At Linköping University, there is a budding Swedish golfer working as a research assistant in analytical sociology.
Her name is Lovisa Gunnar, 25, who plays professionally on the LET Access Series (LETAS) while juggling her full-time role in social sciences.
“I think it’s very interesting and an important job that we’re doing,” she said. “It’s such a contrast with golf as well. One very big benefit with that job is that it’s very flexible.
“I’ve always been very interested in school and academia. I cannot play golf all day anyway, or I cannot work all day anyway efficiently, so as long as I manage my time and plan it, I think I can do both.
“Last year I was a little bit too focused on only golf, and I think that sort of hindered me a bit, whereas now I feel like I’m playing with less pressure. That’s honestly the greatest benefit of doing something on the side.”
Gunnar comes into this week’s June 24-26 PGA Championship in red-hot form, on the back of four consecutive top 10 finishes in her opening four 2026 LETAS events to climb as high as seventh in the Order of Merit standings.
“I’m feeling good,” she said. “Very excited to be playing here in Sweden. I took last week off and for the first time in a long while, I got myself a longer period to really practice and work on some of the fundamentals and basics in my game; especially my ball striking and parts of my putting.
“I think that’s something that shows. I’ve been hitting the ball much better. I also celebrated Midsummer, one of the biggest Swedish holidays, which was really good to spend some time with friends and family.”
This week’s venue at Elisefarm Golf Club, near the southern town of Hoor, may be a four-hour drive away from Linköping, but Gunnar spent her childhood in the south of Sweden.
“I’ve never played here, but I went to high school down in this area,” she said. “It’s like 15 minutes from here, so it feels like home to come down to this part of the country.
“I am staying at my best friend’s place this week and obviously that’s not something that you get to do very often so I’m very excited. I’m gonna have some support down here as well so that’s good.”
When she was younger, Gunnar’s parents introduced her to a variety of sports, but it was golf that stood out.
She said: “A funny story was that when I started playing, I’d broken my arm, so I was starting to play only with my right hand, but I just liked the environment out on the golf course where I got friends there.
“It wasn’t that I fell in love with the game, I wouldn’t say right away. It was more that I just fell in love with the people and the environment out there.”
Last year, Gunnar played 12 events during her rookie season and finished 70th in the Order of Merit.
“I think I made a rookie mistake because right when I turned pro, I played 11 weeks in a row,” she said. “I don’t think that was a good decision or smart decision. It’s not rocket science. I wasn’t really ready to compete then.
“I got to the events, and I was tired and I wasn’t fully there, so that’s definitely something that I’m trying to learn from, like perhaps not play every week, which was why I skipped last week to come more ready and more prepared for the events that I’m playing.
Now equipped with valuable experience, her goal is to finish inside the top seven in the Order of Merit standings to earn her LET card for the 2027 season.
“I think that my game is at a place to where I could get a win,” she added. “But honestly, more than anything, I just want to commit to the behaviours that that I want myself to do.
“I want to put myself in in those positions, so yeah, it’s more about my processes than the results.”
Gunnar will tee it up in the first round of the PGA Championship at 1.54pm (local time) alongside Switzerland’s Caroline Sturdza and Iceland’s Andrea Bergsdottir.
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