For the second time in three seasons, the Sacramento State women’s golf team won the Big Sky Conference championship and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The State Hornet sat down with team leader Sofie Babic to talk to her about golf and her progression at Sac State.

Babic, a native of Sweden, said she has been dreaming of touring with the Ladies Professional Golf Association since she was 4 years old. She traveled over 5,000 miles for her dreams to become a reality. “I’m close to becoming pro. My plan is to be a professional golfer after I graduate,” Babic said. Babic is a junior and a business major at Sac State along with being a leader on the golf team. Babic was named Big Sky Conference Golfer of the Week after the Golfweek Conference Challenge and came in second at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational.

Question: How long have you been playing golf?

Answer: I started playing golf when I was about 4 years old. My whole family played so it came very naturally to me.

Q: Why is golf important to you?

A: Golf is important to me for a lot of reasons but I really like that it’s not just an individual sport but it’s also a team sport. It involves everyone, a lot of people don’t know that. I like that it takes you to many different places, different golf courses, and you meet many different people. I really like that you get to travel, that’s one of my favorite parts. It is also a very social but competitive sport at the same time.

Q: What are inspirations in and outside of golf?

A: I have a couple of role models and inspirations mostly from back home (in Sweden). Annika Sorenstam, a Swedish golfer, has been an inspiration to me since I was a kid. She’s won 10 LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) championships. There are so many people that inspire me, not just athletes. My mom inspires me to be a strong woman every day and I know I can do whatever I wish in life or any career I want. Even though Theranos the company has become a scandal, I still admire Elizabeth Holmes for her entrepreneurship and her intelligence.

Q: What do you like to do outside of golf and school?

A: I like to travel, workout, go on adventures, and try new kinds of foods. I like that my passion for golf helps me do these things.

Q: What was it like coming to a different country? Was it a culture shock?

A: There was definitely a culture shock for me my first semester for sure, but I adapted pretty quickly and I really like the people here and I like the country too. It helped that I was coming here for a specific reason too, I was able to make friends fast.

Q: What motivates you to be a better player?

A: I’m just very passionate about the sport and being able to do what I love and get the opportunity to improve every day really motivates me. But of course, becoming the best is motivational to me as well.

Q: Do you have cheat days?

A: I don’t believe in cheat days. I want to make good decisions every day that will result in good outcomes.

Q: What are your goals when it comes to golf? What do you have planned for the future?

A: I want to play the LPGA tour after college as a professional. That’s my main and biggest goal right now. But I’m applying to internships here in this summer so we’ll see how that goes soon. But I’ll go pro after that for sure and play some professional events.

Q: What challenges do you have with golf?

A: There are different challenges during certain times in the game. It comes and goes, but right now I’m overcoming some challenges during tournaments. I haven’t had my best season this spring semester, so that has been tough on me mentally.

Q: What is your workout regiment?

A: I worked with a strength coach in Sweden and have worked with him for so many years, so he really has helped me. But more recently, I’ve been doing CrossFit.

Q: Do you have any pregame rituals?

A: I have the same rituals and preparations before every tournament. I believe in consistency. I always prep before a tournament. On the day of the tournament I warm up, I putt and check my aiming and then I hit and chip.

Q: What was it like living in Sweden?

A: Living in Sweden was great. I’ve been lucky enough to grow up in such a wonderful place. I really like it here too though.

Q: Why did you decide to come to Sac State?

A: Sacramento is a good place to live, it has nice weather, good opportunities for golf, a good business program, and my golf coach is great and so are my teammates. I also love all the trees.