It’s been a quite a year for amateur golf in Great Britain and we asked some our leading players what were their stand-out moments and also asked them to look ahead to 2022
‘Sky Sports were filming and there were a lot of spectators. It was a great tournament to win and I got to talk to Justin Rose afterwards’
1) Your best round of the year and why?
I’ve broken two course records this year. One was a five under at Cottingham Parks near Hull in a national club team event. The other was my best round of the year when I shot an eight under par 66 at Fulford in the first round of strokeplay qualifying at the R&A British Girls Championship. I’ve played Fulford several times over the years in R&A events and it’s definitely my favourite course. I made seven birdies and an eagle and was eight under after 11 holes. I lipped out a few putts out on the back nine and could have gone even lower. The next day I was level par and won the Heathcote-Amory medal for being leading qualifier. In the matchplay stages I went out to Beth Coulter from Ireland 2&1, who went on to lose the final against Hannah Darling. Although it was disappointing to be knocked out, overall, I had a good tournament, especially setting that new course record.
2) Your best shot of the year and why?
My best shot of the year was the nine-foot putt I holed on the final hole in the Justin Rose/Daily Telegraph Final at Walton Heath. After a four under first round and level par in the second, I had a three-shot lead starting the final round. I played really well in the third round and was five under for my round after 17 holes, registering six birdies including three in a row at 15, 16 and 17. Standing on the 18th tee I had a five-shot lead. I hit a decent drive which went slightly left and was unlucky to catch a small gorse bush over a fairway bunker. From there I played too aggressively and ended up taking three penalty drops on the hole. After recomposing myself I hit a 100-yard wedge shot to nine feet and holed that for an eight and a one-shot win. It wasn’t a hard putt – it broke from inside the right edge of the hole – but in the circumstances it was the most pressure I’d been under all year. Sky Sports were filming and there were a lot of spectators. It was a great tournament to win and I got to talk to Justin Rose afterwards. The 18th hole was a learning experience and I’ll definitely play safer options in the future! Although it was a disappointing final hole, I was pleased with the win and proud of my final putt.
3) The best shot you saw and why?
I’ll choose one of my own for the best shot I’ve seen this year! During my course record at Fulford, I birdied eight, nine and 10 to go six under for the round. On the par five 11th I laid up from the tee and had 260 yards left into a heavily-bunkered green. I had been laying up during the practice rounds but as I’d birdied the previous three holes, I hit a three wood and found the green before holing the 20-foot eagle putt to go eight under.
4) Your favourite moment of 2021 (this could be personal or something completely random but golf related)?
Winning the R&A Home Internationals as part of the England U-18 team at Woodhall Spa. It was a long week, playing foursomes and singles every day, but it was great to play the event as it was cancelled in 2020 because of Covid. I’m a member of the England Golf U-18 Girls squad and we have team training weekends there every month, so we all know the course pretty well. The Women’s and Senior teams were playing at the same time, with England also winning those matches. England Golf’s headquarters are based there so it was a great atmosphere with all three teams winning their events.
5) Your hopes and ambitions for 2022?
I hope the Covid restrictions will continue to be eased during next year, which should allow me to play more international events. During most of this year we have still been restricted from travelling overseas to compete. I had my best results towards the end of the season and reduced my handicap to +6 so I’m hoping for no further lockdowns this winter and some better preparation going into next year’s international events to continue my form from the end of this season. This should be my last winter’s practice over here for a few years as I start a golf scholarship at Auburn University in Alabama next August, which will be a big change. Auburn has a very strong team and has finished third and fourth in the US National Championships over the last two sessions, so I know both the team standard and competition for places will be very high. I’m looking forward to the challenge and being able to compete throughout the winter.
6) One thing you would change about about golf for next season?
I feel that I’m swinging well right now and I’ve had my normal end-of-season meet-up with my coach, who has planned what I’ll be working on in my swing over the winter. Although I have things to work on, it’s more developing my swing now rather than making any big changes. Apart from that I’ll continue to work on my strength and conditioning with my own S&C coach, Russell Jones and the staff in the England Golf Performance Team. My driving distance has been a strength for several years, but I’ll still look to add more strength and speed over the winter.