I’ve been using the first part of the year as my real off-season to practise, prepare and train, because I travelled so much last year.
This year is going to be really busy because of all the travel, and then you throw in the Olympics, which mean we’ll have two trips back and forth to Europe.
My team and I have never done it this way but by the time I got to the US Open in June last year, I was exhausted, and that’s when we really want to start peaking. So we thought we’d take the time at the beginning of the year to rest, prep and get stronger, and then hopefully it will pay off in the middle of the year.
I have the luxury to do it now, I’ve never really been able to pick and choose which events I’ll play before.
I played in Saudi where I finished 10th, so that was good. We did a solid five days’ work beforehand and I was happy with the way it transitioned into playing, with a top-10 result.
I’m working with my trainer more just to make sure I don’t have any injuries throughout the next few months. He has implemented some new stuff in terms of lifting heavier weights. We’re trying to see how that will work, which I’ve also been enjoying.
I also used the Saudi trip as an opportunity to see my sister in Dubai as she’s had a baby. So I’ve been taking this time to do things for myself which I haven’t been able to do in the past because you always feel like you have to play. I’m still going to play a full schedule from now on, but I’m also getting out of that hamster wheel.
We only really get about four full weeks off, between December and January. We probably had about six weeks off but on the LPGA Tour, everything from March to November is so jam-packed. I feel if we could spread it out more through the year it would give the girls more time to recharge.
The men also have a lot of tournaments but because they’re playing for so much more money it doesn’t matter if they choose to take a week or two off. I think the women feel pressured to play as much we can to keep earning. Overall, that’s why it’s a bit different for us, we play a lot more than the men in general.
The Majors are close together again this year. We have The Chevron Championship in April, then we have a run of the US Open, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the Evian within six weeks of each other. The Women’s British Open is later than usual because of the Olympics, so from that time, everything has been pushed out a bit more.
Normally we’ll go over to Europe and we’ve got the Evian, Scottish Open and British, and it’s one trip. But this year the Evian is in July and we’ve got to come back to the US for three weeks then we go back for the Olympics, then it’s the Scottish and British.
Regarding managing all the travel, you’ve just got to get on with it. Unfortunately, tournaments are going to be hurt, though.
The Canadian Open is one of our biggest tournaments, and it’s a shame because either that event or the ones either side of it are going to be affected because everyone who’s playing at the Olympics doesn’t really feel like flying to France for the Evian, then back to the US and playing for two weeks and then flying back again for the Olympics. So a lot of us still aren’t sure what we’re going to play after the Evian.
It’s just one of those years, though. The Olympics are only every four years, so we’ll figure it out.
– This column first appeared in the April 2024 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine.
