Golf | Golfer Noora Komulainen knows the challenges of motherhood – after a business trip, daughter Elli teases her mother for two days, but smiles at her father

Noora Komulainen was involved in the celebration last week Tiia Koiviston first win on the European Women’s Golf Tour (LET).

Koivisto only became the fourth Finnish woman in a race played in France to reach the same level, even though many dream of it.

Read more: Tiia Koivisto did not start golf until she was 15 years old, but the goal is already clear – on Saturday she took a leap towards a big dream

“I, too, would one day struggle with my own victory,” says Komulainen, who has returned from professional maternity leave to professional golf.

In fact, Komulainen returned to the competition last summer just nine weeks after the birth of his daughter Elli. At that time, Komulainen was in the 15th European Tour competition in Turku, which ended with Matilda Castren to victory.

Read more: Noora Komulainen returns to compete more than two months after giving birth

Ladies European Tour or LET returned to Finland last year after a ten-year break.

“I played two rounds of golf before last summer’s home race, which I had been waiting for for years. The home race is a special one, we would be happy to succeed there, ”says Komulainen.

In September, the LET race will be played in Åland, where Komulainen can get there better than in Turku. Previously, the Finnish competition was played seven times at the Tali field in Helsinki in 2005–2011.

Komulainen wants to return to the top where he played for the Rio Olympics in 2016. After that, he suffered an injury.

“Then came the pregnancy and now it’s recovering. There are many things that have slowed my progress. However, I have a lot of goals in my professional career. By the way, I wouldn’t play and I think I also have a lot to give. ”

This season Komulainen plays more than 20 LET races. Last weekend he was 83rd. Next weekend, the tour continues in Italy, then in Sweden and England.

“Even though there are a lot of races, I plan my calendar so I’m not home for more than two weeks. Somehow it is always summed up. It is not possible to bring a child to all competitions. The whole family leaves for Sweden, ”says Komulainen.

The last time Elli’s daughter took part in her mother’s race trip was in early May in Madrid, where Komulainen was 38th and earned 2,400 euros in prize money. The value of the entire prize pool was € 300,000, with only the winner of the men’s match receiving the same amount.

Having a child can cause both additional problems and costs for a professional athlete and mother. Separation from a child requires a lot from the rest of the family and support forces.

“Motherhood has been really great, but it has its own difficulties. Playing sports is different when there is a child in the family, but I try to find the right patterns. I have also received great support from a close circle that I can play with. If Elli is involved in the competition, she must also be a babysitter. It increases costs. ”

Komulainen calculates that one race trip costs about a thousand euros. In professional tournaments, players pay all their own expenses.

In addition to individual competitions, team competitions have been developed for women at LET. The last team race was played a week after the Madrid race in Thailand, where Krista Bakker played in a group of four winners and earned € 33,500.

Komulainen ranked as a Romanian amateur Victor PontanGerman Leticia Ras-Anderican and Thai Patty Meet the kit with the third. The professionals acknowledged 9,580 euros instead, but Ponta was left without a cash prize as an amateur.

In the personal competition played after the team competition, Komulainen was 30th, for which he received 4,700 euros.

“You get good bonuses from team competitions if you happen to make it. There is always a chance to win and get a good pot. That is what everyone is striving for, not money, but profit. This is a great job and I have experienced great stuff, ”Komulainen emphasizes.

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“When time is limited, you need to train better and with better quality. Now you have to be more flexible. Elli is involved in training and practice games in carriages, which she likes to watch. ”

Komulaisen the daughter of the family Elli was born on Mother’s Day 2021.

“A one-year-old is starting to realize more and more that his mother is gone. Every time I come home from a trip, Elli teases me for two days. If the father is away for a week, the child will just smile at him. The mother is the one who can easily unravel all the anger, ”Komulainen describes in his daily life.

With the birth of a child, Komulainen has also had to change his practice. Before the child, he could “hang out” on the golf course with friends all day, play and practice.

“When time is limited, you need to train better and with better quality. Now you have to be more flexible. Elli is involved in training and practice games in carriages, which she likes to watch. ”

The dream of many female players is to play on the professional tour of the United States for the LPGA, where Castren from Finland plays regularly.

Koivisto, the winner of the recent European tour has specifically targeted LPGA, whose qualifying final is in December.

Komulainen has played a few times in the LPGA qualifiers, but the door to big professional fields has not opened.

“Of course I also dream about LPGA and the goals are there. At the moment, my level is not enough there. I want to get everything in order with my child first. LPGA has childcare, LET does not, even though several mothers play there. ”

LET: n of the seven Finns as well Ursula at Wikström is a child.

Komulainen is happy that Finnish women have risen to the top of their species with noise.

“Tiian and Sanna Nuutinen the rise motivates us, and we are all friends with each other. ”

In women has also been fully represented in Olympic golf: in Rio 2016, Finland was represented by Komulainen and Wikström, in Tokyo in 2021 the players were Castren and Nuutinen.

The 2024 Olympic golf in Paris is of interest to Komula, although at this pace Finnish women are competing in two places.

“I definitely want to play in Paris. That is the goal. ”