A lot of exciting things are happening this month in the world of golf, but the standout highlight in June was Linn Grant’s extraordinary win in Sweden.
Linn made history as she became the first female winner on the DP World Tour! The Swedish golfer enjoyed a superb nine-stroke victory at the Scandinavian Mixed event, leaving former Open Championship winner Henrik Stenson trailing in her wake and posting an astonishing final round of eight-under par to seal the deal at Halmstad Golf Club, not only securing a piece of history but a sweet €320,000 cheque as well. Grant, who only turned professional last summer, hopes her win will help the world recognise women’s golf more.
With three Ladies European Tour titles already to her name, she is a huge inspiration and role-model for women’s golf worldwide. “Grant’s win shows the quality of the women’s game” – Anneka Sörenstam. What is remarkable about this win is that Linn Grant beat a mixed field including 78 men. The only difference was the men played a slightly longer course enabling similar club selection for par 3s and approach shots to greens. Plenty of people out there say women can’t compete with the men, but this is simply not true, so it was nice to see Grant silence the doubters with the victory.
It was a busy month in the women’s game with two Major Championships – the U.S. Women’s Open and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Minjee Lee was the runaway winner in the former at Pine Needles Country Club, North Carolina. It was the Australian’s second Major title and the highest pay-out in women’s golf history of $1.8M.
Next up was the Women’s PGA Championship, which announced just days before the event that the prize fund would be doubled from the previous edition. Korean professional In-Gee Chun secured the victory at Congressional Country Club near Washington DC and earned the $1.35M winner’s prize in the process after a final day tussle with Lexi Thompson. In-Gee led the field by five shots after a course record 64 in the first round, ten better than Lexi. By the time the final round started, In-Gee’s lead was down to three shots and in a tense final day with both players succumbing to the pressure at different times In-Gee came out on top. In-Gee was a worthy winner but this was another Major Lexi let slip, again an example of the way golf plays with your mind when the chips are down! Between Linn Grant’s win and the noticeably increased prize purses, women’s golf in June showed it is most definitely on the right track.
I’m off back home to Ireland for the summer where I’ll be playing on some of the great links courses that Ireland has to offer while also taking in some professional golf at the JP McManus Pro-Am, being played at the Adare Manor Golf Club, host to the 2027 Ryder Cup. This is an extraordinary event, with Tiger Woods playing as well as ten of the top 11 players in the world and countless celebrities. Irish hero Leona Maguire will also be teeing it up against the big boys in front of more than 30,000 people. Outside of the Majors and The Players Championship this is the best field in the world in 2022!
