It’s funny how things can change. Two years ago, LET member Lydia Hall was delivering packages for Amazon Prime during the COVID-19 pandemic, trying to make ends meet after golf shut down in response to the global health crisis. Now, she’s playing in her first U.S. Women’s Open presented by ProMedica, having qualified via a 5-hole playoff with Luna Sobron Galmes at Buckinghamshire Golf Club, an experience that’s been a long time coming for the 34-year-old Welshwoman.
“I've probably had about four, maybe five goes at it,” Hall said. “This time round, it was a tough day in London at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club. We had three or four holes in our second round and I thought I'd blown it a little bit. But DT, my caddie, was aware of what was happening with the scoring so we stuck in there. Made a really good par save on 16,17 and birdied 18 to actually get into the playoff.”
“I had a good eight-footer, left-to-right putt to win that playoff and get through. Personally, it was really nice to hole something like that to actually earn my spot in and not someone had to make a double or whatever so it was really, really good.”
Starting a new week in style by qualifying for the 2022 @uswomensopen at Pine Needles Lodge & GC in Southern Pines, North Carolina, June 2-5 🏆🇺🇸#RaiseOurGame | #USWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/DSJSNAlnUQ
— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) May 17, 2022
Growing up in Wales, Hall didn’t get into the game until she was 11, participating in free junior clinics hosted by a local club, and met her swing coach around that same time. She turned professional at 19, forgoing a few collegiate offers to instead pursue her dreams on the Ladies European Tour.
In 15 years as a pro, she’s only had four wins – the 2012 ISPS Handa Ladies British Masters, 2016 Welsh National PGA Championship, 2017 WPGA International Challenge and 2022 TPS Victoria – with the first of those coming at Buckinghamshire Golf Club. But it’s the love of the game that keeps her coming back.
“There's been many times where I've questioned it over the past years just basically down to the financial situation, limited amount of sponsorship in Europe,” explained Hall. “But I've got goals, I've got ambitions and I'm in a point in my life right now where I'm happy and comfortable in the skin that I have and I just want a lot of success.”
That drive has carried Hall across the pond and to Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club this week, a place that reminds her of Woburn Golf Club in the United Kingdom, an unusual comparison considering the vast difference in climate. While she’s ventured to the United States for a few Epson Tour events and some warm-weather practice during the wintertime, Hall hasn’t played very much golf in the United States, let alone visited the golf mecca that is Pinehurst.
We are proud to support & link up with @LydiaHallGolf who is respresenting wales 🏴⛳ at the @uswomensopen on the @LPGA tour 💪🏆 pic.twitter.com/yxqXwAzo9R
— iStadia Solutions (@istadia) May 31, 2022
“I spoke to one of my close friends, Megan McLaren, who played LPGA Q-Series here a couple of years ago. And she said, ‘You have to go into Pinehurst because it's almost like a massive version of St. Andrews’, which I love and everything around the area is about golf. I think it's something ridiculous like 60 golf courses in a 40-mile radius. And you can tell everyone around this area just is mad for golf. It's pretty special to have my first U.S. Open at Pine Needles.”
And that drive has also carried her to places that Hall never imagined she’d go, namely BBC Radio Live 5 and the final group of the 2021 men’s Open Championship at Royal St George’s.
“I was lucky enough last year with BBC Radio 5 Live offered a position to cover the commentary at the men’s Open at Royal St George's. Without a shadow of a doubt, I stuck my name down and said yes, please, I'd love to be walking down the 18th fairway. We had the final group, myself alongside Iain Carter, an incredible correspondent.
“The experience that I gained from that alone and the feeling walking down the 18th hole was goosebumps. It was incredible to walk beside Louis Oosthuizen and Colin Morikawa. I'm lucky enough to be offered the position again this year at the 150th Open at St. Andrews. That's going to be incredible to be at the home of golf and cover that for the men.”
Rest assured there won’t be any daydreams of the Swilcan Bridge or the Road Hole dancing in Hall’s head this week. She opened with a 2-over 73 on Thursday, a so-so start that’ll have her grinding to make the weekend. But Hall has something that many don’t – perspective – and while she’s striving to do her best at the second major of the year, she has realistic expectations for herself and her game.
“I would really like to have a top-10 And all of those kinds of things but we're not going to have positions in our minds or scores. I'm just going to hit as many fairways and many greens as I can to give myself as many opportunities for birdies and pars.”
“Two years ago, I was driving in my car delivering Amazon Prime parcels just to make ends meet because of COVID, limited amount of tournaments, lack of sponsorship so to now be playing in the U.S. Open for $10 million is pretty good.”
It’s funny how things change. And Lydia Hall – a journeywoman, a Jill-of-all-trades, a relative unknown – is a perfect reminder that they call it an “open” for a reason.
)
)
)
){kind=spacer}
