18-year-old Lilly Phelps claims ‘American golf is much more competitive than golf in the UK’, following her move to the States last summer, after she was offered a scholarship to play golf in America.
The young golfer gave an evaluation of how she has found the change in scenery and her move to Texas.
She said: “The initial move was difficult, leaving my family and my home it took me a few weeks to really settle in as I wasn’t used to my surroundings and hadn’t got anyone I knew, so I had to start all over again.
“It is always something I’ve wanted [playing golf in America] since I was a child and playing in the national leagues is going to help me get recognition and move towards my end goal.”
Speaking on the difference between playing golf in American and in the UK, she said: “The courses are very different as they are set out differently – the grass where I play is Bermuda grass, so it takes a long time getting used to as it grips onto your club more when hitting the ball.
“As I’ve played competitively in both countries, I would say American golf is much more competitive. There’s more passion and everyone wants to win, so you really must play at your best all the time.”
Lilly also talked about her aims for 2023. The young golfer said: “My performance for my 2022 semester was not great as I was struggling with the differences of courses and other environmental factors. I still put in reasonable scores, but I was not happy with it.
“My aims for 2023 are to make the national final as an individual. This means I need to play well enough in my tournaments to be able to qualify, and I will hopefully get an invitation to the finals.”
Lilly will next be in action on the 23-26th February in New Mexico against eight other universities.
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