Linn Grant became a Rolex First-Time Winner a year ago at the Dana Open and now is looking to go two-for-two this week in Sylvania, Ohio.
The Swede won the Dana Open in her tournament debut in 2023, carding rounds of 64-69-62-68 en route to a three-shot victory over Allisen Corpuz after posting a four-day total of 21-under at Highland Meadows Golf Club. It was an impressive performance from the young talent, one that Grant is well on her way to recreating after her second round in the Buckeye State.
Grant opened her title defense at the 2024 Dana Open with a 4-under 67, making one bogey and five birdies during Thursday’s first round, four of which came in a five-hole stretch from Nos. 13 to 17. She sat in a tie for seventh and three shots back of 18-hole leader Hye-Jin Choi after day one, quickly climbing the leaderboard in the morning wave on day two.
The 25-year-old grabbed a birdie right out of the gate on the par-4 1st hole to move to 5-under immediately, erasing that effort with a bogey on the second hole and then making a birdie on No. 3 to get back to 1-under for the round.
After steadying herself with a par on the fourth hole, Grant rattled off three straight birdies on holes five, six and seven to jump to 8-under for the tournament, ultimately bogeying the ninth hole to turn in 31 at 7-under overall.
She recovered with a birdie on the par-4 10th hole and then picked up another birdie on the par-4 13th hole to move to 9-under total, grabbing one last birdie on the par-5 17th hole to post a 6-under 65 and sit at 10-under overall through two rounds at the Dana Open.
The 65 is Grant’s lowest round on the LPGA Tour this season and is her lowest 18-hole score since she opened with a 65 at the 2023 ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican last November. And her Friday effort has now put Grant in prime position to try and successfully defend a title for the first time in her professional career.
“I tried to play very aggressive,” said Grant. “I felt after yesterday that I really had some good game going and hit some great shots. I felt like I could go out and be aggressive. Some holes that didn't pay off, but that's golf. I feel like my game is very good. Felt like I left a couple out there today even. If I can just go out tomorrow and Sunday and feel like I'm doing the same and give myself as many opportunities as possible, I think it could be really good.”
This is Grant’s 15th event of the 2024 LPGA Tour season, and in her 14 previous tournaments, she has only missed two cuts and earned four top-15 finishes, two of which were a pair of T13s that came in back-to-back starts at the HSBC Women’s World Championship and FIR HILLS SERI PAK Championship. She also tied for seventh at the Cognizant Founders Cup in May and then tied for ninth at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee in June, her season-best finish in a major championship.
It's been an incredibly steady year for the Swede, one that she has gotten to enjoy the last few months of with her brother Jonathan on her bag. While it’s not uncommon for a player to tap a family member to loop for them every now and again, it has been special for Grant to share her LPGA Tour life with her sibling and show him what things are like inside the ropes on the biggest stage in women’s golf.
“It's nice to have him here. It's nice to kind of show him the place that I've been to before,” Grant said of her brother. “Obviously, it's nice to have someone that you can chat about different things rather than just having yourself to talk to or just your own thoughts about golf. Right now, I think we're talking about what we're going to do when we come home, which is next week.”
The Swede has elected to skip this year’s CPKC Women’s Open in favor of getting some rest before she makes her Olympic debut in Paris, qualifying for her first Games after the conclusion of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews is also set to take place just a little over a week after the Olympics, and Grant wants to be as prepared as she can to chase both a spot on the podium and a major championship trophy in August.
Add the promise of a Solheim Cup in mid-September to her already jam-packed calendar, and the 25-year-old knows just how important it is to be rested for this next slate of tournaments that round out the summer schedule, events that could potentially be life-changing for the budding European star.
“There is a lot of golf left, a lot of important, big events,” said Grant. “Looking at that, I feel like I'm still very much a rookie on Tour. I want to try to play as much as possible to know the schedule for future years. So, I was going to play next week, but I'm taking next week off to just relax and prepare myself for the Olympics and the last major coming up.
“The best memories of golf, for me, are when I've represented Sweden, and Maja (Stark) has been in all of those, so I'm glad that we're in this week together. It will just be really fun. It's always an honor to have the blue and yellow on and play for something bigger than just myself.”
But Paris is still a few weeks away, and if she continues to play like she did in the first two rounds over the next 36 holes at Highland Meadows Golf Club, Grant just might be building up to a break-out moment at some of the biggest events in women’s golf in coming months.
Only time will tell for Grant, but a win in Ohio would be a great place to start.
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