Karin Ingrid Andrea Lindblad. One of the great promises of world golf has taken the first big step in her career this weekend. At 25 years old and in her rookie season on the LPGA Tour, she has claimed her first title on the North American circuit.
It was precisely in Hollywood, the mecca of cinema, where the Swede put on her first big show. Her world debut. All eyes were on the player born on 11 April 2000.
The former World Amateur Number One has claimed the first victory of her career at Caballero Country Club, the venue for the JM Eagle LA Championship. The last time the LPGA played this course 21 years ago, her compatriot Annika Sorenstam won the tournament. It was the 50th of the 72 times the golf legend won. For Ingrid, it’s the first. She takes up the mantle.
A final round of 68 strokes crowned the Swede with a total of 21 under par. Lindblad started the last day as a co-leader in a three-way tie and watched as her fellow rookie Akie Iwai missed the putt that could have sent the outcome to a playoff.
Winning comes naturally to Lindblad. As an amateur, she already won two professional tournaments on the Nordic Golf Tour in 2020. In September 2024, just two months after turning professional, she won on the Epson Tour, and in her rookie season on the LPGA, she won on her fourth attempt. During her amateur days, she won four times in the collegiate league, as well as the Individual European Championship once and twice by teams. A golf assassin. When she smells blood, there’s no stopping her, which is why they call her the Buffalo.
“You always have to believe you can win, right?” said Lindblad. “But obviously I achieved it in very few tournaments. Crazy.” That’s Lindblad for you. “I told myself that winning wasn’t such an outlandish goal. In fact, I mentioned it two or three times in the media, and here we are. Now maybe I have to update the list of goals.”
The reality is that the timing of the triumph has been perfect. Her victory opens the doors to the first major of the LPGA Tour season, the Chevron Challenge at The Club at Carlton Woods in Texas. She also won’t have to look for other ways to participate in the US Women’s Open, as this victory places her at Erin Hills Golf Course.
The Swedish rookie wore a bracelet on her wrist given to her by Alexis Rather, her former assistant golf coach at LSU, which said: “be where your feet are.” It’s an expression that means, be yourself. And Lindblad did just that. She ‘only’ knows how to win, and she’s proving it. We just have to wait to see what the next chapter is in a story that seems destined for success.
