By Fred Altvater
The win by a Symetra Tour player Sophia Popov at the 2020 AIG Women’s OPEN at Royal Troon last month was certainly unexpected, but can be traced directly back to the restart of the LPGA Tour in Toledo at the beginning of August.
WHO IS SOPHIA POPOV?
One of the coolest things about sports in general and golf especially, you just never know where the next great player will come from. Case in point Sophia Popov, who before her major championship win was outside the top 300 in the women’s world golf rankings.
Popov, originally from Germany, is 27 years old and played collegiately at USC. She missed qualifying for the 2020 LPGA Tour season by a single shot last fall at LPGA Q School at Pinehurst.
She found herself back on the Symetra Tour this season and kept her game sharp during the quarantine period by winning three Cactus Tour events in April and May.
Sophia first earned conditional LPGA status in 2015, but her golf career was put on hold when she was diagnosed with Lyme disease.
In an interview after capturing the 2020 AIG Women’s Open title, Popov revealed she has fought an extended battle with Lyme Disease that kept her health and her golf game at bay for several years.
“My rookie year, I started having a lot of health issues, and honestly we didn’t even know what it was. It took a total of about 20 doctor visits three years later to figure out that I had Lyme disease,” said Popov. “At that point it was so chronic, though, that I had just been struggling a lot with fatigue, and honestly, I had like 10 different symptoms and it was just very, it was a tough time to go through just because I didn’t know what it was, and it took so long to pinpoint exactly what was going on.”
Popov lost 25 pounds and had to work hard to regain the energy and stamina lost by the disease. Today she remains vigilant about her diet and exercise regimen to keep the illness from becoming an issue again.
“I’m very disciplined as far as, my health, my nutrition and working out and doing everything in my power to have as little as possible symptoms. I have it under control really well. I want to keep it that way,” said Popov. “It was a long road to get here because there was a lot of personal research and figuring out on my own what would make me feel better, and I’m glad I got to the point where I’m feeling pretty good, and hopefully it stays that way.”
MAJOR WIN HAS TOLEDO CONNECTION
When the LPGA resumed at the Drive On Championship at the Inverness Club and with no Symetra Tour event scheduled that week, she decided to caddie for her good friend, Anne Van Dam. During the Drive On, she was made aware that the Marathon Classic had a few open spots that could go to Symetra Tour players. She applied and was offered a spot at Highland Meadows. Her four-day total of seven-under-par left her in a tie for ninth place and earned her a spot in the AIG Women’s OPEN.
While the rest of the LPGA players headed to Detroit airport to catch the shuttle to the Ladies Scottish Open, Popov decided to head back to Arizona to play the Symetra Tour’s Founders Tribute. Her good form continued and she finished runner-up, just one shot behind the winner Sarah White.
She then flew to Scotland, but was only able to get one practice round at Royal Troon before the tournament started. Her first round one-under-par 70, put her in a tie for second. Another solid one-over-par on Friday, held her position near the top of the leaderboard. On Saturday she carded a four-under-par 67, which included an eagle, to give her a three-shot lead over Minjee Lee and Thidapa Suwannapura heading into the final round.
Most golf experts expected the rarified air of leading a major championship would become too much for her and she would fold on Sunday, but they were wrong.
The success she had found in college and the three wins, during April and May on the Cactus Tour, plus her improved health allowed her to post a three-under-par 68 on Sunday to seal the deal hoist the AIG Women’s OPEN trophy.
She also credits the experience she gained from caddying for Van Dam in the Drive On Championship at Inverness Club in Toledo helped her better understand how she could improve her scoring.
Popov had won a total of $108,000 in her five-year professional career before her win, but collected $675,000 at the AIG Women’s OPEN. Hopefully her Symetra Tour days are behind her as she earned full-time membership on the LPGA Tour.
Expect to hear more from Sophia Popov. She is determined and displayed a gritty and aggressive golf game to capture her major championship victory.
Once again Toledo helps to launch a successful LPGA Tour career.
