My goal for 2023 was to win in the US, and I have won in the UK, South Africa and Australia in the past year. It definitely feels like a big achievement. I felt like I was really stamping my ground.
It’s difficult when you’re not in the final group, it’s a bit of an anti-climax if you win at that moment. People ask how it feels but it only hits you a couple of days later because you’re so in the moment, you play in the heat and then you go and do media and you don’t really get to think about it. Then you wake up a couple of days later and you think, ‘Oh my gosh, I actually did it.’
I was feeling pretty tired a couple of days after the win, which usually happens after coming down from the high. But that’s a good problem to have!
I’m definitely becoming better at dealing with the final-round pressure. The nerves are there, you’re never going to get rid of those. But it’s a case of knowing how to deal with it better, and I’ve only learned how to do that since I started working with Duncan, my mental coach.
On the 18th on the final day at the ShopRite Ladies Classic, all I thought about was every single shot, I didn’t think about getting ahead of myself, the outcome, and that’s been the biggest difference. I’m only thinking about that shot and trying to do my best at that moment, whereas as golfers we think too much about the outcome and the future.
This is the most consistent I’ve ever played in my career and that’s what we search for in this game. The wins are nice but consistency is what takes the pressure off your back. So I think I’m more proud of playing consistent golf than anything else because I feel that’s even harder than trying to have one good week. It’s also less of a roller-coaster ride on the emotions.
I can only hope I can continue in this vein, because nothing is guaranteed in this game. But I feel that we’ve found a combination that tends to be working in my preparation – mental, physical and the golf. And obviously when that works I can win tournaments. So we’ve got to try to maintain that but some weeks it won’t be like that and then you just have to ride it out.
I used to get so focused on the world rankings and trying to improve my position. The past five years I’ve kept my card comfortably but there was financial strain to keep going.
It’s amazing when you forget about the outcome and just focus on the processes how things like the world rankings and the pay cheques become irrelevant. When you finally win that doesn’t even come into your mind.
When I won the British Open everyone was saying, ‘Oh my gosh, you won all this money.’ It did change my life and made it so much easier and less stressful but ultimately as golfers all we want to do is win championships and trophies. It’s incredible, though, how when you’re not winning, you focus on the other stuff … I need to make the pay cheque, I need to get my world ranking up.
It’s always easier not to focus on those things when it’s going well, but now that I’ve changed my mindset I just think, ‘Cool, that’s good, I’m ticking off that box, I’m slowly moving up’, and it’s happening without me even almost realising it.
Winning in the US is almost a monkey off my back now too and it’s good momentum going into a big period of the Majors.
– This column first appeared in the July 2023 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine.
