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Thursday 12 September 2019 06:30, UK
Georgia Hall believes Europe have a "full package" of advantages that can spur them on to victory at the Solheim Cup this week.
Last year's Women's British Open champion insists that a combination of the weather, the home support, a native captain and a well-balanced team all give Europe the edge at Gleneagles as they attempt to prevent Team USA completing a hat-trick of wins.
The first three practice days have been played in wet and windy conditions for the most part, although the forecast is for dry and bright weather for the three tournament days, although it is expected to remain blustery which should benefit Catriona Matthew's side, according to Hall.
"I don't think we're afraid of bad weather," said Hall, who enjoyed an impressive debut in the Solheim Cup two years ago. "So we're used to playing in the wind quite a lot and it's quite wet out there.
"I think the course suits us, and it's always fun playing in these conditions. I know the course, I played it probably five, six times last year, so I know it quite well. The greens are a little bit quicker this week, but I kind of know where to place the ball. It's quite a long golf course, and I think that's very important.
"I'm pretty confident. We have a great team and we're all bonding really well, getting on really well. We have a mix of different players as well, a few rookies. We'll have the home crowd as well which is massive especially on the first tee, all cheering for Europe. And we have a Scottish captain, so we have the full package."
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Hall and Charley Hull both earned widespread praise for the fearless attitudes and aggressive style on their debuts in the contest, but Hall insisted she was not especially wary of similar performances from the six rookies on the American team this week.
"Yeah, the USA. have got a lot of rookies, a lot of them, but I think it all depends on the person as to how well you do," Hall added. "And match play is very different to what we're used to playing. So I don't know.
"We'll treat every player the same, whether they are a rookie or not. They all deserve to be there and they've obviously played a lot of good golf to get on the team. So we'll just have to play the best golf we can."
Hall has had a disappointing summer so far and did not manage to post a top-25 finish in any of the five majors, while Hull has also struggled to contend on a regular basis since her Ladies European Tour win in Abu Dhabi back in January.
But a defiant Hall said: "You can't have a fantastic year every year, but I've played a lot of consistent golf maybe the past two or three months. I thought I did pretty good at the British and Evian and Scottish. So I had a week off last week, practiced quite a lot. And Solheim is completely different to every other event and it's much more mental."
Team USA star Danielle Kang had earlier joked about expecting a hostile reception from the home crowd, but Hull was adamant that the visiting team would be treated with respect from outside the ropes.
"I think they're going to get a warm welcome, because I never really experienced booing before," Hull said. "Everybody is pretty fair and especially over here, the home of golf, I feel everyone will be respectful."
Hull is also trying hard to avoid being distracted by another big event for her next week, when she marries mixed martial arts fighter Ozzie Smith.
"I just kind of left the wedding all to him to be fair," she added. "I said what I want and just let him deal with it all. I've been looking forward to this event for a long time because it's on home soil and I've never really played on it. I've played for Europe in Europe, but not really in Great Britain.
"So I'm looking forward to it. And then I'm looking forward to next week as well!"
