Four years ago, Sophia Popov tied for ninth at the Dana Open (then the Marathon LPGA Classic) and kickstarted a chain of events that changed her life. The top-10 finish in Sylvania, Ohio, qualified her for the 2020 AIG Women’s British Open at Royal Troon, where she shocked the world by becoming the first woman to hoist a major championship trophy at the historic club.
Popov, who didn’t even have LPGA status at the time, was ranked 304th in the world when she took the title in the midst of a global pandemic.
At this week’s Dana Open, 31-year-old Popov, now an LPGA mom, opened with a 1-under 70 at Highland Meadows Golf Club to trail co-leaders Paula Reto and Natthakritta Vongtaveelap by four.
With the men’s British Open back at Royal Troon, Popov DVR’d the action and looked forward to watching what she missed Thursday afternoon with her feet up in Ohio.
“When I had my membership induction and they gave me my locker, it was all pretty real at that point,” said Popov of making history at Troon. “Just to see that I’m the only woman in the lockerroom, it’s very, very cool. I think that’s why that place will always have a special place in my heart. No one can ever take that away.”
Sophia Popov holds up the trophy after winning the 2020 AIG Women’s Open at Royal Troon. (R&A via Getty Images)
With no grandstands and no fans to wave to as Popov came up the 18th fairway at Royal Troon with a three-shot lead, she turned to her caddie, then boyfriend now husband Maximilian Mehles, and told him that the calming seaside views reminded her of a scene from “Lord of the Rings.”
The fact that Popov got into the event at all was the longest of long shots. In July 2020, the former USC player traveled to Toledo to caddie for good friend Anne van Dam at the Inverness Club in the tour’s first event back after the pandemic started.
Popov got into the next week’s field, the Marathon, because the tour filled out the field with Symetra Tour players after COVID-19 kept many international players from coming over. She and van Dam shared a pull cart that week because caddies weren’t mandatory.
“I kind of felt like back in the junior days or a college event,” she recalled. “I enjoyed it so much. I honestly didn’t even know it was a qualifier at the time.”
The winner of this week’s Dana Open will qualify for the AIG Women’s British Open at St. Andrews, Aug. 22-25. In addition, the top 25 players not already exempt from the 2024 LPGA Race to CME Globe Points List as of Monday will get into the field.
As a past champion, Popov will be able to compete in the British Open until the age of 60.