Johanna Gustavsson
Sweden is set to host the LET Access Series for a second time this season when the tour returns to the Sundsvall Golf Club in Kvissleby, for one of the calendar’s penultimate events.
The €35,000 Castellum Ladies Open will be played just a ten-hour drive from Bara, where the players teed it up earlier in May, at the Forget Foundation PGA Championship.
Last year, Jenny Haglund won at home with rounds of 69,69 and 68, finishing two better than Sarah Schober of Austria. Haglund would go on to finish runner-up on the order of merit to Schober by a narrow margin. Both have been mainstays on the LET this season, with the former 23rd on the LET ranking while the latter is currently at 50th.
The highest ranked Swede in this year’s field in Johanna Gustavsson. The young professional is well remembered for her 14-hole playoff win over Spain’s Natalia Escuriola in Norway in 2015. Gustavsson lost a playoff earlier in the year to Isabelle Boineau of France at the Jabra Ladies Open, after which both players clinched spots for the final major of the year at the Evian Championship, in September.
“It’s always great to play an LETAS event in Sweden. Sundsvall has held this tournament for many years now, and are big supporters of women’s golf. It is a delight to be invited to the club to play and meet the juniors here.”
Coming into this event, England’s Meghan Maclaren has maintained her stronghold at the top of the 2017 LETAS rankings with one win in the Azores Ladies Open earlier in the year, along with three other top-ten finishes. The Englishwoman is coming off back-to-back weeks on the LPGA in the United States where she played the US Women’s Open and Marathon Classic. Though she missed the cut at both events, according to Maclaren it was the experience that counts.
“I feel like I’ve had about ten years’ worth of learning in the last couple of weeks. The US Open in particular, exposed parts of my game that need improving if I want to succeed at the highest level.” It is worth noting that she went through qualifying to be eligible for the LPGA events.
Her last start on the LETAS was a solo second place finish after losing in a playoff to Scotland’s Heather Macrae in Belgium. She recently attempted to qualify for the Ricoh Women’s British Open, only to fall short at the final stage.
“I’m looking forward to this week. While it was disappointing not to get through to the Open, it’s great to still have the opportunity to play competitive golf. I missed the last LETAS event, so it’ll be great to get back out there again and try to push on in the Order of Merit.”
The tournament venue which was founded in 1953, will play as a par-71 for the week. Other notables in the field inside the top-five of the order of merit include England’s Charlotte Thompson and Lucie Andre of France. Schober too, is back to try and go one better than her second place finish last year.
The Castellum Ladies Open will be played from the 2 – 4 of August.
