Dubai: Solheim Cup winner Anne van Dam is confidently looking ahead to a better and fuller season next year.
The 25-year-old Dutch golfer, who finished fourth at last week’s historic inaugural Saudi Ladies International at the Royal Greens Club, north of Jeddah, told CNN’s Shane O’Donoghue that she believes things will be better for her and her game during 2021.
Much wiser after spending a couple of seasons on the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour (LET), Van Dam admitted she is enjoying the notion of a brighter future ahead.
“It’s going to be a real big off season, especially as in the last two years playing on the LPGA, I’ve learnt so much and I’m feeling some rounds or some tournaments you’re so close to being in contention and being up there in the leader board and then, you know, like a few shots can drop you from 10th to 30th, like in no time,” Van Dam said.
“So, the difference is so small, but I think that really will light up another fire inside me to work harder and get even better,” she added.
Considered one of the rising stars in European golf, van Dam has already won five times on the LET with her debut triumph on the Ladies European Tour coming at the 2016 Xiamen International Ladies Open. The following year, Van Dam played mainly on the LET and finished fifth on the Order of Merit.
In 2018, Van Dam won twice on the LET — the Estrella Damm Ladies Open and the Andalucia Costa del Sol Open De Espana Femenino — to finish second on the Order of Merit. At the same time, she competed in the LPGA Q-Series and earned an LPGA Tour card for 2019, that proved to be a standout year for her as van Dam’s points earned her a spot on the European Solheim Cup that Europe went on to win.
The Dutch star is known for her driving distance, and she led the category on the LET since 2017. And now, with the likes of Bryson DeChambeau driving the ball astronomical distances in the men’s game, the face of golf is changing and the trend has been carried over to the ladies’ game as well.
“I think it’s definitely growing. You see a lot more girls coming out of college and even it’s fun to see like some of the girls in our national team back in Holland, they go to the gym and they’re trying to hit the ball far, which I think is wonderful. If I look, if I compare it to the girls, when I was in the national team and I was 14, 15, there was none of that,” she admitted.
“I enjoy it sometimes. If I’m playing well, it’s great, but no, obviously it’s always a nice compliment and I’d rather have people talk positive about me than negative, but golf is a crazy game. You see so many different swings and different techniques and you have to find whatever works for you,” she insisted.