Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Tour card makes Alice Hewson the pride of Berkhamsted


BERKHAMSTED, HERTFORDSHIRE,  - - 22 year old Alice Hewson has completed her journey from Berkhamsted GC junior to Tour golfer by securing her Ladies European Tour card at the first attempt.

And Berkhamsted members are now looking forward to Friday April 17th, when Alice will return to her beloved home club to host a golf day for her supporters and friends there.

132 players competed for just five 2020 LET cards at La Manga Club in late January, during a gruelling two-week, nine-round Qualifying School.

Hewson finished with a superb four under par 69 in the last round to secure her coveted Tour card by five clear shots. British golfers dominated the final places with Scotland’s Alison Muirhead and Welsh golfer Amy Boulden – this year’s overall LET Q School winner – also getting their cards. Argentina’s Magdalena Simmermacher and Swiss professional Kim Metraux will also join the three on Tour this season.

The globetrotting young golfer, who turned professional in summer 2019 after becoming European Ladies Amateur Champion, is already targeting early-season events in Abu Dhabi, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and California.

As a Category 5c Member of the Ladies European Tour, Alice Hewson will be able to play a full season of LET events in 2020. With 24 events to enter, including 15 in Europe, a record-breaking total prize purse of almost €18 million, and a recent partnership announced between the LET and the powerful LPGA Tour in the USA, the Hertfordshire golfer is thrilled to be joining Europe’s most prestigious Tour for female professionals at such an exciting time.

“I couldn’t have picked a better moment to turn pro, and I am so excited to have gained my LET card on my first visit to Q School” said Hewson. “I’ll be spoilt for choice in this first year. By performing well at La Manga Club I have opened the door to playing in dozens of tournaments around the world in 2020.

“If there was one moment which made me think it could be my week, it was my eagle on the 18th in Round Three. It really set me up for the final weekend. I told myself, someone’s got to be in that final five – so why shouldn’t it be me?”7/
Hewson also plans to take that positive mindset to the USA in 2020, where she will compete on the Symetra Tour, the official qualifying Tour to the LPGA Tour.

But first, she plans to spend three weeks intensive training in South Carolina at her alma mater, Clemson University, where she graduated last year with an Accountancy degree and a Minor in Legal Studies.

PGA Professional Rob Watts has been Alice Hewson’s performance coach for over six years. He said: “Alice keeps getting better. Her attitude to competing, desire to improve and work-rate are exemplary. Statistically her game is getting close to the best players on Tour, and her potential ball speed is very high.

“Alice’s golfing IQ is tremendous, and she has a massive heart too which means she usually delivers in a pressure situation. You’d want her on your team! She can hit it a long way when she needs to and, unsurprisingly coming from Berkhamsted, she also hits it very straight. To prepare her for life on the LET we’re going to be working on some new routines in the gym, and on adding more aggression to her game – which is what you need to win on Tour.”

Berkhamsted Golf Club Captain Henry Tse said: “Alice has been at the club since she was a seven year-old, and has been winning things ever since. In fact she is our current ladies course record holder, although that may change soon as women are competing in our Berkhamsted Trophy for the first time in 2020.

“Alice has given us a lot to be proud of: among many things she’s played in two Curtis Cup teams, finished strongly in 2019’s first-ever Augusta National Women’s Amateur, and qualified for last year’s Women’s British Open before she turned pro. She was the number one ranked female golfer in England for two years running.

“But most of all we’re proud that she has always returned frequently to Berkhamsted Golf Club, even when she was at college in the USA. Alice sets an amazing example to young golfers everywhere, and we’ll all be riveted when she heads out on Tour.”

During her successful fortnight at Q School, Alice Hewson enjoyed the support of several Berkhamsted GC members as she competed. “Some Berkhamsted members were at La Manga Club while I was playing. They cheered me on, and when I returned straight after getting my card I spent the week back at the golf club.

“People have been absolutely lovely, and I will always have a piece of Berkhamsted in my heart wherever I play in the world.”

To support Alice Hewson on Tour see her GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/first-year-lpga-funds or contact Berkhamsted Golf Club on +44 (0)1442 865832.

The famously bunker-free Berkhamsted Golf Club is laid out on common land in Hertfordshire’s largest expanse of natural gorse and heather, with over five miles of bridleways and pathways running throughout the golf course and its huge 560-acre estate, full of natural beauty.

See the club’s website at www.berkhamstedgolfclub.co.uk for all golf club details, including location and travel tips.

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