Georgia Hall looks ahead to the AIG Women's Open at St Andrews

The AIG Women's Open returns to the iconic Old Course at St Andrews this August for the third time in the Major's history, having been contested in 2007 (Lorena Ochoa) and 2013 (Stacy Lewis).

To mark three months to go, 2018 winner and AIG Ambassador Georgia Hall welcomed golf media to the home of golf and answered questions about her previous experiences at St Andrews, her thoughts on links golf and the growth of women's professional golf.

What is it about St Andrews that really gets you?

The atmosphere and the town. The fact that it’s filled with golfers is a big draw for me. I love coming here, whether there’s an event or not. I enjoy it so much that I’d like to have a place here someday. The whole golf atmosphere is something special; there’s nothing else quite like it. It’s incredible to see regular people just standing around, watching others come in. As soon as I arrive, I feel happier. I just love being here.

When was the last time you played a tournament on the Old Course?

I’ve never played a professional tournament here as I played the 2013 AIG Women’s Open as an amateur.

I obviously played the champions event for The 150^th Open with Tiger over four holes, and I've played here in a couple of media days. But apart from that, it'll be 11 years since I played in a professional event on the Old Course.

Talk about the time you played with Tiger.

It's always been a dream to even meet him, let alone play golf with him. I remember I found out a couple months before that I was going to play with him, and I just thought it was so cool but I was so nervous.

I think it was the joint amount of crowds that I had on Sunday when I won, and it was on a Monday like 5:00 p.m. It was crazy.

But it's just such a great experience, and obviously I'm so grateful to the R&A for putting me in that group. It was just a dream of mine.

Do you remember some of the conversations you had with him?

I remember Rory knew a lot more about me than I thought he did. He obviously knew quite a lot about women's sports, women's golf really well anyway; and then Tiger commented on my swing a few times, saying I've got a lot of power, so that was nice.

But they put me on the same tees as obviously the men, and obviously I had such a long way in, but I was happy that I just played well in front of all those crowds.

Just listening to them talk, talk about the type of shots that they hit and their thoughts over the ball and things like that, it was also really nice to hear that I'm not the only one who gets nervous.

Going back to 2013, do you have any special memories that you might bring with you this year?

Hard to remember, but I think I might have played really solid that week. I remember I putted really well. Like these greens are obviously pure links greens, and I putt the best on links greens in general.

But I just don't get to play it a lot, so I'm actually really looking forward to putting on these types of greens that don't have a lot of slope, you have to hit it firm to the hole, and you definitely have to just imagine more shots on this golf course, especially when the wind gets up.

I hope we don't really have good weather because it's not really showing the golf course at its best. Like any kind of British Open, I think the weather should be slightly British. You never know what's going to happen.

Would winning the AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews be the ultimate triumph?

I said that in another interview, that if I won here, that's the only thing that would beat my win. Like if I won the U.S. Women’s Open this year, that wouldn’t beat my win at Lytham. This would only beat it in my opinion.

So I don't know if I'll ever get a chance to play in another one at St Andrews after this. I don't know when it would come around again. I'm not really going to put pressure on myself. Just play as well as I can and enjoy being here.

What has Nelly Korda’s run of success on the LPGA Tour done for women’s golf?

I think it's fantastic for the women’s game. What she's doing on and off the golf course, and providing way more audience and the media coverage it's giving. I know her quite well, and she's such a good player and has a great mentality.

In a way, I hope it continues like that because it's just amazing to see. I just can't get my head around it, really, either. Six out of seven is just unbelievable.

To keep going like that and not really even pulling out of events either. It will be interesting to see. I'm sure she's going to be a favourite to win the U.S. Women’s Open.

Do you think we need to be doing more to get more people watching and playing women's golf?

Well, I think it's generally difficult for people in this country to watch the LPGA, especially since only a few of us play on the tour. The timing and time difference make it challenging, and I rarely see it on TV myself. Improving coverage, particularly here or in the UK, would definitely help.

Besides that, I think the atmosphere at events like the Masters is amazing. When Lottie won, it was incredible. I met her at Chevron a couple of weeks ago, and seeing an English winner is fantastic for the game. If we keep building on this momentum - considering how much the game has grown over the past decade, tripling or even quadrupling since I was 15 - I believe we're on the right path.

I think it's important not to compare ourselves to the men, especially regarding questions about prize money. We are two very different entities. Our style of play is different; we don't hit the ball as far, but many people enjoy watching us for that reason. Our tempo and rhythm are distinct and more relatable to many viewers.

I think it's important to recognise how far we've come in the past 10 years rather than focusing on the fact that we're not yet equal to the men. Equality may still be a way off, but the support we’re receiving from the R&A and AIG for this event sets a great example for other companies and tournaments to follow and elevate their support to the same level.

Have you got your tickets for the AIG Women's Open? Still undecided? Here are four reasons to attend this year's Major - find out more.

Plus Women & Golf are hosting a special shopping event with Crew Clothing on Thursday 22 and Friday 23, August - here's your invitation to join us.