It has been another van trip this week after lots of aeroplanes and hotels in Asia and I am very happy to say I qualified on top which gives me a chance to play second stage in Spain next month.
Taking the ferry to France was a great choice and I loved crossing the English Channel with the camper van, snapping some good photos on the way over. It also made me realise how mad my sister Pippa was to swim across it a few years ago! About an hour and a half later I arrived in Calais and then it was just a short 40 minute drive down to Golf D’Hardelot. A little off topic but my van, originally converted by the company Devon, called this model the “Limousin”, which is a French breed of cow. So let’s just say she (Lilly) felt comfortable driving on the French roads.
I had a couple of days to practice on the course and time to get a good game plan ready for the week ahead, just like any other tournament I tried to decide which holes I would attack and which holes I would play with more respect. I managed to play both practice rounds and coincidentally the first three rounds with a friend of mine I met playing on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, Jimmy Beck. He’d come over from the US to qualify and after we were drawn together in the first round we kept shooting the same scores which meant we were paired together again and again. He also went on to qualify for the next stage.
The week was fuelled mainly by fresh baguettes and a moderate amount of cheese which I was always happy to tuck into half way through my round. As much as I enjoy South East Asia and the cuisine it felt good to be back and eating simple foods cooked in the van and living the simplistic life! A break from technology is always needed and just some music, a book and a candle was my post golf evening routine. It was very chilled out and I tried to carry this into my time on the course, accepting the stresses of tournament golf and trying to stay in the now.
We take a break now for a few weeks so looking forward to sharing some more news in November.