AIG Women’s Open review
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ust as an adopted child can find a guiding star in a new home, Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist, who makes her life in Arizona, was embraced as one of their own in Angus by her Scottish caddie, Scottish husband and Scottish family and friends among the 8,000 or so spectators who hailed her compelling victory at Carnoustie in what was an electrifying staging of the 2021 AIG Women’s Open. Securing the third Major title of her career, thanks to the 12-under-par total of 276 which proved sufficient to win by a stroke from Georgia Hall, Madelene Sagström and Lizette Salas, Nordqvist felt a bond with the historic links, partly because her husband, Kevin, the son of former Dundee United goalkeeper Hamish McAlpine, is a native who reckoned his wife enjoyed popular support from the galleries surpassed only by the local favourite, Louise Duncan. A former Scottish Amateur champion and caddie for players of the calibre of Martin Laird and Lexi Thompson, Kevin decided discretion was the better part of valour when considering whether or not to carry his wife’s clubs. “I don’t think she could have won the AIG Women’s Open with me on the bag,” he smiled, “or stay married if we did…” Instead, McAlpine’s friend Paul Cormack, from Banchory, brought the local knowledge that helped the Swede master the lay-out. Nordqvist reveres the game played beside the sea in Scotland and rates Carnoustie and Kingsbarns among her
Anna Nordqvist drives from the first tee during the final round at Carnoustie
favourite tests. Her third Major title – the previous successes were at the Women’s PGA in 2009 and the Evian in 2017 – perhaps meant the most to the Solheim Cup player because she was unsure if she would ever win again after contracting glandular fever. “The hardest part [of the illness] was basically losing my mental and physical endurance,” she confessed. “It took about three years to get over and I think during Covid I finally had some time to be at home and slow down. My life has always gone at 110 miles an hour. It was great finally to have a little bit more time at home, not having to travel. I think it was probably the break I needed a couple of years earlier but just never gave myself. [For a while] I kept pushing, but I didn’t have that extra gear I was always used to having.” While her rejuvenated spirit, obviously, drove her on to victory at Carnoustie, one of the technical keys to Nordqvist’s success was her researched grasp of pace on the seaside greens. “I worked a lot on speed control,” she acknowledged. “My speed
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Early leader Nelly Korda keeps an eye on the leaderboard
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