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Portugal ladies open

Date: 27/06/2010

Article:

At CampoReal in Portugal the sun did shine, the course was imaculate and the hotel one of the best I've stayed in but unfortunately when you've no energy left in the tank there's not a lot you can do about it! My ears hadn't recovered from the painful flight so my blocked up tubes led to me feeling dreadful in the spanish sun...twinned with a course that is very hilly to say the least, i knew on that second day that would be my last in the portugeuse open this year! After doing well in Switzerland with my cold I had a feeling it might return to bite me and that it did...Friday I played ok, holed a few putts and shot 2 under par but when Saturday morning came I was exhausted just getting out of bed! I had little energy and my brain power was non existent...half way around I had dropped 2 shots and was urging myself to get a grip and make some birdies, unfortunately The harder I tried, the worse I got, not like me really.
Anyway that behind me I am causiously on another plane bound for Tenerife (not looking forward to the decent!) I rested all day yesterday and have been sleeping loads so hopefully I can start to feel better this week...oh dear seatbelt sign is on, wish me luck!!

Swiss ladies open - losone

Date: 23/06/2010

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What a week...for all the right and wrong reasons!
Right because I finished 3rd, played great, handled my nerves and qualified for the British open! Wow! And wrong because I have felt terrible the whole time...my cold has been dreadful, even now sat on the plane to Portugal, I just want to lay my head down and be able to breathe....I actually wish I was bound for Manchester and the comfort of my own home... but unfortunately that's two weeks away!
Unfortunately the rest of the flight wasn't too comfortable...my right ear closed tight and it's taken me two days and ear drops to hear everybody again! I'm not in the best shape healthwise but golf wise I am very happy. The changes I have been making with graham and my new Physio are really complementing each other, it's quite exciting!
I left you last time saying it was game on for the British open, I had 3 weeks to move into the top 25. Thankfully a third place last week has solved that, I am now in 13th place ...(a number I can't seem to shake off at the moment) but this time I'm quite happy with it as it meansI will most definitely get to play in the British Open at birkdale! Yeeha!
The golf course this week is campo real, just outside Lisbon. It is a bit up and down and quite tight in places but it's in great condition and the sun is shining!!!

Swiss ladies open - losone

Date: 23/06/2010

Swiss ladies open - losone

Date: 23/06/2010

Swiss ladies open - losone

Date: 14/06/2010

Article:
Well hello!
A lot has happened since I last updated you. Working backwards I finished 7th a week ago at the Dutch open after a lovely 69 on the last day that moved me from 24th to 7th. Finally I have started to score after hitting the ball well for a while...
Unfortunately before that it wasn't too pretty and still smarts a bit so I'll run through it quickly! Slovakia...mmm missed the cut by 3, interesting golf course, on a ski resort, half way up a mountain surrounded by bears and wolves...a first! At the German ladies masters I continued the little run I have endured this year by missing by 1 shot...the only exciting bit of the week was a manic trip to Munich airport on fri night in a Q7 that flew across country roads at 260kmph. He got me there 5 mins before easyjet closed check in, well worth the nausea I had all the way home when I walked through my front door late on friday night.
I left you last time as I had arrived in turkey, raring to get going. I eventually finished 19th but I literally have no idea how...I didn't hit the ball well all week, in fact it was embarrassing at times, but I managed to dig deep and rely on my short game. I think some Yorkshire grit helped too! Thankfully I am now playing much better and I am so excited with the changes we are making to my game. We now have a run of 3 events Switzerland, Lisbon and Tenerife. I am 33rd on the order of merit at the moment and need to be in the top 25 after Tenerife to automatically qualify to get into the British open....game on!
I have had a bit of a nightmare with my computer, it died two days ago so I am updating this through my iPhone, so I apologise if for any reason this latest blog doesn't make any sense...
I need to get my wet weather gear ready for tomorrow as it is nailed on it will rain at some point of the day here in Losone!!! By the way Peter Kay was amazing! Goodnight!

Turkish Ladies Open

Date: 04/05/2010

Article:
5 weeks at home has flown by and I am raring to go again starting with the Turkish Ladies Open. I have come out a little earlier to get some good preparation done in good weather and with the forecast at 28/30 degrees it was a much better idea than another 2 days at Cleckheaton in 7 degrees..

I was delighted to learn from a fellow member at Cleckheaton golf club returning from Turkey last week that National Golf club where we are playing this week has made some big improvements to the course in the last 24 months. I think the cut was +9, 2 years ago due to ridiculously firm greens, it was a shame because it made the tournament a bit of a mickey mouse event. I vowed never to return which would have been a shame because the golf course layout is a good test of golf in the right condition. Hopefully Bob was right about the course and it will be a fairer test this year.

We are staying in the Susesi Luxury Resort, which I am told is amazing. Not every week on tour is like this, I assure you. We are definitely going to be spoilt, staying in an all inclusive resort, I better find the gym early in the week!

Its all go from here we have 3 weeks off in July and apart from another few days here and there we have pretty much a full schedule until the end of SeptemberTheres my social life out of the window for another year then.Actually I have decided to fit in as much social life as I can this year, without harming the golf! When you have played seriously for so many years, 8 professionally and 21 in total you sacrifice an awful lot along the wayopting for the quiet nights in, the weekend before an event and before you know it another year as gone byThats why I have decided to see Peter Kay at Manchester Arena next week and fly on to Germany a day later. Well, I hope to do that, as long as the wind isnt in a southeasterly direction..

Australian Open

Date: 17/03/2010

Article:
A very frustrating week at the Australian Open. 77, 76 to miss by one.It actually could have easily been 83, 82, if it hadnt of been for my short game and putting so I guess thats the positives I will take from the week but unfortunately I hit the ball terrible. Thankfully not having control of the ball is something that doesnt happen too often to me but having continued to work on changes with my swing throughout the winter, I have to accept that it might happen from time to time.

It was very frustrating though, especially this week where you couldnt really get away with many loose shots. I found myself enraged at times having thought myself into a great position on a par 5 only to completely miss hit a 9 iron and find my ball in a bunker with no sand, on the wrong side of the pin, with an impossible up and down. Unfortunately you cant do much about those days apart from remind yourself that you thought your way around well and try and limit the damage with a good short game.

I was gutted at the thought of missing the cut and I knew stood on the 9th hole, my last, I needed to birdie it to have any chance of making it. It was a par 3 and a tricky one at that, add in the fact that I had hit some terrible iron shots that day and my chances looked slim. Ive no idea how but I managed to hit an 8 iron to 8 feet and box the putt to get back to +7 for the tournament and have a chance. Unfortunately I eventually missed by one but was proud of myself for giving myself every opportunity in what was a very frustrating week!

Thankfully now I know what I was doing wrong with regard to my swing but unfortunately when your in the moment and I include the first two days in that, sometimes you cant see the wood for the trees. As I practiced over the weekend I took some video and realised what I had been overlooking. Did I mention this game could be frustrating at times

Despite my golf I did enjoy the challenges of Commenwealth golf club and look forward to taking a more polished swing with me to next years Sandbelt course. I was again very lucky to stay with a great family and had lots of fun with Trel & Maxine Adam and their family. For the first time in a long time I didnt want to leave Australia and had found a new part of Melbourne that I had fallen in love with. Trel & Maxine live in the most amazing place, 2 mins from the beach, shops, city and some of the best golf courses in the world. Everything you could ever wish for is within easy reach. I was sad to leave, especially as the sun had just decided to show its face.

With a 20-hour flight ahead of me to get home, the only thing I was looking forward to was flying from Singapore to London on the A380. How cruel it was to then be told that it was no longer an A380 flight and have to board the older smaller plane at the next gate to the A380. All I can say is after a line of errors and problems with my Singapore Airlines ticket my letter of complaint will be in the post as soon as I get a minute. I used to love flying with Singapore Airlines but unfortunately I think that will be my last flight with them.

1 day later and after a very comfortable night in a Sheraton hotel bed at Heathrow I am now on a flight to Morocco. I actually dont feel too bad and managed to sleep all through the night. Hopefully another good nights sleep tonight and Ill be raring to have a look at this new golf course tomorrow. We start on Thursday Saturday this week so a quick start would be nice. My swing is feeling better and hopefully if I manage to avoid jet lag we could have a good week.

ANZ Ladies Masters

Date: 08/03/2010

Article:
The Gold Coast..turned out to be very grey in the end. At least the rain showers eventually stopped but the sun disappeared for the whole week. It was a humid and muggy few days on the golf course with all the water that was in the ground from the 200mm of rain they had had the week before we arrived.

As ever Royal Pines was wet and the Bermuda grass on the greens loved it! Having finished 5th in New Zealand I was determined to stay patient and not have my expectations too high around one of my least favourite golf courses.

The week started as it normally tends to these days with me a few over par on day 1. I shot 75, 3 over par and unfortunately in 102nd position. The next morning I was eager to claw some strokes back and played much better for a 71, 1 under par. I knew it would be close to the cut and knew playing the last few holes I would need definitely one birdie if not two to make the cut. I put it close on 4 out of the five holes and missed every putt to finish on 2 over for the day.

Ive not held back my feelings for these greens over the years; they are so unpredictable its ridiculous. It is heartbreaking when you hit good shots into greens all daylong and hole 1 out of a possible 13/14 birdie putts. Mind you at least I holed one this year

However there are some girls that can putt extremely well on these greens but they normally have grown up playing on Bermuda grass. I did smile when I saw the result, Karrie Webb and Katherine Hull position 1 and 2 both Queensland girls. Also a host of Asian girls that live and practice on Bermuda in Australia and many Americans that are used to Florida Bermuda. I think the only thing to do is to stay here or move to Florida!

I hope you managed to see some of the highlights in Europe from the last days play at the ANZ Masters as it was a real cracker. Karrie had 11 under par 61 on the last day to finish on -26 under par and to win by 5. Amazing golf and especially on those greens, maybe Ill ask her for a few tips for next year..

I have moved on again to Melbourne, sad to leave my adopted Aussie family The Mathious behind but time to get my head down and put some work in. We play at Commonwealth Golf Club this week in the Australian Open, another top sand belt course with a Sunningdale feel, lots of deep guarding bunkers and fast tricky greens. I am staying with friends I met in last years pro-am Trel and Maxine Adams. Trel is the Captain at the legendary Huntingdale GC and has promised to give me the guided tour sometime this week. Im really looking forward to the week, a superb golf course, lovely generous people to stay with and hopefully some good golf!

I absolutely adore sandbelt golf courses and my favourite has to be last years Australian Open course Metropolitan. I have great memories of playing there and some scary ones too as you can get in some serious trouble if your not on your game and this week its very similar. The greens are very well guarded with deep bunkers so bunker play is top of my priority list for practicing in the next two days. Im going to work hard on my putting and get the feel for the pace of the greens and generally get ready for the challenge of getting around this golf course in as little shots as possible. Thats the main thing I love about these sandbelt courses, its proper golf, where every shot is a challenge, they really make you think on every shot, so much so that you have to fight for every par. Probably a turn off for the amateur golfer but for a professional, a true test and for a gritty golfer from Yorkshire an absolute delight!

Christchurch

Date: 22/02/2010

Article:
What a first week out for me! I arrived from a frozen Yorkshire looking forward to getting stuck into some practice and hopefully working my game into some sort of shape for the next few weeks. Im sat now in another departure lounge after finishing 5th in the New Zealand Open, a bit in shock really at how my swing, short game and especially putting has stood up to the elements, the pressure and the field after a very quick start to playing tournament golf.

I think a lot has contributed to my good relaxed play this week, my caddy Phil was a lovely guy who I enjoyed talking to about Coronation Street all the way round and a special thanks go to my host family for the week, John & Mary Harris. They have been absolutely amazing! We have had a gym, pool and Jacuzzi at our disposal, not to mention lovely relaxed company and amazing food. I got so comfortable in their home I was sad to leave this morning.

It has been a funny week really. I started on Thursday with a not very impressive and a little uncomfortable 78. I felt awkward all day and the wind late on didnt help me to find my feet in my first round of the year. The next morning however, I felt like a golf professional again and after some quality golf managed to shoot 69 (3 under par).

Saturday arrived and having made my first cut of the year I felt confident in my swing and the improvements I had seen the day before. I managed to shoot 67 (5 under par) and after a blustery end to that afternoon eventually finished in 8th place, a great comeback from 104th and 52nd the previous days. I felt I hit some good shots but that there was still plenty of room for improvement.

Sunday morning started with blueberry pancakes and a tsunami warning! Blueberry pancakes are normally a great start to any morning but I couldnt take my eyes off the coastline and my ears off the constant update channel Mary had put on the radio in the kitchen. Having never been involved in a Tsunami warning before I must admit I was a little panicked at the thought of waves immersing us on the golf course, not 1km from the ocean.Thankfully it was reported that the waves would be 1 metre or less before we left for the course and as play had started on time at 8am without interruption, the fuss all soon died down and the focus changed to getting stuck in on the golf course.

I set off a bit nervy but soon settled down when I holed the first putt for birdie on the 5th then another 2 followed on holes 6 and 7 and a solid birdie at the par 5 9th had us at -4 for 9 holes. I then holed a great putt on the 10th to go to -5 and another good putt on 12 to be -6 and apparently tied for the lead for a few holes. We were coasting, playing solid golf and holing more than our fair share of putts.I pared the difficult 13th and then unfortunately tugged the ball into a greenside bunker on the par 3 14th. The shot I hit out amazed me as I had very little green to work with but it stopped about 4 feet from the hole giving me a great opportunity to save par. Unfortunately my first poor stroke of the day left the ball above ground short in the jaws I bogeyed 15 and 16 with another couple of dodgy putts and a very conservative approach. Stood on the 17th tee I told Phil my caddy that I wanted two chances for birdies on the last two holes and thats exactly what we had. 17 was a horrendously tough hole on Sunday with a vicious little green and a 40mph wind straight down the hole. I managed to hit it to 12 feet and was gutted when at the last second my birdie putt slid by the hole. The 18th I played really well and chipped to 5 feet under the hole and had a real chance to make birdie, unfortunately the ball slide by the hole on the right lip and I must admit I was a little gutted to finish on -3 for the day after such an amazing start. However I cant grumble about a missed putt or two having holed plenty during the week and a final placing of tied 5th was very welcome after a cold winter and a quick start to tournament golf.

I had a great time for my first week in New Zealand and will look forward to returning next year. I now travel to the Gold Coast for the ANZ Ladies Masters but dont be fooled by the name, its pouring down! The pro-am has been cancelled and I am in need of a pair of wellies, wish me luck!

A new season 2010

Date: 16/02/2010

Article:
Happy New Year to you all! I am en route to Australia for the start of the 2010 season and one of my New Year resolutions is to keep you updated on my progress this season. I am going to try and update my blog at least once a month so you can all see where I have been, what I have achieved and what I am up to! I have a few resolutions this year.2009 wasnt a great year for me so I am really looking forward to putting all that behind me, working hard, and seeing what a new year will bring.

I have been building on the swing changes I made with Graham Walker in the middle of last year and the early results are very encouraging. My right arm on my backswing is in a much better position, which will eventually result in more power and accuracy when my tempo adapts with it. My putting stroke has improved too and I will enjoy seeing how it stands up under pressure.

I flew from Heathrow to Singapore on the new A380 aeroplane and despite having my doubts about whether it would get off the ground, I must say, what a travel experience! 12 hours is a horrendous journey for any Economy passenger but not so on the A380. The seats had so much width the guy next to me crossed his legs on the flight without spilling onto my arm rest. There is such a feeling of space on the whole aircraft, you can even stand up the majority of the journey and hang out with other passengers at the back of the plane if you wish. I met an English motor cross guy called Dan on his way out to Perth for another few months work. Unfortunately the 7 hours from Singapore to Melbourne was not on an A380 but as it was during the night at home I slept the majority of the way anyway.

When I reached Melbourne I was too late to fly onto my friends in the gold coast so I booked myself into the Hilton at the airport. I had done this reluctantly as it was more than I would normally pay for a night in a hotel but I thought I deserved a little luxury after my 19 hours in the air and as my upgrade to business didnt happen despite having enough miles! Waking up this morning to an amazing view, a room that had everything and more that I needed, a lovely fresh buffet breakfast and a 5 min walk to my departure gate, made it worth every penny.

I am currently on a Virgin Blue plane on my way to Jamie & Sjaan Mathiou in the gold coast. They are very kindly having me to stay for a few days before I fly onto New Zealand on the 21st Feb for the first tournament on the Ladies European Tour. Hanging out with the family will be great, it will probably include a trip to the beach with the kids, some practice and generally adjusting to the difference in temperature. I have a week in New Zealand, which I am really looking forward to and after that it is back to the gold coast for the ANZ Ladies Masters and then down to Melbourne for the Australian Open.

I am very fortunate this year to be supported by two new companies Linear Capital Corporation / Largo Resources and Forbes Manhattan. Eurocontrol have chosen to continue their sponsorship for 2010, which will be the third consecutive year. Unfortunately Special Steel Group have withdrawn from sponsorship this year due to the problems the steel industry have experienced recently. I thank them very much for their 3-year sponsorship and wish the company all the best in the future. I am so thankful and fortunate to have this support; it really does make all the difference.

Latest Blog

Portugal ladies open

At CampoReal in Portugal the sun did shine, the course was imaculate and the hotel one of the best I've stayed in but unfortunately when you've no energy left in the tank there's not a lot you can do about it! ...

Latest Blog

Portugal ladies open

Swiss ladies open - losone

Swiss ladies open - losone

Swiss ladies open - losone

Swiss ladies open - losone

Turkish Ladies Open

Australian Open

ANZ Ladies Masters

Christchurch

A new season 2010

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Portugal ladies open