Solheim Cup: Charley Hull’s memorable 2013 debut
I’ve got lots of happy memories from 2013.
Making my Solheim Cup debut in Colorado two years ago was all a bit of a blur to be honest. Being in America it was a lot bigger than I had imagined and the crowds were incredible. I loved it all.
I was only 17 at the time but, from the moment Lotta Neumann picked me, everybody made me feel part of everything. I felt like I had played my way on to the team so they respected me as a player even though I was playing in the Curtis Cup the previous year.
Solheim Cup: Meet the European and American teams
That was obviously a big step up but, in a way, that was helpful as I was not long out of the matchplay loop which you play more of as an amateur. Alison Lee is the same this year and she will have played matchplay more recently than anyone in Germany.
In America I played in both fourballs so it would be a lot of fun to play in the foursomes this year. I’m not too fussed about who I will play with but I think Mel (Reid) and I would get on quite well.
But, in truth, I’d be happy to partner anyone.
I’m not being flippant but I wasn’t that nervous all week A few people might have been surprised when I was paired with Jodi (Ewart-Shadoff) in the first match of the Saturday fourballs in 2013. We had both lost our debut matches and we were both rookies. And we were up against Paula Creamer and Lexi Thompson.
We decided to have Jodi tee off first on every hole as she is pretty steady and I could then be a bit more aggressive which suits me more.
And we played great and we all made loads of birdies. Coming to the 17th Lexi hit a shot to about six feet but I managed to get inside her.
She then missed.
I’m not being flippant but I wasn’t that nervous all week but on that putt things were a bit different!
It wasn’t like it was for a par and a half, and I had hit a great shot in, but I was still quite edgy when I knocked it in. Jodi then made a par and we won two up. I think we had 10 birdies between us.
I came up against Paula again in the singles and I think I said ’I like your shoes’ when we shook hands on the 1st tee which people found pretty funny. I played great again, had another five birdies and could have had a few more, and won 5&4.
Solheim Cup: Azahara Munoz aiming for a hat-trick
There was a nice moment when Paula holed a bunker shot at the 13th and I holed my birdie putt and she was brilliant afterwards when she signed my golf ball for a friend of mine who is quite a big fan of hers!
Last time the team bus was brilliant with loads of singing songs and dancing and Suzann Pettersen was pretty good at getting everyone going. I’m not sure who the best dancer was but it definitely wasn’t me!
I can’t wait for this year, I love the big crowds and the bigger they are the more I enjoy it. Everyone always asks about the first tee shot but the way I look at it is that it’s only one shot and it’s matchplay so the worst thing that can happen is you hit a bad shot and lose a hole. There will be tee shots later in the round that are more important.
I’m still developing as a player and I’m only 19 but hopefully I’m a bit wiser now and my course management is improving all the time.
I played the course in Germany three years ago in an under-16 event and it is pretty much there in front of you. You can make a lot of birdies and go low so it should suit me. It is an American type of course and you can hit driver a lot, depending where the tees are, so it should be really exciting.
