Great play by grieving Anna Nordqvist in the last competition before the break

– I have been honest with everyone. It’s been a struggle, but I wanted to get here, do it for myself, show that I’m a fighter. After all, I’m only human, says Nordqvist to the LPGA’s website after today’s round.

During the autumn, Nordqvist’s ex-husband Kevin McAlpine died aged only 39 and she dropped out of several competitions.

She announced that the tour final, where the winner takes home SEK 21 million, will be her last before she pauses her career. “I’m going to take an extended break from work to work on my physical and mental health,” she wrote on Instagram a couple of weeks ago.

“The track doesn’t suit me”

Nordqvist made eight birdies and a bogey (16th hole) on today’s round of 65 which was -7 – on a course she doesn’t like.

– I come here every year and I feel that this track doesn’t suit me very well, but I don’t know what it is, says Nordqvist.

It is Asian at the top with the Chinese Ruoning Yin and the Japanese Nasa Hataoka on 63 strokes. Next comes Australian Minjee Lee on 64 strokes.

The top 60 on the tour are invited to the final. A last place earns SEK 424,000.

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