Ingrid Lindblad has had an incredible rise to the LPGA Tour.

But reaching the top of the women’s professional golf mountain is one thing. Managing your way around it is a different animal.

Although it hasn’t been a great 2025 so far for the rookie, Lindblad is in prime position to lift her first trophy on the LPGA Tour, as she’s tied for the 54-hole lead at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro.

Lindblad had the unenviable task of trying to follow up a career-best round on Friday with another one on Saturday to stay firmly in the mix, but she did a solid enough job on Moving Day at El Caballero Country Club, firing a 4-under 68.

She is tied for the lead with Lauren Coughlin and Akie Iwai through 54 holes at 17-under, two shots ahead of Ina Yoon at 15-under.

Lindblad, who made an incredible 10 birdies throughout her 9-under 63 effort Friday – tying the low round of the week so far at the JM Eagle LA Championship – had a pedestrian start to her third round, making one birdie and one bogey on her first nine holes. But she turned it on for the back nine, making four birdies in a six-hole stretch to come into the house tied for the lead.

“I was very proud of myself for handling the pressure today,” Lindblad said. “Obviously, it's going to be, I assume, more pressure tomorrow, so kind of just build on this confidence. And knowing that I didn't have the hottest start today, kind of just a couple of pars, but know that I can play well under pressure, and I think that's really good to know for the rest of the year, to at least have been in contention during a week.”

Lindblad, who ascended to the No. 1 spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking while also earning a hearty handful of other collegiate awards through her final year at Louisiana State University, needed only nine starts on the Epson Tour in 2024 to earn LPGA Tour status. She won in her seventh start at the Tuscaloosa Toyota Classic, a victory that helped her finish sixth in the season-long Race to the Card.

At the same time that Lindblad was No. 1 in the world as an amateur, so too was countryman Ludvig Aberg.

“What (Ludvig has) done his first two years out there has been really cool to watch,” Lindblad said. “I'm amazed whenever I watch him. Just looks so easy.”

And, speaking of fellow Swedes, the last time the LPGA Tour had a winner at El Caballero Country Club it was Annika Sorenstam, who won the Office Depot Championship Hosted by Amy Alcott in 2003 and 2004.

“I feel like Annika has done so much for us, and I feel like I've just done every step of her tournament and her little journey that we can take as both Swedish and international players,” Lindblad said. “Big footsteps to follow in.”

Lindblad has a long way to go when it comes to comparing herself to Sorenstam, as this marks just her fourth LPGA Tour start in 2025.

She missed the cut at the Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands before getting food poisoning at the Blue Bay LPGA and needing to withdraw. She then finished T38 at the Ford Championship presented by Wild Horse Pass in her only four-round effort so far in 2025.

This week has been more than a solid one, however.

She said on Friday if “you put the work in, eventually it’s going to show up” when asked about when she thought her good play would be around the corner.

“It’s hard to tell exactly when it’s going to show up. But I feel like I’ve been working on good things in my golf game that I need to get better at,” said the 2024 Epson Tour graduate. “After a day like (Friday), it shows that it paid off.”

With just one round to go in California, Lindblad is hoping that hard work will translate into an LPGA Tour trophy.

Epson Tour Grad Lindblad in Prime Position To Earn First LPGA Tour Title in LA

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