Winning the coveted Hero Women’s Indian Open title was not the only thing on Sophie Gustafson’s mind as she made her first trip to India this week.

The Swedish 37-year-old also took a three hour drive from the Indian Capital to visit the Taj Mahal with her caddie Kajsa Larsson (pictured) on Thursday, on the eve of the tournament at DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon near New Delhi.

“I always wanted to come to India and to visit the Taj Mahal and this fitted perfectly onto my schedule,” said Gustafson, who went sight-seeing with her Swedish caddie Kajsa Larsson.

Gustafson, who turned professional in 1992, has won 26 titles around the globe and is the second highest ranked player in the 108-woman field this week, at 50th on the Rolex Women’s World Rankings, six places behind fellow Swede Caroline Hedwall.

She has been a member of eight European Solheim Cup teams from 1998-2011 and was the leading points’ scorer with four out of four on the successful side in Ireland this September.  

Playing with Anna Nordqvist, she led Sweden to its second straight victory at the European Nations Cup in April.

Although yet to win an individual stroke-play event this season, she feels confident about her chances in India.  

“I think I have a good shot at winning. I like the course and I’m hitting the ball decent. It’s a good track and it’s in fabulous shape,” she commented.  

Sophie in action

Asked about the golf course, she said that accuracy would be important.

“Keeping it in the fairway would be beneficial as there are quite a few trees and bushes around. The greens are fairly flat so if you can keep it in the fairway you’ll have a good look at birdie,” she said.

On her season, winning all of her points at The Solheim Cup was a highlight: “Winning all my points is something I always wanted to get done and be able to do it in Ireland and then have the team finish off strong was fantastic.”

She rated this year’s performances as ‘decent’ overall. “I’m not happy with the overall season but I’m not displeased with it either. There hasn’t been enough top finishes in my events,” she added.

Aside from winning the team event in Spain, her best finish of the season was third at the Ricoh Women’s British Open.  

Since The Solheim Cup in late September, her best finish from five starts has been a tie for 13th at the LPGA Hana Bank Championship.  

 

To read more about Sophie’s visit to the Taj Mahal, visit her blog from Friday at: www.sophiegustafson.com.