Minea (right) and her sister Jannina

(SUZHOU, CHINA — 28th October 2009) — The Suzhou Taihu Ladies Open will be a family affair for the Blomqvist sisters Minea and Jannina, who are working together this week at Suzhou Taihu International Golf Club in China.

Jannina, 18, is acting as Minea’s caddie over the LET’s two week stretch in Asia, this week and next week in South Korea.

“She caddied for me in Italy and she graduated from high school one month ago so now she’s thinking about what she wants to do with her life and she’s come to help me a little bit,” explained 24-year-old Blomqvist, who is almost four months pregnant with her first child, due to arrive on 5th April.

They aim to finish the season on a high note before Minea takes a break after the Dubai Ladies Masters.

“I feel good. I don’t see that it would hurt me in any way and I can’t feel it in my swing yet. Everything is so exciting right now. We are very, very happy,” said Minea, whose partner Roope Kakko is a professional golfer on the European and Challenge Tours.

The couple have been together for nine years and were due to be married early next year but they postponed their plans due to the unexpected pregnancy.

“Everything has a reason but it was a little accident. Roope plays Challenge Tour but he played 10 tournaments on the European Tour this year and we don’t want to stop our careers. I am 24 and he is 27. I think it’s something totally new and you can’t know how you will feel but our families are very supportive and my mum might help me out a little bit,” said Minea, who may play at more events in Europe in the future.

“I tried to play mainly in the USA but now with this new situation it depends what my boyfriend does. If he is on the European Tour, maybe I will play European Tour a bit more. Everything is not planned. We will take one step at a time,” she said, adding that she may move back home from Orlando, Florida to Helsinki, Finland.

“Me and my boyfriend have been together nine years and we already have names ready. We have been thinking about all these things all these years and we thought when we had children, at the age of seven, when they have to go to school, we will move back to Finland. Now it’s a different situation because when the baby is seven I’m going to be 32 and that’s quite young to finish your career.”

Minea owns a winner’s category on the Ladies European Tour, due to her second tour victory at last year’s Finnair Masters.

Despite an unremarkable 2009 season on the golf course to date, she posted a season best tie for third at the Finnair Masters and believes that her strong preparation should bring increased confidence this week.

“I think every tournament this year has been a little tough for me and I haven’t been playing that good so now every tournament I kind of, try to see beforehand that I’m playing well so that I’m more relaxed on the golf course. It has been very unconfident this year. I try to play three good rounds. I have been with the same coaches but it has been an impatient year for some reason. Maybe the baby will make me more stable.”

Minea is due to become one of an increasing number of mums on the Ladies European Tour, along with Iben Tinning, Virginie Lagoutte-Clement, Ludivine Kreutz, Paula Marti, Ursula Wikstrom, Carin Koch, Maria Hjorth and Catriona Matthew.