Hey there!
Welcome to the winter issue of Australian Golf Digest Women. It’s a real honour to be the guest editor of this issue, and considering how I’ve started this year, maybe I need to think about doing it again.
We’ve got some really great features and instruction for you to enjoy, in every corner of golf. There’s a feature on yours truly, and it was a real thrill to be the cover star for this issue. Evin Priest did a nice job capturing what life has been like for me lately. We’ll get to that in a little bit. But first, I wanted to share some of the other content in this issue. There’s a great Journeys piece told by the very talented Gabi Ruffels, who is enjoying an amazing rookie season on the LPGA Tour with a second and a third place already. Her story is so interesting, growing up a tennis player but falling in love with golf.
Maybe my favourite piece in the issue is ranking the 20 most consequential moments in women’s golf history, by Keely Levins. Having recently tied for 18th at the Founders Cup in New Jersey, where Gabi was third, it’s always a nice reminder of the women who have blazed a trail for us to be able to play on tour these days. At the grassroots level, there’s also a good piece on The Community Benefits of Golf in Australia report. It has some interesting details on an annual environmental benefit of $890 million that our game creates. There’s also a story about how the Australian Women’s Golf Network is using the corporate world as a way to introduce women to golf and has seen some incredible breakthroughs.
For me, it’s been an amazing year, on and off the course. Away from golf – well, kind of away from golf – I married my husband, Jarryd Felton. Personally, life is really good at home. It’s been amazing to be married since January and I’ve definitely not seen Jarryd as much as we would like. He’s a tour player as well and he’s trying to play as many tournaments as he can, and we understand what comes with professional golf. He came over to the US to visit recently, so that was nice. We’ve been dating for so long and we chose to become golf professionals when we first started dating. We knew the sacrifices. We understand those and it does suck. I hate having to say that I haven’t seen Jarryd for six or seven weeks at the time of writing this. I’m also not the only pro golfer to be doing long-distance. In a way, most pros are doing long-distance unless you are bringing your partner out on the road – and that can be expensive. I guess I’m just in a minority where my husband is also a tour player. It’s just one of the realities of life on the road and I’m not complaining, although it is tough.
On the course, it’s been a dream start to 2024. I’ve made the world’s top five golfers for the first time and I’m Australia’s top-ranked golfer. I never thought, in my wildest dreams, I could say that. The results show I’m confident with my game. I was runner-up recently at the LPGA Tour event in Jersey City, New Jersey. I’ve won twice on tour this year, at the HSBC tournament in Singapore and the JM Eagle LA Championship, my second straight year winning that event at Wilshire Country Club, a course I love playing.
I’m really, really excited for the majors this year. Just before this magazine was hitting shelves, the US Women’s Open was held at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania. Then there’s the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, and obviously as a past winner I have confidence in that event. It’s being held at Sahalee Country Club near Seattle, which used to be a PGA Tour course. I’ve heard it’s really narrow and treelined so I’m really going to have to have my driving accuracy dialled in.
The Evian Championship is obviously in France, and it’s in July. I’ve been to it many times, and it’s not my favourite course that we play. A T-30 is my best result in five times there. I have a love-hate relationship with that golf course.
I think the event I’m most looking forward to is the AIG Women’s Open (August 22-25) because it’s going to St Andrews. We’ve only been there twice and it’s the Home of Golf. I really like links golf, even though my results would not suggest that. I feel good about all the remaining majors and for the rest of the year on the LPGA Tour. We’ve got some exciting tournaments coming up.
I feel like I’m capable of getting another trophy in my hands this season, but I don’t want to that to be my focus. I just want to make sure I’m thinking day-by-day and round-by-round versus lifting trophies on Sundays. I’m a process person.
Finally, it looks like Minjee Lee and I will be the women’s Australian team at the Olympic Games and I’m so beyond excited. It was so fun last time, representing my country, but at the same time it was under COVID-19 conditions, so we didn’t get the full Olympic experience. I’m keen for Paris and I really think Minjee and I are a good chance – we’re both top 10 in the world and we’re both playing good golf. Hopefully we can bring home a medal.
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this issue.
Hannah
Getty images: Harry How