Holly Haslam will be back to defend to her title at Goswick Links from June 30 after her remarkable debut victory 12 months ago.
The 24-year-old, who has recently finished her year three exams, put together a brilliant back nine of two-under to complete rounds of 74-73 – and she did it with an aggressive approach over the venerable Northumberland links.
"It's a great course and it certainly requires you to be good off the tee. One of my strengths is getting off the tee and my driver is my favourite club. I'm not the type of player to hide away from hitting driver and it's a lot easier to get up and down from 70 yards than it is from 150. I actually prefer hitting it on harder holes as it really gives you something to focus on. I just hung in there and kept plodding along," the Essex youngster explained.
Standing on the 18th, a shortish par 4 with a green surrounded by bunkers, Haslam did put the driver away and switched to a more cautious approach.
"I was one behind going into the second day and I was obviously playing with the leaders and marking their cards so I had some idea of the scores. Thankfully my partner (and caddy) had paid closer attention and she said that there was no need to hit driver so I hit a 5-iron which left me something like 80 yards in. I hadn't dropped a shot since the 8th and I had just made a birdie on 17 so I was fairly confident that it was enough."
Part of Haslam's success was down to her planning and, aside from making the most of hitting driver, she is reliant on being able to form a sound strategy even on courses which she's not seen before.
"I would say that I'm pretty good at preparing and planning a course. I think that I make good notes and I'm able to map out a course and then it's just a case of sticking to that plan. A practice round will only take a standard time as I don't plan to be out there any longer than I need to be. It's a practice round at the end of day.
"You don't need to be out there for hours and hours. There's nothing stopping you from hitting other putts while people are still putting or mapping things when someone else is teeing off. The quicker that we move the better really."
The 147 total was actually good enough to claim the Women's PGA Professional title but she is not yet qualified so was ineligible for that – but Haslam was able to take the first prize of £3,000 in what was her first appearance in the event.
"I hadn't really played in any of the WPGA events prior to last year but I've since played in lots. When I entered Goswick I hadn't realised that it was such a big event and I played a practice round with a few of the women and they all had a lot of experience and had done some great things in the game. You definitely have to do your homework and make sure that you don't put too much pressure on yourself. Plus the money was something else, it all went straight into my savings account for my golf this year."
