From a fishing village in the south of Sweden, a Badminton player, Academic All-American, Aunt/Sister, Photography enthusiast, Animal lover, GOLFER.

- You get it! I’m just a human being who is passionate about hard work, spreading positivity, and living life.

“An extremely talented athlete, and a genuine good person. She has all the tools to be a great professional.”
- A.J. Lukjanczuk, Athletic Trainer

Ellinor is one of the hardest working people I know both on and off the golf course. I truly believe that she can achieve anything she puts her mind to. On top of that she is so kind and supportive of the people close to her and makes an impact on anyone who gets to know her.”
- Cecilie Finne-Ipsen, former teammate, member of Danish National Team and FSU Women’s Golf

“I’ve known Ellinor for about 10 years. She has all the qualities that I look for in an athlete and a person. She is an intelligent athlete who works hard and with great discipline. At the same time, she’s warm and giving who’s spreads energy to the people around her. I’m sure Ellinor will succeed in anything she sets out to do!”
- Lars Hägglund, Coach Swedish National High School Program


“Ellinor’s positive energy and power as a golfer, but even more importantly as a human being is inspiring and contagious on our entire team. She’s a role model!”
- Linnea Friskman, Coach at Vasatorp Golf Club

“Ellie is very driven and has high ambitions, and she works incredibly hard to succeed. An amazing friend who is beyond supportive and caring.”
- Anna Nävermyr, European Champion in Gymnastics and childhood friend

“Ellinor pulls others with her as she climbs in life.”
- Chris Everett Jr. Director of Student-Athlete Development

My Story

Lerberget

I grew up in a small village by the ocean in the south of Sweden with my parents and two older siblings. I did gymnastics, soccer, and tennis from a very young age and if I didn’t do sports, I watched my siblings do their sports. I walked or biked everywhere I had to go and played with the kids on the street where we lived every night. My childhood was easy and I dreamt big while I tried to beat my 8 year older brother in all sports and tried to win as many competitions as possible. To compete was fun, and I oftentimes did win, except for over my brother who kept feeding me smashed ping pong balls in my face while I had a helmet on to practice my reactions and reflexes.

 

Early golf years

I began playing golf when I was 12 years old. At the time I also played badminton and had just quit gymnastics due to an injury. Golf was extremely boring compared to gymnastics and doing flips, but I had 24 hours a week to fill since I stopped doing gymnastics and my parents thought golf may be a good summer activity. I started to hit the ball pretty good, but I was so happy when practice was cancelled or we played “golf-baseball” instead. After two years I got my handicap and a spark lit up inside of me. It was a competition again… Against myself and the other players at the club. I played the weekly tournaments and my handicap started to drop quickly. In the first year I went down to 23 and the next year I had 14. I was the first girl to reach single handicap ever at the golf club and I was so excited and competed more.

 

High school

When it was time to choose high school I chose between ProCivitas and a badminton high school in Malmö. I loved badminton and I played tournaments all the time. Golf was fun too, I just switched to Vasatorp Golf Club that had many golfers in my age and amazing coaches who helped me get better. I chose ProCivitas, one of the best academic high schools in Sweden with a concentration in science and math. I kept the hectic schedule and competed at the highest level in Sweden in both sports, while thinking that I wanted to become a doctor. My brother went overseas and played tennis for UCSB, and the college dream started to grow for me as well.

 

Dream to Reality

I was still not an amazing international golfer sought by many college coaches. I didn’t know a lot about college, but knew I had to do something to get the coaches attention since I didn’t have an international ranking. I created a website with swing videos, a blog, and academic test scores and sent the link to many schools. I started to get responses and talked to coaches. Some came and watched me when I played ANNIKA Invitational Europe in Sweden. I went on my official visits and a week later I had committed to UNC Charlotte, a school that was about to start their golf program, and I was in for a crazy experience. I couldn’t sleep that night, and I knew the college dream was a reality.

College Experience

  • UNC Charlotte

    I did my 4 years undergrad in International Business as a full scholarship student-athlete at Charlotte. I lead and was the voice of the student-athlete body as I served as the President of SAAC. Simultaneously, I was named to the All-Conference USA Team, lead the team to the first program win ever at Yale Intercollegiate, and was an Academic All-American all years.

  • University of Arizona

    After shaving off over five strokes on my average score at Charlotte I transferred to Arizona, a top golf program in the nation. I pursued a Master in Marketing and a Master’s Certificate in Human Rights, as a full-scholarship student-athlete. As a Wildcat, I got to play the most prestigious college tournament, East Lake Cup, in Atlanta among others.

Breakthrough

As I started playing golf later than most, I always saw it as a matter of time until my game caught up to my mental strength and mindset and I could surpass other players on top amateur level. Even though I reduced my average scoring by over five strokes at Charlotte, my true breakthrough came when I was Nipomo, CA during the covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Together with 8 other college players, I practiced with the Rory Doll Golf Academy between 6-9 hours a day. My understanding for the game grew, my imagination increased, and acceptance of mistakes and being present for this very next shot became huge tools for me to score really low. As my game was tested in the summer of 2021 in tournament play, I finished 3rd in German International Ladies Amateur with scores of 69,71,71,66 (-7) and finished 2nd in Danish International Ladies Amateur. In the Swedish Team Championship where I represented Vasatorp I played all rounds including having the lowest best-ball score of the tournament at -10 after making 6 birdies and an eagle and the team finished 2nd, the best finish since 2014.