Anna Nordqvist brought an emotional end to her 18-year playing career at the FM Championship on Sunday, 12 days before she leads Team Europe into the Solheim Cup as captain, live on Sky Sports. The 39-year-old, who announced this week that Boston would be her farewell, finished on the ninth green at TPC Boston surrounded by fellow players and caddies, signing off with a level-par final round to finish one under for the week. Her career ends with 16 victories, including three majors, 19 top-10 finishes in major championships and five Solheim Cup triumphs from nine consecutive appearances.
Across 18 years, she has built a body of work that ranks among the finest of any European golfer of her generation. LPGA Hall of Famer Pat Bradley embraced her and playing partner Ariya Jutanugarn had already reduced her to tears at the very first hole by telling her how happy she was to share the legendary Swede's final round. "Nothing ever prepares you for this moment.
I'm definitely going to miss it," Nordqvist said. "Part of me feels like I still have so much more left in me but I'm just forever grateful for everything this game and the LPGA family has done for me. "I came out on tour in 2009 as a 21-year-old with no family in the US, and everyone has been just such a huge support." Asked about her legacy, she said: "So many people think your career is a straight line upwards.
I feel like I've gone through a lot of ups and downs both on and off the course. What I want to be remembered for is the fact that I never gave up. "I thought about quitting in 2012, 2013.
I was really, really close to walking away. If my younger brother hadn't come out and caddied for me that summer, I don't think I would be sitting here. So he saved my career." Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The Swede won the first of her three majors as a rookie in 2009 and added the Evian Championship in 2017, but it is the 2021 AIG Women's Open at Carnoustie she holds dearest.
"It's still one of those moments I pinch myself," she said. No one can ever take that away from me, and it's definitely the most proud moment of my career." Her nine consecutive Solheim Cup appearances yielded five European victories and, after serving as a playing vice-captain in the last two editions, she now turns her full attention to the captaincy - a role she says has consumed her for the past 18 months. "All the work you put in, you put in for others to prepare for that one week," she said.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
