Kansas junior Anna Wallin has played golf at Lawrence Country Club a couple of dozen times in her life.
But the Jayhawks’ home course never looked in the past quite like it did this week, when Wallin and her teammates competed at the Marilynn Smith Invitational at LCC.
That’s because for the first time in her KU career, Wallin, a native of Sweden, saw her parents’ smiling faces watching her on every one of the 54 holes she played over three rounds on Monday and Tuesday.
After shooting a 76 in Round 3 to finish in a tie for 19th place in the individual standings — she shot 75 in Round 1 and 71 in Round 2 — Wallin was asked what it meant to have her parents in town to watch her play. Her answer was short and sweet.
“Everything,” she said.
This week was not the Wallins’ first trip to Lawrence. That came a couple of years ago when they moved Anna to Lawrence from their home in tiny Tyringe, Sweden. But this one felt different for both Anna and mom and dad.
“I know they spent a lot of money and time and effort to come here,” Anna told R1S1 Sports. “So, just to have them see me play golf again and walk the course and get to meet everyone that I’m around every single day is just very special. It was just so great to get to show them around and for them to see all of our traditions and how supportive everyone is. That was really cool.”
Added Anna’s mother, Mia, of her return trip to Lawrence: “We said when we came here this time that it feels like coming home.”
Anna Wallin during Round 3 of the Marilynn Smith Invitational. [Kansas Athletics photos]
One of six international students on the 10-player KU women’s golf team, Anna was one of the first to have a taste of home come visit her.
Rather than being jealous of their teammates’ chance to spend time with her parents, the other international Jayhawks rejoiced at the chance to meet them or see them again and have someone new following along with their rounds.
Before the tournament, seniors Lily Hirst (United Kingdom) and Jordan Rothman (South Africa) told R1S1 Sports that they were thrilled for “Wally” to have her parents come support her and the team at their home meet. The girls are used to having a few sets of the American parents around, but this added a little extra juice to their home meet, which the Jayhawks won as a team by 13 strokes.
“The American parents do such an amazing job of supporting us and coming to every tournament,” Anna said. “But I hope that the other international girls felt like they had some extra support from my parents because they know what it’s like.”
As for the support she felt from them being in town, Anna said she was certain that she looked over at them on every hole she played and that, each time, good shot or bad, it made her smile.
“It helped so much,” she said. “It kind of took the pressure off and left me feeling like I was playing for them, too and not just myself or my team. It was not difficult at all. I think it was just a positive thing to look over and see that they were there and sometimes hear that little clap if it was a good shot. It was definitely a positive thing rather than something that was distracting.”
The Wallins picked this particular time to come for two reasons. First, having the tournament in Lawrence meant that every girl on the roster got to play, so they knew Anna would be in the lineup. Second, her 19th-place finish at the Jayhawks’ home tournament marked Anna’s first round of competitive golf since July of 2023.
A nerve injury in her wrist/forearm/elbow area kept her out for more than a year. And while Mia said she considered coming over then to offer support in Anna’s recovery, the Wallins deemed that Facetime calls were good enough for that and that they’d wait until Anna was back playing again.
“That’s just what made everything about this week so special,” Anna said of the fact that her return lined up with a home tournament and a time her parents could get away.
Upon arrival last Friday, the Mia and Anna’s father, Per, a former professional hockey player, promptly provided their daughter with three bags full of Swedish candy that she cannot easily get in the United States.
“That’s all I asked them to bring,” Anna said, smiling.
Their native language and big hugs didn’t hurt, of course.
“It was just nice to hear some Swedish and be able to talk like we were back home,” Anna added.
Mia said Anna and Per play golf together as often as possible when she’s back home. And she noted that her daughter often comes out victorious in those matches.
In all, the Wallins traveled more than 22 hours to make it to America, taking a train from their home to Copenhagen, Denmark an hour-and-a-half away, and then flying from Copenhagen to Atlanta and Atlanta to Kansas City before completing the journey with the short drive to Lawrence.
All worth it, according to Mia, who spent time in New York as a nanny in the late-1980s and also visited there and Florida with her family when she was younger.
“Oh, we love it here,” Mia said. “I love the kind of eclectic style of downtown and of course the scenery and a lot of greenery. The town is not too big and quite right and everyone is so friendly. Everyone you meet, you chat a little with and everyone cares about all the girls and it really makes me feel like Anna’s in a good place. It’s also been nice to come in different seasons. The fall is beautiful.”
So, will they be back?
“Yeahhhh. Of course,” said Mia without a hint of hesitation. “For the graduation.”
That’s just fine with Anna, who said one of her favorite parts of the experience was watching the look on her parents’ faces when the KU band played on the course to kick off the tournament early Monday morning.
“I don’t know what they were expecting,” Anna said. “But it certainly wasn’t that. It was just so wonderful having them here; Nothing crazy happened, they behaved, so it was great.”
Mia and Per will head home to Sweden later today while Anna and her teammates will begin preparations for their next tournament.
Winners of back-to-back events, the Jayhawks will look to make it three in a row at the White Sands Bahamas Fall Invitational on Paradise Islands, Bahamas, Oct. 18-20.
— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com
