Sweden’s Lisa Pettersson topped Pre-Qualifying at the 2022 LET Q-School, posting a 72-hole score of nine-under-par, and sailed through to the Final Qualifier.
The 26-year-old played the full 2021 season on the Symetra Tour in the United States but has come back to Europe to try and gain status on the Ladies European Tour (LET).
With her home located just north of Stockholm, travelling and being on the road for so much of the year can mean Pettersson misses her homeland when she is in the United States.
But with status on the Symetra again next year, the most important thing for the Swede is having the opportunity to play and securing her LET card would mean she had a decision to make.
“I played the full year on the Symetra Tour, and I really like it there,” said Pettersson. “I do struggle being so far away from home since I do live in Sweden.
“I came here feeling like I don’t have too much pressure because I still have my Symetra Tour status, but I want to open as many doors as possible and see what the LET has offer.
“I still haven’t really decided where I want to be next year so it will definitely open up all the doors possible. If I play well, then I will have a decision to make.
“If I don’t play well then, I don’t have a decision to make, I have to go with Symetra Tour. I feel like the LET is growing so fast and getting to be a really good Tour, so it would mean a lot to have a chance to try it out.”
Pettersson carded rounds of 67 (-4), 70 (-3), 69 (-2) and 73 (E) on the North and South Courses at La Manga Club to finish one shot ahead of Nigeria’s Georgia Iziemgbe Oboh.
Having made it through the first week, the Swede is hoping to rest and recharge in the few days off so that she can replicate her performance again.
“It is mentally tough for sure and obviously I went for the win, but you just have to remember it doesn’t matter if you finish first or 75th it is about making it through and that’s what I did,” she explained. “Now I’m going to recharge my batteries and hopefully play the same next week.
“I feel like these past few days have been really good practice for next week. I feel like we have played in almost every wind direction. I know the course very well now and I know how I’m going to play and the strategy that I have.”
In the break between the end of the Symetra Tour season and Q-School, Pettersson went back home to Sweden and worked on her game.
And that hard work has paid off with the East Carolina University graduate feeling more comfortable with her irons.
“I’m hitting it very straight from the tee and to the green. The greens are very big, so you can hit a lot of greens and still have long putts,” she said.
“But I would say my irons are really strong right now and that’s very nice because I struggled with them the past few weeks at the end of the season in the US. It is really nice to finally get a grip of them and understand how I can control them again.
“I have been home in Sweden for the past month, and I got a chance to visit my swing coach and work on some technique changes and getting back to getting a good contact on the ball and controlling the clubface. When I’m on the course, I just try and think about not doing anything specific. I want to just swing the club and trust it and it has been working.”
