Sophia Popov’s tears flowed even before the last putt. In the certainty that she would be the first German female golfer to win one of the four major tournaments, the 27-year-old could no longer control her emotions at the venerable Royal Troon Golf Club. “It’s an unbelievable story,” said Popov in a tear-choked voice after her victory at the British Open on Sunday evening. “That’s why I collapsed on the 18th hole. Simply because it’s something I didn’t even dream of a week ago. “
Popov, who lives in the USA, actually wanted to put her golf bag in the storage room. For a long time she was thrown back by a mysterious illness, as she now reveals. Various symptoms tormented her, about 20 different doctors gave their opinion, she lost more than ten kilograms. In the end, after three years, the diagnosis was Lyme borreliosis – by far the most common tick-borne disease in Europe.
In addition, there were sporting setbacks: Popov lost her eligibility to play the LPGA Tour, the highest class for professionals, and then only missed re-qualification by a single stroke. The world number 304 to date was a bit. Still there: three weeks ago, when the LPGA tour started after the corona break, she still carried her friend Anne van Dam’s clubs as a temporary caddy.
“I almost stopped playing last year. Thank god I didn’t. It feels incredible, ”said Popov, who was born near Boston and grew up in Weingarten in Baden. “There’s a lot of hard work behind it. In the past six years I’ve had to struggle through so many difficulties. ”Although she still experiences symptoms from time to time, she has the disease under control now. She also received a lot of support during the difficult times from her friend Maximilian Mehles, who was her caddy in Troon, Scotland and of course was the first to congratulate her. “He calmed me down the whole time,” reported the winner.
Popov pocketed a winners check for $ 675,000 – almost four times what she had earned in her entire career. The triumph at the British Open Championships was almost impossible. Only at the last moment did she get a place in a qualifying tournament – due to some cancellations due to the corona crisis. There she just qualified as ninth for the major tournament, where she celebrated her greatest success after only one training round. “The British Open were actually just a bonus for me,” said Popov, who had just celebrated her first professional victory a few months earlier on the third-rate Cactus Tour in her adopted home Arizona. In the men’s category, only Bernhard Langer (Masters 1985, 1993) and Martin Kaymer (PGA Championship 2010, US Open 2014) have been successful in a major. “What an idea. Congratulations on your first major win, “congratulated Kaymer on Instagram.
“A single week turned my life upside down,” wrote Popov himself on Monday on social media. Now she should never have to carry someone else’s bags again. Starting next season, she will be eligible to take part in the lucrative LPGA Tour for five years
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