Denmark’s Smilla Tarning Soenderby returns to the Ladies European Tour (LET) as a two-time winner this week following her victory at the MCB Ladies Classic – Mauritius.
The Dane clinched her first win through a playoff at the 2023 KPMG Women’s Irish Open and secured her second thanks to a birdie putt on the last hole of the Legend Course at the Constance Belle Mare Plage.
Soenderby headed back to Denmark after her victory, but her week off was not completely restful as she had plenty of interviews and a national camp to attend.
“It was busy! I came home on Monday morning and I was chilled,” she said. “Coming back to my parents, seeing the cats, completely chill. It’s so nice here. Then Tuesday I went to practice, and also had dinner with my friends, we celebrated a little bit there.
“We had a national team camp on Wednesday and Thursday, where the theme was performing under pressure. I thought I’ve just done that! It was okay, and then the lots of interviews the whole week. Thursday with the biggest news channel in Denmark, Friday with a Danish golf magazine, Saturday I was on breakfast television with my mum and that was really cool.
“They liked the story with my mum and Mother’s day, it was perfect timing. I wasn’t sure to start but it was a cool opportunity to get a message out to a lot of people. I took the chance to talk about if you turn your phone off and focus and immerse yourself, you can do some pretty cool things. It’s actually really nice to be back at a tournament and do my usual routines.”
Soenderby reflected on her victory in Mauritius, where she produced rounds of 66-69-67 to secure a one-stroke victory.
She had her mum Kirsten with her for the whole week and she was also her caddie for the final round.
“We had that moment, we experienced it together, and it was so nice,” she explained. “I feel my dad was a bit jealous! His reaction to the whole figure has been a little bit funny, I think he would have liked to be there as well. He was supposed to be here for this week, but then some work came up.
“I’ve been a professional for almost five years, and I haven’t really had my parents with me much during that time. I also moved out four or five years ago, so I haven’t seen them as much and just having that week with my mum and getting to know each other again. It was really important for our relationship going forward.”
Soenderby is one of 132 players competing in the 2026 Amundi German Masters taking place on the North Course at Green Eagle Golf Courses.
The two-time LET winner is one of three LET winners from the 2026 season teeing it up in Hamburg which is only a few hours from Denmark.
She added: “My mum is coming tomorrow. Miko is here this week. It feels a bit like home with my people, a golf course similar to what I play at home.
“I’m trying to ride the wave from last week in Mauritius and just keep doing those things. I’m going to keep trying to do those things this week and then I have a week off next week to reset a little bit more.
“It’s so nice that I managed to win early in the year. I’m really looking forward to AIG Women’s Open. I’m happy that I get to experience that as well. Those next few years, I want to play majors and put myself in those positions and see what I can do there. I’m excited.”
Soenderby tees it up in the first round of the Amundi German Masters on Thursday at 7.52 am (local time) alongside Slovenia’s Pia Babnik and Germany’s Celina Sattelkau.
Keep up to date with all the action throughout on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #AmundiGermanMasters.
