While 5,353 miles separate Tempe from Linnea Ström's hometown of Hovas, Sweden, the freshman golfer is quickly adjusting to life — and golf — here in the desert.
She smiled while explaining why she came to ASU.
"When I was on my visit, I really really liked the coaches and the facilities were great," she said. "I liked the weather here. I love campus, and everything is so close; I could just walk to the golf course, and they have a good program."
Ström is following in the footsteps of many great Sun Devil golfers who have hailed from outside of the United States, including Azahara Munoz (Spain) and fellow Swede Anna Nordqvist.
Like many collegiate golfers, Ström has been around the game of golf her entire life.
"I grew up with golf; my whole family plays," she said. "I started when I was like four or five. I also have a brother who is two years older and he always played golf so I followed his footsteps."
Adam, her brother, is currently a sophomore playing golf at Texas Tech University.
With a strong junior pedigree, Ström arrived at ASU with experience far and beyond that of most freshman entering college. She won the ANNIKA Invitational (2013), the Polo Junior Golf Classic (2013) and the Spanish Ladies Championship (2014). She also earned high places in the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship (second place in 2015) and the Scottish Ladies Open Championship (fourth place in 2015).
She started her collegiate career strong, finishing under par in her second tournament and then getting second place in her fourth. She had another strong performance last weekend in the Ping/ASU Invitational, finishing in third place.
"Well, overall, I'm happy with my game and the tournaments," Ström said. "I was struggling in some tournaments last semester, but this semester I've been really good. I still love that I have a lot of things to work on."
Being so far from home can come with its challenges, but it's also quite capable of bringing back some of life's fondest memories. In the final round of golf on Sunday afternoon, the skies opened up in the desert, reminding her of golf at home.
"It was not regular for here," Ström said, laughing. "I'm used to playing in the rain like in Sweden and in tournaments all over Europe."
Ström offered some friendly advice to the few drenched media members that were ill-prepared for the downpour, smiling as she said, "Make sure you stay dry, and your clubs stay dry."
Related links:
By the numbers: Everything you need to know before the PING/ASU Invitational
Inconsistency leads to ASU men's golf downfall at Western Intercollegiate
Reach the reporter at Braxton.Fox@asu.edu or follow @braxton_fox_II on Twitter.
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