Linnea Ström Explained

Linnea Ström
Birth Date:14 October 1996
Birth Place:Göteborg, Sweden
Residence:Scottsdale, Arizona
College:Arizona State University
Yearpro:2018
Tour:LPGA Tour (joined 2019)
Ladies European Tour (joined 2019)
Extour:Epson Tour (joined 2018)
Prowins:3
Lpgawins:1
Futwins:2
Nabisco:T26: 2019
Lpga:T57: 2023
Wusopen:T13: 2020
Wbritopen:T64: 2019
Evian:T42: 2023
Award1:Symetra Tour Rookie of the Year
Year1:2018
Award2:Epson Tour Player of the Year
Year2:2022

Linnea Ström (born 14 October 1996) is a Swedish professional golfer. She joined the U.S.-based LPGA Tour after graduating from the Symetra Tour as 2018 Rookie of the Year. She was solo second at the 2022 Madrid Ladies Open and 2023 Walmart NW Arkansas Championship before winning the 2024 ShopRite LPGA Classic.

Amateur career

Ström enjoyed a highly successful amateur career. She became a member of the Swedish National Team at age 13 and was part of the Swedish team winning the European Girls' Team Championship in 2012 and again in 2013.[1] She was a member of the 2013 Junior Solheim Cup team and the European Junior Ryder Cup teams in 2012 and 2014.

Ström, paired with Marcus Kinhult, won gold in the mixed category at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. At the 2014 Espirito Santo Trophy in Japan, Ström's Swedish team with Louise Ridderström and Madelene Sagström finished tied fifth alongside the United States. She won the 2014 Spanish Ladies Amateur, beating Annabel Dimmock 2&1. In 2015, she was runner-up at the Spanish Ladies Amateur and at the British Ladies Amateur, where she lost the final to Céline Boutier 3&2.<ref>Web site: Linnea Ström Bio . Symetra Tour . 8 October 2018. She qualified for the 2015 Women's British Open, her first major championship, where she did not made the cut.

Ström played college golf for the Arizona State Sun Devils at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona, where she was the 2016 Pac-12 Conference Individual champion and Collegiate First Team All American 2016 and 2017. She led the Sun Devils to the program's eighth NCAA Division I National Championship in 2017.[2]

Professional career

Ranked ninth in the Women's World Amateur Golf Ranking, Ström quit ASU after 2.5 years in March 2018 to turn professional and play on the Symetra Tour, after a bout of food poisoning during the final stage of the LPGA Q-School saw her miss out on earning her LPGA card.[3] She won her first professional tournament in September 2018, the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge, and won the 2018 Symetra Tour Rookie of the Year award. By finishing fifth on the 2018 Symetra Tour money list she earned membership of the LPGA Tour in October 2018.[4]

On the 2019 LPGA Tour she made 11 cuts in 22 events and ended her rookie season 84th on the money list to retain her tour card. Her best finish was T5 at the Marathon Classic and she ranked 11th in average driving distance (271.52 yards), finishing sixth in the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year standings. She earned starts at four majors and finished T26 at the 2019 ANA Inspiration.[2]

Ström started 2020 with a T4 at the ISPS Handa Vic Open, one stroke away from the playoff won by Park Hee-young, and finished third in the Australian Ladies Classic, a Ladies European Tour event.[5] In August she finished T9 at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and finished the season 41st on the LPGA money list.[6]

In August 2021, Ström captained a team with Jenny Haglund and Agathe Sauzon that took a single-shot lead into the final day of the Aramco Team Series – Sotogrande. On the 54th-hole Stacy Lee Bregman holed a critical birdie that took her team to a playoff with Ström, and team captain Ashleigh Buhai won the title on the first extra hole.[7]

In 2022, Ström divided her time between the Ladies European Tour and the Epson Tour. On the LET, she finished solo 3rd at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open after going into the final day with a two stroke lead.[8] She was solo 2nd at the Madrid Ladies Open behind Ana Peláez.[9] On the Epson Tour, she won the IOA Championship and was runner-up at the Twin Bridges Championship. She was the leading money winner to become Epson Tour Player of the Year and re-gain her fully exempt status on the LPGA Tour for the 2023 season.[10]

In 2023, Ström was in contention at the Lotte Championship in Hawaii. Sharing the lead during the last round, a double bogey on the 14th saw her finish −11, one stroke away from a three-way playoff won by Grace Kim.[11] She closed with a 64 to finish solo second at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, three strokes behind Ryu Hae-ran.[12]

At the 2024 ShopRite LPGA Classic, Ström shot a final round 60, second only to Annika Sörenstam's 59 at the 2001 Standard Register PING, to surge from seven strokes behind, tied for last (T-52), to seize the title. Ström's probability to win at the start of the final round was 0.001%, according to KPMG Insights.[13]

Amateur wins

Professional wins (3)

Epson Tour wins (2)

No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
12 Sep 2018Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge65-71-66-67=269−111 stroke Charlotte Thomas
2IOA Championship71-67-67=205−113 strokes Milagros Chaves
Sophie Hausmann
Sarah Jane Smith

Playoff record

Ladies European Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in LPGA majors

Results not in chronological order.

Tournament 2015 2016 2017 2019 2017 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Chevron ChampionshipT26T32T57T56CUT
U.S. Women's OpenT13CUT
Women's PGA ChampionshipCUTT65CUTT57CUT
The Evian ChampionshipCUTNTT42CUT
CUTT64CUTCUT
CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

Team appearances

Amateur

Source:[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: European Girls' Team Championship – European Golf Association . 19 October 2015 . 18 December 2017.
  2. Web site: Linnea Ström Player Profile . LPGA Tour . 9 September 2020.
  3. Web site: Arizona State junior Linnea Strom turns pro . Golfweek . 14 December 2017 . 8 October 2018.
  4. Web site: Linnea Ström on earning LPGA Tour card for 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181008174834/http://www.symetratour.com/videos/linnea-strom-on-earning-lpga-tour-card-for-2019 . dead . October 8, 2018 . Symetra Tour . 8 October 2018.
  5. Web site: Linnea Ström . Golfdata . 9 September 2020.
  6. Web site: 2020 Race to CME Globe . LPGA Tour . 9 September 2020.
  7. Web site: Team Buhai wins Aramco Team Series — Sotogrande play-off . 15 September 2021 . Arab News.
  8. Web site: Ström Still In Front With One Round Remaining In Kenya . Ladies European Tour . 10 October 2022.
  9. Web site: Ana Peláez: A Star Is Born In Madrid . Ladies European Tour . 10 October 2022.
  10. Web site: Meet the 2022 Epson Tour Graduates . Epson Tour . 9 October 2022 . 10 October 2022.
  11. Web site: Australian Grace Kim wins LOTTE Championship in playoff . 16 April 2023 . News4 . 16 April 2023.
  12. News: Rookie Hae Ran Ryu of South Korea wins in Arkansas for her first LPGA Tour title . Associated Press News . 1 October 2023 . 2 October 2023.
  13. Paisley . Kent . Sweden's Linnea Strom shoots 60 in historic comeback victory at ShopRite LPGA Classic . Golf Digest . 9 June 2024 . 10 June 2024.
  14. Web site: European Team Championships . 16 October 2015 . 24 April 2023 . European Golf Association.