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My huge respect for Sophie
Why my team-mate deserves enormous credit for a brave interview
Sophie Gustafson
FIRSTLY I would just like to congratulate Sophie Gustafson for winning the Golf Writers’ Ben Hogan Award.
For those of you who don’t know Sophie has a pronounced stutter but took the brave step of sitting down ahead of the Solheim Cup matches and doing an interview.
I certainly didn’t even know she had done it and, as far as I know, it was never talked about. She then won all four matches so maybe it gave her a shot in the arm. Only Sophie knows that but she had been playing very well for a while.
Sophie’s a great girl and she is always chatting away on the course, to be honest I don’t even notice it any more as I’ve been around her for the last 15 years or so.
I can’t imagine what it’s like, it must be so difficult, and she copes incredibly well.
The schedules are out now, we get them a little bit ahead to help with our planning and they are gradually getting better.
These are obviously tough times so for the LPGA, thanks to commissioner Mike Whan and his team, to have added five new tournaments is a great effort.
I do my schedule myself, it’s quite straightforward as I simply play the courses that I enjoy the best and I try and play on both tours wherever possible.
I did a recent interview where I said that the Ladies’ European Tour has been ‘treading water’ in recent years and I would maintain that that is stating the obvious.
What they have done has been very good and this year there will be 24 tournaments but it doesn’t help the girls that there are a lot of tournaments where the prize fund is €200,000. That equates to needing a pretty high finish to make a profit once you have paid for your accommodation, flights and caddie.
That’s no reflection on the CEO Alex Armas and her team, it’s just the way the climate is at the moment.
Do I think an ex-player running the tour is the best thing? I’m not sure – you could argue that a top businessman or woman would be the ideal choice.
Do I think an ex-player running the tour is the best thing? I’m not sure – you could argue that a top businessman or woman would be the ideal choice.
The way things have worked out Alex has ended up doing the job and she has done a very good one. Will that help the tour move forward to another level, who knows?
I don’t get involved in any of it, I just play golf and that’s what I think all players should do and let the people of the business world get on with that. That’s my opinion and that will never change.
The new Ladies British Masters at the Buckinghamshire is a great addition. It’s about 20 minutes from where I live, the sponsors, ISPS Handa, are one of my sponsors and it’s a course that I really like.
It’s really good for someone who likes to get their driver out and give it a tonk. It’s not wide open by any means but there is a bit of room.
The other domestic highlight is obviously the Women’s British Open, now in September. It’s good to have some space between the Majors but I’m not sure you could do it every year as the seaside weather is unpredictable at the best of times.
If it does turn nasty people are going to struggle to stand up but hopefully the weather will come out for us.
At the moment I’m not in the US Open at Blackwolf Run and I would dearly love to make it. The last time it was played there, in 1998, I led after the first round and had a good week where the winning score was plenty over par.
It was incredibly tough but a test that I would love to revisit.
Belly not for me
I don’t use one because I think it’s cheating. There are so many things that you can’t do and one of them is anchoring a piece of equipment to your body. It’s great for those who have got the yips but I don’t think there is a place for it in the professional game.
It’s not fair to those of us who try and putt properly and don’t putt very well. I wouldn’t even try in practice purely out of principle.
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