comeback.”
The Aramco Team Series presented by PIF – Hong Kong is next up on the LET schedule and it’s a format where Gustavsson has succeeded in the past.
Hong Kong Golf Club is the host venue which will see two competitions happening side by side with the 54-hole Individual stroke play and the 36-hole Team event.
The Swedish star captained her team to victory at the 2022 edition of the Aramco Team Series – New York and was runner-up in the Individual competition in Bangkok.
At the Draft on Wednesday evening, Gustavsson picked Laura Beveridge to be part of her team while the third player is Emma Nilsson, who is one of her best friends and was on the bag for the Swede during the final round in France.
Team Gustavsson will be teeing off at 9.24 am (local time) from the first tee and the LET winner is hoping for another good week in a new place.
“It’s my first time in Hong Kong, I like it so far,” she added. “We’re going to try and do some more sightseeing throughout the week.
“I do look forward to these events a lot, it’s been a while since we played one of the team events. You have to have high confidence after a win, but it’s another week. You just have to take one shot at a time.”
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