One of Finland's finest is 1 stroke off lead

Roope Kakko shot a 4-under-par 67 in Friday's second round of the Scottish Challenge. Minea Blomqvist was aware of Kakko's successful day when she teed off for the second round of her tournament this week in Minnesota.

"My boyfriend is on the Challenge Tour in Europe, and he was 4 under today," she said. "I wanted to equal that today."

Blomqvist did precisely that with a 4-under 69. And she did so in a somewhat more pressurized situation.

She was playing in the U.S. Women's Open at Interlachen; Kakko was in a regular event on the European version of the Nationwide Tour.

The 69 was added to an opening 72 and left Blomqvist at 5 under. That was one stroke off the lead in what became a storm-delayed national championship.

She comes from Espoo, Finland. At 23, she's one of the top players in Finnish history, which is the equivalent of saying Kevin Love is the best basketball player ever to be a nephew of a Beach Boy.

"There aren't many of us in Finland," she said. "There isn't much attention paid to golf. Maybe if I keep doing well here, it will be worth a short story in the newspaper."

Blomqvist turned professional for the 2004 golf season. She won a European event in Hungary. She failed to make it through LPGA qualifying late in the year. She finished 34th in the 2005 qualifying tournament and gained playing rights.

Blomqvist entered this season with 35 LPGA tournaments played, 18 cuts made and a tie for 13th as a best finish. She moved to Orlando last fall, giving her a chance to practice on a daily basis.

The results were immediate in 2008: a fifth-place tie in the Fields Open, the LPGA's second full-field event. Two tournaments later, she had a third, and then a tie for eighth in her seventh event.

Blomqvist went to Europe after missing the cut in the McDonald's LPGA. "I caddied for my boyfriend," she said. "I'm a perfect caddie. I had two good finishes for him."

This seemed to be a great display of loyalty to a mere boyfriend. "We've been together seven years," she said.

Seven years? You're 23.

She blushed slightly and said, "It's more than a boyfriend," and showed an engagement ring on her left hand.

That's when she was asked for his name and spelled out Roope Kakko.

"I'm not very happy with the name," she said. "This isn't nice, but in Finnish, Kakko is the same as ..."

... what you find in a bad diaper.

Blomqvist was in Minnesota once as a member of Europe's 2002 Junior Solheim Cup -- played at Oak Ridge while the Solheim Cup was being contested at Interlachen.

The junior players were guests at Interlachen, and Blomqvist was very impressed with the challenge. "I remember looking at 18 and saying, 'If I play here, how would I ever get it over the water?' " she said. "Now, you find out it's only 170 yards to carry."

Blomqvist has found the Interlachen greens unique among courses she's played. "The breaks," she said. "I've never played greens with so many breaks. Every putt breaks."

These are the year's longest days here in Minnesota. Diehards load up with mosquito spray and play until after 9 p.m. This is the southland, compared with Finland, where the golf season is five months but the choice summer days are endless.

"My family lives by a golf course," Blomqvist said. "We always had parties at my house. So, when I was 15, 14, we used to go play like at 2, in the middle of the night."

One more Finnish angle: In a quote on her eating habits, she said: "I eat everything, but there is one food that doesn't go down. Maksalaatikko. I don't know what that is in English."

I looked it up. It's liver casserole, and a recipe suggested starting with 300 grams of minced liver.

Good choice, Miss Blomqvist. Sounds like something to avoid -- like your boyfriend's last name.

Patrick Reusse can be heard weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. and 4:40 p.m. preusse@startribune.com