It will go down as one of golf’s ultimate Cinderella stories. Against all the odds, Germany’s Sophia Popov is now a major champion. She’s also irrefutable proof as to why you should never, ever, give up on your dreams.
It was late last month at Royal Troon in Scotland that she produced a victory for the ages by winning the AIG Women’s Open by two shots. And the most remarkable thing about her emotional rollercoaster of a win? She was ranked 304th in the world at the time.
Popov – who was born in the US – hadn’t won on either the LPGA Tour or the Ladies European Tour before this year’s Open. She lost her tour card and at one point considered giving up the sport altogether.
Few who witnessed her victory will likely forget her victory speech, as Popov fought back the tears to reflect on the most unlikely of victories.
“Every time I talk to someone and they ask me about, you know, the last five or six years, I just always tear up because it’s such a struggle and I can’t even put into words what it is,” Popov told CNN Sport.
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Overcoming life’s hurdles
And “struggle” is putting it mildly when you consider all she’s had to overcome in life.