Trying to contain my Solheim excitement!

HAVING dreamed of playing in the Solheim Cup since I started taking golf seriously over a decade ago, you can probably imagine my excitement at what lies in front of me this month. I'm trying to keep calm and not think about the matches in every waking minute but it is tremendously hard not to do so.

I'm not being too hard on myself at getting so excited because a) I've worked hard for many years for this and b) I can't believe there's anyone who would be any different!

Since I qualified it's been a lovely period, as I've been able to enjoy the moment a bit. The side was confirmed a month before the matches start so there has been a fortnight or so when I've been able to look forward to Halmstad without getting too nervous about my first tee shot!

There are so many aspects of playing in the Solheim Cup to look forward to. Meeting up with your team-mates for one will be pretty good ­ imagine being welcomed into the Solheim fold by Annika and Laura! That is going to be special. From what I've heard there's a great team spirit in the European camp and practising, eating and perhaps even playing alongside two of the game's greats is something to cherish.

Getting my team uniform will also be exciting. Obviously I've had experience of that at amateur level in the Curtis Cup and its always nice to be given your colours for the week. I'm also looking forward to playing my first Solheim under Helen Alfredsson. She was a stalwart of the side for many years and knows the contest inside out.

She's a really friendly and fun person and I'm expecting that to be reflected in the way she operates as captain. Obviously there will be a serious side to her as she's really competitive and it's being played in her home country, but I'm certain there will be plenty of laughs along the way.

I will become the first player to represent Wales in the Solheim and that makes me very proud. I'm a patriotic person and hoisting my country's flag at the opening ceremony will definitely be emotional. So those are the kind of things I'm getting excited about in the build-up to the matches. Getting my Solheim bag with my name on it is another which has sprung to mind!

But in case you were thinking I'm going as a cheerleader for Annika, Laura, Catriona and co, nothing could be further from the truth. While I'm over the moon to be on the team, as far as I'm concerned, the hard work starts now. I am desperate to be an important member of the side. Going to Sweden and playing just a singles match is not what I'm about. I'm sure I would still enjoy the experience if that's all I play in but would still be disappointed I had not contributed more, whichever way the result goes.

I want to pitch up at Halmstad and impress Helen from the start. I want to be in the first series of foursomes and, if the captain opts for experience on the first morning, I want to be involved in the afternoon's fourballs. All I can do to influence Helen's selections is play well in practice and keep my emotions in check. The last thing a captain wants, I'd imagine, is a star-struck rookie who looks more interested in getting autographs from the big names than competing with and against them.

My mission to get a slot in the first day's play has already started in fact, because my practise regime has stepped up a further notch. I'm trying to do everything I can to make sure I arrive in Sweden happy with my game. Someone told me the other day that Nick Faldo once went into a Ryder Cup out of form and couldn't find his rhythm no matter how hard he tried. If a legend such as him can't turn his game around, I have no intention of trying to!

So, when I step onto the practice ground at Hamstad for the first time, I am expecting to be in confident mood. I have been playing well and picked up my first tour win, so I have been hitting the ball well. Now it's a case of keeping up that momentum into the biggest week of my golfing life.

A couple of things are helping me keep calm at the prospect of playing with and against some of the game's superstars. One is that I've heard Helen has mentioned me in dispatches as a player she thinks can do well in the Solheim ­ that's obviously great for my confidence, to know that the captain wants me on the team.

Secondly, that I know the crowds will be fantastic. It will be an amazing feeling whenever I make my debut in the matches to have almost the entire gallery rooting for me! I have a bit of that whenever we play in Wales but there will be thousands
and thousands of Swedes roaring us on and I'm sure that's going to feel fantastic.

Anything that will help to calm the nerves will be most welcome! I must admit I haven't really thought too much about potential partners in foursomes or fourballs ­ it's too early to do that. If Becky Morgan was on the team then I'd say her because we get on so well when we play for Wales together! So perhaps someone like her would be ideal, a consistent, accurate player to match my adventurous side I suppose.

Probably someone with experience might be useful, so maybe a Cat Matthew or Trish Johnson. But then again I'd relish going out there with another rookie and giving it a real go. I remember new-boys Paul Casey and David Howell doing that at the 2004 Ryder Cup and getting a priceless point.

To summise, I'm excited, apprehensive, nervous, delighted and proud about my Solheim Cup debut. Most of all, I'm looking forward to it. Needless to say, I'll fill you all in about what unfolded in my next column and let's hope we have the Cup back in European hands by then!