We talk to young gun Rachel Connor, who could soon be making waves on the Ladies European Tour.
Young gun Rachel Connor talks to Sky Sports about her ambitions to crack the Ladies European Tour
21-year-old Rachel Connor has already had an eventful young career, but she is ready to take the next step and earn a crack at the Ladies European Tour, she told
Sky Sports.
Europe's thrilling Solheim Cup success grabbed a lot more headlines for the women's game, and youngster Connor is one of the players hoping to cash in on the back of the likes of Melissa Reid adorning every promotion and back page photo.
A successful amateur career in the UK opened the door to the chance to turn professional on the LPGA futures tour and support from the top David Leadbetter run IMG academy in Florida. It's a chance she hasn't wasted.
In the two years since she left behind her family and friends to go it alone she has broken the tour low score record by shooting 61 and in the process becoming the youngest player ever to hold that accolade. A nine hole score of 29 saw a previous honour held by the great Lorena Ochoa also fall. But perhaps most importantly for her at this stage she has managed to keep her tour card in both seasons.
Rachel realises that these successes so early on in her professional life are important in establishing herself in one of the world's toughest playgrounds.
"I already had a good background but it's tough when you go out there with that behind you because you think oh my god I need to maintain that and there's all these older women out here and I'm so young and thrown in there. I think I've held my own. I've had two steady years - I've learnt a lot and I'm still learning," Connor explains.
Car crash
It's not been all one big fairy story for the golfer known as 'Chill' since the US adventure began. The fact that she managed to maintain her card this year was made all the more amazing by the fact that a car crash in November 2010 threatened to end her career just as it was getting going. She still bares the marks of that day but it says a lot for her character that not only is she not cursing her luck but she is almost thankful.
"You know I think it was one of the best things that could ever happen to me as it made me realise a lot of things - what's important in life and to enjoy each day because you never know when it's going to be taken - if anything it's helped me," she says. "I still have back injuries which I need surgery for but I need to wait until I have time for that, however I think I've come back even stronger than I was before."
Since her return she achieved her first top ten on the Futures tour and that renewal of her card which not only means her game is back but established among some of the world's most promising players.
With that now in place she's looking for the next step and some success closer to home. A place on the European Tour is very much in her sights as she heads to Q School early in January and if successful she'll be splitting her time between the tours on both sides on the Atlantic.
This maybe the immediate goal but it's an event in 2016 that has her really excited.
"Obviously my short term goals are to get my full cards on the European and LPGA tours but one of my main aims is the Olympics," Connor explains. "I think it's going to be amazing to have golf back in the Games and I think they'll do it really well. Its inclusion shows how popular the game is now with people watching on TV and going to events. I think it will massive."
A typical day for this ambitious player will see a 10 hour 'working' day that includes two workouts in the gym, practice on the range, short game exercises and a full round on the course. That certainly shows dedication to fulfilling her aims and the attitude that has allowed her to get where she has in such a short time.
Solheim Cup aim
One of her role-models is Suzann Petterson who helped Europe in that fantastic Solheim Cup win. That victory has served as another inspiration for Rachel and has her dreaming about the part she could play in future European success.
"I think it was great - the girls did great. They really gave each other a great vibe. Usually it's the Americans that really come together but this year we really show a togetherness to win it. I love team golf, in fact I think I play by best golf in a team. I love supporting someone else and vibing off them so the Solheim Cup is definitely something I want to play in."
At this stage she certainly looks destined for success. She has the full package with her game equally complimented by very marketable good looks. It's inevitable that being a professional in a game like women's golf that the majority of the time that she'll be noticed first for her appearance rather than her game but that's not something that she worries about.
"To be honest I think it's a compliment" she explains. "I work had on my image and my golf. I let my golf do the talking on the course but there is my image and to be a professional athlete and in the public eye both are important."
Her image includes the moniker 'Chill' a nickname that she has her younger brother Nick to thank for.
"It was because he couldn't say Rachel when he was younger and called be Chill. My dad then picked up on it says that I was always laid backed so it kind of stuck."
There doesn't seem to be much standing in the way of 'Brand Chill' at the moment but Rachel says there is definitely one aspect of her golf she'd like to improve to take the next step.
"Definitely my short game. I think every professional will tell you that. You're told from the age of 10 to work on it but you never really listen. But I'm 21 now and I realise that my short game is the only thing that can ever hold me back so that's what I'll be grinding on."
Perhaps some advice for all us amateur golfers as well.
Well with Q School's in Europe and the US to look forward to in the coming year 2012 could be massive for Rachel and judging by her progress so far the world of golf needs to prepare for the arrival of the Chill Factor.
