Georgia Hall

Georgia Hall is bucking the trend heading into the AIG Women’s Open 2023 at Walton Heath.

The 2018 Champion has taken a different view of how the course is shaping up when compared to her fellow competitors, who have almost unanimously said it is playing long.

Hall has found company from compatriot Charley Hull in taking the opposing view, though she is as wary as the rest of the field of the famous heather that has become a regular talking point in the run-up to the event.

“I think there's definitely a score out there,” the 27-year-old said. “I've heard that some players have said it's long, and I disagree.

“I don't think it's long; I think that it plays how a major should play. They should be tougher than other events.

“It'll be interesting to see what they do with the pins because you can tuck them in quite good spots out there.

“The greens are running great, so I think if you hit the fairway, you've got a good chance, but we’ll see how the scoring is on Thursday and Friday and if they need to make it hard on the weekend, I am sure they will.

“With the heather, tee shots are the most important. You can’t get in that heather, because it is really tough to get out of.

“If you hit straight drives, you have got a great chance of scoring a low round here.”

Hall will tee off alongside the most recent major champion and her Solheim Cup partner Céline Boutier, with the pair joined by Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul.

Boutier followed up her victory at the Amundi Evian Championship with victory at the Scottish Open last week.

World No.15 Hall again chose a different tack and missed the event as she looked to prioritise the most important date in her calendar.

She explained: “I was sad to miss the Scottish Open, it's the first time I have missed it.

“If I had played, it would have been nine in a row for me. I just came off the back of four, and then was at home last week, which was needed.

“This is the biggest event of the year for me personally, for various reasons.

“I just worked on things that I wanted to improve last week and get a lot of energy up for this week. I know that it's a busy week.

“I have a lot of support around me this week, which is really great for me to have those people cheering on.

“Even today in the Pro-Am, I couldn't believe the amount of people out there, so I’m just really excited to get going tomorrow.”

Hall was speaking just minutes after it was announced that the AIG Women’s Open would be returning to Royal Lytham & St Annes, the scene of her only triumph in the majors, in 2026.

For the Bournemouth-born player, the crowds and venues she now plays in were beyond her wildest dream when first taking up the sport.

“I’m extremely delighted to go back there, I really didn’t know if we would,” she said. “I obviously have very fond memories of winning there and look forward to going back there and going home again in a few years’ time.

“It is a massive difference between starting out and now. When I turned pro, this event, for example, it just keeps getting better every year.

“What AIG and the R&A have done to elevate the women's game has been phenomenal, and it raises the bar for other tournaments and for other majors.”