NAPLES, Fla. – Anna Nordqvist has leaned on her grandfather’s words during the most challenging times of her life. “Don’t give up,” he would tell her as a young girl. Thursday at the CME Group Tour Championship, Nordqvist was buoyed by those words as she made only her second start on the LPGA since the sudden death of her former partner, Kevin McAlpine, on October 19.
“I’m not doing very well. It’s been a lot of the ups and downs just trying to fight,” Nordqvist said after her opening-round 65 at Tiburon Golf Club, which put her two off the early lead. “It’s been a fight, but I wanted to come here, do it for myself, show that I’m a fighter.”
In August, Nordqvist revealed on social media that she was in the in the process of a divorce following two years of marriage to McAlpine, who was the former caddie of Lexi Thompson.
The cause of McAlpine’s death remains unknown.
Nordqvist withdrew from the first round of BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea when she learned of McAlpine’s passing. She returned to competition at last week’s Annika tournament, where she says she wasn’t able to hit more than three balls at a time on the driving range because of mental and physical exhaustion.
“I tried to hit some and my head was spinning so much I was thinking I was fainting a couple times, so I had to cut practice short,” Nordqvist said about practicing. “The fact that I made it through four rounds last week, I was very proud of myself and just felt like a victory teeing it up.”
The three-time major champion says she wanted to finish out her season at the Tour Championship to try and find some semblance of normalcy in the midst of grieving. Nordqvist’s family is in Sweden and she hasn’t been able to see them since McAlpine’s death. She knew it would be important to surround herself with support, and she knew she’d find that by returning to the tour.
She’s found comfort in the familiarity of former caddie Jason Gilroyd, who is back on her bag. She also received support on Thursday as longtime friends Suzann Pettersen and her husband, Christian, were waiting for Nordqvist when she finished her round.
“I think knowing that I’m a fighter, and I never give up, I didn’t want to wait until February to tee it up again. Felt like I needed it get back to work,” Nordqvist said. “Just seeing everyone, surrounding myself with all the other players and caddies and everyone has been so supportive.”
Nordqvist has had her resilience tested on and off the golf course throughout her career. She played through years of fatigue following a bout with mononucleosis and won her third major title in a hailstorm at the Amundi Evian Championship. Nordqvist has developed a reputation as a fighter, and she’ll be battling to make it through the next three days at the Tour Championship.
But she won’t be alone.
“I’m leaning on everyone out here to just push me through,” she said.
