The Chevron Championship

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Rancho Mirage, California, USA

Mission Hills Country Club

Georgia Hall

Quick Quotes


Q. Georgia, first things first. First opportunity to say congratulations obviously on the victory in Saudi Arabia. I was very struck by you saying it's great to get a win in March, early in the season, obviously with a major around the corner. So maybe you could just elaborate on that to kick us off.

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, obviously very happy with the win and the way I performed. Winning by five shots, leading start to finish was something I was very proud of.

And, yeah, both my previous big wins have come late, in the second half of the year, August, September, so that's kind of why I was really glad to start off really well this year.

Normally I have a fairly very slow start to the year, so, I was very happy to get the win.

Q. And does it feel like you've given yourself a bit of a kick start as you now embark on the first major of the year?

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, definitely. I mean, I played well in Florida in February and confidence is growing from my win. I put a lot of work in at the start of the season, so I'm in a very kind of steady place at the moment. Very happy with my golf.

Q. But a different schedule for you at the start of the year. Obviously a couple tournaments in Florida; no play at all in Asia. Was there some deliberate thinking behind that in order to be where you want to be for this first major of the year?

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, I love playing golf tournaments, so a lot of times I would just play in the tournament just to play. And this year I really thought to myself, I'm going to play in the events I actually enjoy playing and the golf courses I play well on.

And Asia, just the whole travel and everything wasn't really the (indiscernible) for me, so I decided to skip that, and Kia last week. I just don't enjoy that golf course, so that's why I missed that.

Obviously it kind of paid off by winning in Saudi.

Q. And now you're here and presumably feeling fresh as well as confident.

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, fairly. Saudi was two weeks ago, but before that I had five weeks off. Yeah, pretty much another off-season.

I've played three, four events on the LPGA, which is kind of average, because I got Diamond in at the start of the year as well.

Yeah, feeling ready for a good start to the season again and rest of the year.

Q. Does it feel like it's a restart at this point then?

GEORGIA HALL: Starting on Saudi was. I had five weeks off, but I'm kind of in the swing of things now. I said to Harry I was really happy to get the season going.

Q. What about this place? How does to fit your eye?

GEORGIA HALL: I love it. It's so nice to be back here, and it's a shame it's our last year here. I'm thoroughly enjoying it and I love the area and the people and really looking forward to the week.

Q. This approach where you've taken those five weeks off, where has that come from? Do you feel that you've got a new understanding of your game? Is it more of a maturity thing where you now feel more confident to make these decisions about what to play and what you don't play?

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, I think it takes a few years to know what schedule suits you. And especially living in the U.K. playing on the LPGA makes things a tiny bit harder travel-wise.

So I kind of really learned what golf courses I liked and how many weeks is my maximum. I've never really done that well in Asia -- and also the traveling 12 hours on plane, not really my favorite thing to do.

So that's kind of the reason why. And I played Asia for the past four, five years so I thought it's no problem to take one year off.

Q. Your take would be very interesting on what Emma Raducanu is going through now at the moment in tennis. You won a major very early on in your career, and inevitably an adjustment comes with that. Seems like she's going through something very similar at the moment. Your take on that would be very interesting.

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, obviously we both won a very big major at a similar age, I think.

Q. Uh-huh.

GEORGIA HALL: And, I mean, she's got a lot more media attention than I did, I think due to tennis. By the looks of things she's got much bigger sponsors now than I did, which, you know, I think that's just tennis itself. Golf is obviously not as popular.

But, yeah, I think it does take a little bit of time, especially winning your first event as a major. But she seems like obviously a great player and a great person, so hopefully she doesn't feel too much pressure from people.

Q. But that's a tough thing to deal with, isn't it, because that pressure does come? You must have felt it.

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, it does. And more expectations. Like I said, I think tennis grabs a lot more attention than golf, especially her. Yeah, that could be a reason why.

Q. What about expectations on yourself when you've done it, you've achieved this incredible goal so early on? You must go out after that and think, Look, I've done this; I know what I'm supposed to be doing, but I just can't get it to happen.

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, I had probably six months that was a little bit slow, but then I had a really strong second half of the year.

So my year after the British wasn't too bad at all. It's just average I would say, which was fine. I had a stellar year in 2018. Yeah, I think you put more expectation on yourself, but I had a lot more confidence from it, so I wasn't too pressured by other people.

Q. But now it feels like you're in a position that is -- this is potential serious lift-off time in your career. I don't mean that to put pressure on you.

GEORGIA HALL: No.

Q. It's just a reflection I would've thought of the confidence you're feeling.

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, definitely. I feel I've done it a lot in golf already. I'm 25, but this year --

Q. Solheim Cup record, all of that as well.

GEORGIA HALL: Yeah, exactly; won on multiple tours.

Now this year I thought, Well, I just want to take it to another level. I'm really ready to do that, and I feel eager to win a lot more events. You know, get as good a world ranking as I can do. World No. 1, I would hope.

But, yeah, I just want to take it to another level and I really want to succeed even more in my career, so hopefully I can do that.

Q. Last time in in the desert. What are your best memories of playing here over the years, and what will you making sure that you do here this week to make sure you take away the best possible memories?

GEORGIA HALL: I think this is my first major I ever played in as an amateur as well. I think I played in this when I was 15, so nine, ten years ago.

So loads of great memories. My dad and mum has been here. Yeah, it's sad to leave. Hopefully I can jump in the pond at the end of the week. If not, I'll have lots of memories from a this week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
118915-2-1001 2022-03-30 23:01:00 GMT

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