Featured Player Beatrice Wallin Annika Foundation May 2, 2018

We are one month closer to the ANNIKA Invitational Europe so it only seemed fitting to have the 2016 champion, Beatrice Wallin, as May’s Featured Player. Wallin, of Olofstorp, Sweden, has earned a current European Golf Ranking of No. 16 and sits at No. 33 World Amateur Golf Rankings. To date, she has played in two ANNIKA Invitationals in the United States and five in Europe. The 19-year-old has built herself quite the resume, winning the 2017 Team-EM Girls and placing second in both the French International Lady Juniors 2017 and the Skandia Junior Open 2017. She also played for Team Europe in the PING Junior and is a member of the Swedish National Team, winners of the 2017 European Girl’s Championship in Finland.

Last week, we caught up with Beatrice and she shared some insight on her golf game as well some personal topics.

What are three words that describe you as a person? Kind, honest, and always laughing.

What is your favorite club in your bag? That is a tough one. I would say my putter.

What is one thing that no one knows about you? I have the worst memory.

Who is your favorite golfer and why? Annika Sörenstam, of course. She is such an awesome golfer and she is giving back so much to young golfers like me.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you while playing golf? When I played the Swedish team championship about two years ago, it was the last day of the tournament and my team was leading by a couple shots. I was teeing off in the last group and after my second shot my caddie noticed that I had 15 clubs in my bag. In addition to this, I had some trouble at the hole and made a triple bogey, which meant that we had lost our lead. I can say that my team was not that happy about this but we played really well and won the tournament anyway.

If you could play golf at any course in the world, what would it be? Augusta National Golf Club.

If you could create a “dream foursome” with two professional golfers and one other person of your choice, who would you choose? Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and Annika Sörenstam.

If you could have any super power, what would it be and why? I would like to have the power to teleport anywhere in the world.

Who is your biggest role model and why? Annika Sörenstam, for everything she has accomplished in her golf career, and because she always gives back to younger girls.

What is your greatest memory of playing golf so far? When I won the ANNIKA Invitational Europe 2016, because on the last hole after I holed my putt, my friends were running down to the green with water and poured it all over me and congratulated me on my win. It was such a great feeling to have so many friends there and have them believing in me.

How old were you when you started playing golf and who taught you? I was around 6 or 7 years old when I started playing golf, and it was my big brother that dragged me to the golf course for the first time. To be honest, I was not that into golf in the beginning but my brother thought that we should play together. After a while, I started to think it was more and more fun, which could be because I got better and better.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever gotten that has really stuck with you through your years of playing so far? Practice makes perfect.

What do you like to do for fun? Just spend time with friends.

How do you balance being a student while playing golf? What sacrifices, if any, have you had to make? I started home school so that I could have more time to practice golf, so I guess my sacrifices are that I don’t get to make new friends in high school and go to prom and stuff like that.

What was your favorite golf tournament you have ever played in so far? Either the ANNIKA Invitational Europe, PING Junior Solheim Cup or Junior .

What was your lowest tournament round and where was it? My lowest round was -6 in a tournament in Sweden.

If there was one piece of advice you could give to aspiring female golfers who are just starting to play the game, what would it be? Play lots of competitions with friends around you and make practice fun.

Set to graduate this year, Beatrice will start playing college golf for Florida State in the fall, along with fellow Swede and teammate, Frida Kinhult. This past January, Wallin finished in the top 10 in the ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex and just last month, finished top 5 at the Internationaux de France U21 – Trophee Esmond. When asked her favorite part about playing golf, she explained: “That you can always improve your game and you can always be better.” We couldn’t agree more. We look forward to watching Beatrice compete at the collegiate level and wish her the best of luck!