European Solheim Cup rookie Linn Grant is going out in the first match. Here’s how she’s mentally preparing

The Solheim Cup is unlike anything else in women’s golf. The atmosphere is intense, with players facing enormous pressure to perform for their teammates, countries and continents.

It can be a stressful situation, especially for a first-timer. But European captain Suzann Pettersen clearly has lots of faith in her rookie, Linn Grant, because Pettersen elected to send Grant off in the very first match alongside fellow Swede Maja Stark.

The duo will face Americans Lexi Thompson and Meghan Khang. How is Grant preparing for the atmosphere she’ll face at Spain’s Finca Cortesin? GOLF’s Claire Rogers spent some time with Grant to find out.

News

“I think you can be more aggressive,” Grant said of match play. “You don’t have to think about, what happens, what kind of score will I shoot if I go for this pin? You just have to focus on doing better than the one you’re up against.”

Grant acknowledged that her natural style of play is already aggressive, but noted that making a mistake in match play is only worth one hole, so it isn’t overly penal.

“It brings the anxiety away from golf a bit,” she said.

And in terms of emotion, Grant says she’s hopeful she’ll be able to let it out when celebrating a clutch moment.

“It’s gonna be hard not to,” she said. “I think there’s gonna be a lot of people there, the environment will be so fun.”

The Solheim Cup kicks off on Friday, September 22. You can watch the action starting at 2 a.m. ET on Golf Channel and Peacock.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

• Author Twitter Account
• Author Instagram Account