I couldn’t believe what I was watching on Sunday evening. My mouth dropped wide open when World No.1 Jeeno Thitikul four putted the 72nd hole to give an equally shocked Charley Hull the opportunity to make her two-foot birdie putt and win the Queen City Championship and a cheque for $300,000.
I was so pleased for Charley, that win has been a long time coming. She’s had countless close calls, and she’s too good to have not won more titles over the last 10 years on the LPGA Tour.
Poor Jeeno though, she didn't get to World No.1 without being a great putter, but her nerves clearly got the better of her. As we all know, golf is a brutal game that’s played between the ears, and if you’re unable to maintain confidence and control emotions, you’re suddenly on a slippery slope to failure. I’m sure it will take her a good while to get over that final hole meltdown.
Let’s not forget Lottie Woad who finished 3rd. It’s not often you see two British players in the top three on the leaderboard! Charley might have won, but in my opinion, Lottie continues to be the biggest story in women’s golf right now. She’s made for the professional stage and it’s really exciting to see what she can achieve next.
I know we play a different game to the pros, and we cannot often relate to the clubs and distances they hit, but I still find it interesting to know what clubs are in their bag. Charley, for example, does not currently carry any fairway woods, preferring hybrids instead, and there must be something special about TaylorMade’s MG5 wedges. She swapped the MG4s to these most recently, and this was the same move that Rory McIlroy made prior to winning the Amgen Irish Open.
Still on the subject of equipment, if you’re in the market for some new clubs and you’re thinking of going for a fitting, make sure you go armed with questions because you don’t want to come away feeling disappointed with the results and confused about what to purchase.
Don’t get me wrong, most of the major brands have expert fitters that will guide you through the process and provide all the information you need, but there are some that simply see it as an opportunity to sell and won’t be particularly interested in your exact requirements.
It can sometimes be intimidating for women walking into a store or pro shop, especially beginner golfers, who don’t understand many of the labels and technical terms. Carly Cummins has been at the hands of an inexperienced fitter, and in this piece, she offers advice to help women get the most out of a custom fit session. Take the questions she suggests with you, just in case you need them!
By Alison Root, Women's Editor Golf Monthly
