EVIAN GOLF RESORT, France — With stunning views of Lake Geneva and the peaks of the north side of the Alps as a backdrop, this picturesque spot on a cloudless day in eastern France is the perfect scene for Anna Nordqvist to reflect on a near 20-year career which has had its peaks and troughs.
Europe’s Solheim Cup captain for the 2026 meeting with the United States at Bernardus Golf in the Netherlands has won three majors since turning professional in 2008. The Swede’s longevity underlined by those major wins coming in three different decades.
In her second year as a professional, Nordqvist quickly made a name for herself by winning the 2009 Women’s PGA Championship. Wins at the 2017 Evian Championship, which she is competing for once again this week, and the Women’s British Open at Carnoustie in 2021 cemented her legacy within the sport.
But with such feats comes sacrifice and Nordqvist, who has now lived in the United States longer than she lived in Sweden, has given up a lot to not just to reach the top but to keep on competing at majors.
“I haven’t seen my family for a year, and that’s been really hard, but it’s just been so busy with work. There’s always something to work on,” the 38-year-old tells The Athletic.
“I’ve only seen my mom in the last year. I haven’t seen my brothers, I haven’t seen my nieces and nephews so it’s been really hard. It’s obviously a very different situation for us Europeans that don’t have our family in the U.S. or close by. When you struggle or when there’s a lot going on, it’d be nice just to be able to like crash at your mom’s couch or have a home-cooked meal or see your brothers.
“When you get texts from your nieces and nephews saying ‘I miss you, when are you coming home?’ and you know it’s not going to be for another three months, how do you break it to them?
“It’s getting harder because you start missing birthdays, you start losing milestones. My nieces and nephews are anywhere from between five and 14 now and so much happens. They are so much fun and I love seeing the world through their eyes. I don’t feel like there’s anything better.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have my own kids so they’ve kind of been the highlight of my life. It’s obviously something that’s getting harder and harder because you feel like you want to be there, you should be there, but you just can’t.”
Anna Nordqvist has appeared in nine Solheim Cups, winning four and retaining the trophy once. (Rolex)[/caption]
When she did settle in Scottsdale, Arizona, Nordqvist wanted no golf memorabilia on display in her home. A decision that was not just in keeping with Scandinavian minimalist decor but a way to claim back her time and space.
“I had all my life in a storage unit and from there it was too much to constantly be reminded of golf. At that time, I was just seeing everything falling to pieces off the course, then I had the time to rebuild and I was just so exhausted. I became very simple and I felt like nothing really matters that much anymore.
“I learned to try to take it day by day and not have a lot of things around me because my brain was just so exhausted from everything I had to go through. The last thing I wanted was just more things in my face.”
Anna Nordqvist reacts after winning the Evian Championship on September 17, 2017. (Philippe Desmazes / AFP via Getty Images)
That is not to say Nordqvist is not proud of her career. During the Rolex pro-am on Wednesday, Nordqvist, who is a Rolex Testimonee, was reunited with the trophy she won in 2017 on the tee box of hole 16. Every year when she returns to Évian-les-Bains, she taps where her name is on the trophy. She still wonders how she won, given she was suffering from mononucleosis, an infectious disease which can lead to extreme fatigue.
“My name is always going to be there, no one can ever take that away from me. For me coming back to Europe is a breath of fresh air,” she says, even as the French heat steals what little of it there is.
The Evian Resort Golf Club is one of the most picturesque courses in the world. (Rolex)
Despite living in the U.S. for such a long time, Nordqvist is a proud European and says the biggest honor of her career was being chosen as the Solheim Cup captain.
It is as full circle as it gets for a golfer who was inspired to play the sport professionally after watching Europe’s 2003 win in Sweden as a 16-year-old spectator at Barseback Golf and Country Club.
A dream was born that day. Nordqvist has exceeded her own expectations by appearing in nine Solheim Cups, winning four and retaining the trophy once. She was a playing vice captain in 2023 and 2024 to Suzann Pettersen. It is on Nordqvist and her team win back the trophy after the US’ success in Virginia two years ago — their first since 2017.
But with captaincy comes great responsibility. In three weeks’ time, Nordqvist — who is playing on LPGA and LET tour events alongside the players she will pick —will announce her team. She feels it is a unique advantage that she spends so much time with the players and caddies who will make up her team. But knows there are difficult conversations to be had.
“Mentally, it’s been quite exhausting and these days I come home and I’m just really tired,” she says. “I’m going to make a lot of girls disappointed. But I feel like this is the hardest part of the role. And when I speak to old captains, they always say once you have picked your team and get over that hump, it’s going to get a lot easier.
“The last year-and-a-half has been crazy busy with the Solheim Cup planning and trying to do that while I still manage my own game. I haven’t had a lot of time for myself so that’s been tough but, at the end of the day, I go to bed knowing that I’ve done the best I can each day and that’s all I can really do.”