Twenty-year old Annabel Dimmock is starting to make a big impact on the Ladies European Tour. We headed to her home course of Wentworth to find out more.
Annabel Dimmock has a CV even the most accomplished of amateur golfers would envy.
By the age of seventeen the big-hitting youngster, who honed her game with the help of the Wentworth Scholarship programme, could list the Sunningdale Foursomes, Helen Holm Scottish Open and appearances at the Junior Ryder Cup, Summer Youth Olympics, and Curtis Cup among her many achievements.
Success, however, hasn’t always come easily for the London-based youngster. After turning professional off the back of an incredibly successful season in which she reached No. 10 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and a strong professional debut at the Ladies European Masters, where she finished 29th, Dimmock spent much of her rookie year side-lined with a debilitating back-injury and was forced to return in 2015 to Ladies European Tour School.
Twelve months on, with a year on the circuit under her belt and the injury problems very much behind her, the glamorous golfer looks set to make waves on tour this year.
We caught up with her at Wentworth before Christmas to find out about life on the LET and her goals for the upcoming season.
After what must have been a tough season in 2015, you must be delighted with the way this year panned out for you?
Absolutely. It’s great to be having some time to chill out before Christmas without Tour School looming over me, as the experience of qualifying is very gruelling. The season started slowly but I put in some strong performances towards the end of the year, particularly the events in the Middle East, which have given me a lot of confidence and lifted me into the top 50 in the Order of Merit.
A fifth-place finish in Qatar was a great way to end the season.
To be honest I went away from the tournament feeling like I could have won it. A level-par final round was a bit disappointing, given how well I felt I was playing, but getting the opportunity to play in the last few groups under the glare of the camera was a lot of fun.
Is life on tour everything it’s cracked up to be?
I love it. I always knew that I wanted to play on tour and, although it takes a little while to adjust to the lifestyle, once you get in the swing it's brilliant.
I'm very lucky with my sponsors that I don’t have to worry about the financial side of life on tour as I know that is a problem for a lot of the girls.
The only downside is that you have a lot of time on your hands during events. I end up spending far too much time on social media which is a habit I definitely need to kick next year.
Your last year as an amateur was an incredibly successful one. How much of that success can be attributed to the help you have received at Wentworth?
Getting a scholarship at Wentworth was a brilliant opportunity. They gave me free coaching, membership and support, which is great, considering how good the facilities are here.
My friend Inci Mehmet, who just earned her card on the LET, was also a scholar, so we could push our games on by competing alongside each other.
Bernhard Gallagher has also been a big influence. He’s been mentoring me at Wentworth for the past few years and helping me with the mental side of golf, which is the part of my game that needs the most work, so that's also been a big help.
What are your goals for the upcoming season?
The Solheim Cup. I’ve seen players, such as Charley Hull, gain a selection based on their form in the run up to the event, so I know that if I can play well in the first half of the year I’ve got a chance. The Curtis Cup was a big moment for me, in terms of my confidence, and gave me a taste of what the Solheim would be like, so that’s got to be among my main goals.
I’m also heading off to play the Australian leg of the Tour for the first time in February so i'm hoping for some strong performances early in the season.
Long-term I want to test my game on the LPGA.
Has seeing Charley Hull’s success had an influence on you?
What Charley has done over the last couple of seasons has been incredible. We played in the England squad together, so to see her burst onto the LET and then win the Tour Championship this year has been a big confidence boost to a lot of girls who were in the national set-up. She’s a complete one-off but seeing her do so well, and Bronte Law’s success as well, is really inspiring.
Tell us about your experience playing in the 2014 Curtis Cup?
The Curtis Cup was huge. Many of the American girls, including Solheim Cup player Alison Lee, are now on the LPGA, and we got treated like superstars for the entire trip, so even though we ended up on the losing side, it was a brilliant week.
Playing alongside Bronte Law was also a fantastic experience, she really is the ultimate competitor.
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