Last week Lisa Pettersson became a winner on the Ladies European Tour (LET) securing a one-stroke victory at the 2023 Helsingborg Open.
To clinch your first win on Tour is special but to do it in your home country is even better and the realisation hasn’t fully hit the 27-year-old yet.
But it’s straight to the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed with a second week in Sweden for Pettersson to enjoy.
“I still don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet,” said the Swede, who is this week’s guest on the LET Golf Podcast. “I’ve been looking forward to this week because it’s a home week for me.
“So, I’ve been more focused on that, and I haven’t really let myself take in the feelings of last week’s win just yet. It just feels amazing. To win at home, it honestly couldn’t have been any better. I love playing in Sweden.
“Even though it’s not my hometown, I still feel all the support from the Swedish fans out there. It makes me feel a little bit more comfortable and allows me to swing more freely.”
The Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed is a co-sanctioned event between the LET and DP World Tour and it sees 78 men and 78 women playing for the same prize fund of US $2 million and one trophy.
Pettersson hails from Täby, a suburb of Stockholm, and it is just 15 minutes from this week’s venue Ullna Golf Club.
It is a rare occasion on Tour for the LET winner, who can sleep in her own bed on a tournament week.
But it also means that the Swedish player will have plenty of support with friends and family able to come and watch her play.
She explained: “It’s a really fun event. It means a lot that it’s in Stockholm for me because my friends and family can be out here watching. It’s such a big event joining the men and the women, showing that we can be out here together, it’s going to be a really fun week.
“It’s really nice to be at home. We’ve now been on the road for six weeks in a row, so it’s going to be nice to able to spend more than one night in my own bed.”
Pettersson, who now sits in seventh in the Race to Costa del Sol, will be teeing it up in the first round at 7.50 am local time from the 10th tee alongside Germany’s Yannick Paul and Sweden’s Simon Forsström.
The Helsingborg Open champion knows the course quite well having played here during the years she was at college.
Growing up in Sweden, Pettersson idolised Annika Sörenstam and the 17-time LET winner will be playing in the group behind the latest Swedish winner on Tour.
“Annika is honestly every Swedish girl’s idol,” she added. “I played in her event when I was younger, the Annika Invitational, and she’s such an inspiration. It’s now really cool to be playing in the same event as her!
“This course is one of the best in Sweden and they’ve done a really good job. Everything looks great for the spectators. I’ve played it a lot of times and the wind is what makes it really tricky, especially with the water. It will be interesting to see how they set it up.”
Follow all the action on @LETGolf on Instagram and Twitter and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #RaiseOurGame #ScandinavianMixed.
