While she doesn’t play a lot of tournament golf in the United States, Alice Hewson tries to visit the country as much as she can while competing on the Ladies European Tour (LET). She has two cats, Clyde and Figaro, that live stateside as well as a fiancé, Stephen, whom she’s hoping to marry sometime next year, a date to be determined based on the 2024 LET schedule.

But this trip across the pond isn’t her typical week-long stopover in between tournaments in Europe or an extended vacation to spend quality time with her future husband. This one is all business as Hewson prepares to tee it up in her very first US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Golf fans on the other side of the Atlantic might remember Hewson from the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown earlier this season that was held at TPC Harding Park, the site of the 2020 PGA Championship won by Collin Morikawa.

She and Liz Young were last-minute additions to the England Team, flying into San Francisco from the United Kingdom on the shortest of notices, and the dynamic duo earned their country’s lone point on Saturday, defeating Ruixin Liu and Yu Liu of the People’s Republic of China, 1 up, after Hewson got up and down for birdie on the par-5 18th hole.

Hewson’s grin stretched from ear to ear long after she and her partner shook hands and traded hugs, and a few months on from that moment, it’s something that the 25-year-old will never forget.

“It was an absolute honour to end up going to the International Crown,” said Hewson, who had only represented England as an amateur until that week in May. “It was just an incredible experience to be a part of that team and represent my country as a professional golfer. That was my first opportunity to do that and it was such an amazing experience. We had a great time with the team.”

Now, Hewson is preparing to play in the US for the second time this season at another iconic venue: Pebble Beach. Historically, the course has played host to numerous USGA championships and PGA Tour events as well as two LPGA Tour tournaments in 1950 and 1951, when the Association was merely a toddler. But it’s the first time a women’s event of this magnitude will be held here, and being a part of that history isn’t lost on Hewson. And the irony of getting to play two of the most well-known courses in the country isn’t either.

“To be playing in my first US Open is really exciting. I’m looking forward to having that new opportunity and seeing how everything works and putting myself out there against the best golfers in the world,” said Hewson, who is 185th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. “I’ve never even seen Pebble Beach before so that’s such a great opportunity. It’s incredible to see where the women’s game is heading. Even like the (AIG Women’s Open), the venues that we’re going to year on year now are just incredible and it’s so great to be a part of that history.”

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But Hewson isn’t just looking for a participation trophy. She’s here to compete and plans to take what she learned from her experience at TPC Harding Park and apply it to this major championship. While she gets to play a wide variety of golf courses on the LET, this type of golf is a different animal, one that Hewson will have to get a handle on in a hurry before her Thursday 1:18 p.m. tee time with Kana Mikashima and Emilia Migliaccio.

“There’s definitely a bit of a different way that you have to play the game around those golf courses,” said Hewson of the conditions at TPC Harding Park. “The rough is quite different versus what we play in Europe, what I played growing up, even what I played when I was over here at Clemson (University). We played a lot of Bermuda over here and that’s very different than what there is on the west coast.”

No matter the result, Hewson will always remember this week as a special one. Stephen and her family will be on-site to watch her play, a treat for Hewson whose parents and sister don’t often get to come out with her on the LET because of work and school. She also has yet another opportunity to live out her dream of playing on the LPGA Tour, something that only happens a few times a year during the European swing. It also gives her a taste of what she’ll be up against once that dream finally comes true, once she finally catches what she has doggedly chased since turning professional in 2019.

“Both my mom and dad work. My sister is at university, so they don’t get the opportunity to come out and watch too often, let alone all three of them,” said Hewson. “So to have all three of them and my fiancé there, to have my four best people with me, it’s just gonna be so special.

“The only LPGA events I get to play are majors and then like the (Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open) and ISPS Handa (World Invitational). My goal is to be on the LPGA at some point so it’s nice to have the opportunity to be among the girls and see where the game is at, see what I need to improve going forward. I feel like the potential is there and need to keep working hard so that one day I can be playing on the LPGA full time.”

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The Austrian secured medallist honours with rounds of 69 and 70 for a five-under total.

It will be a second appearance at the US Women’s Open for Spitz, who made her debut at the championship in 2020 while still an amateur, and her first appearance as a professional.

“I’m super happy,” said Spitz. “If someone told me I was going to do this after nine holes on Friday last week, I would not have believed them. I was very close to going home and I’m glad I stayed.

“I had a long talk with my coach after the round and we figured something out. That’s how golf is, one day you think you can’t hit a single shot anymore and the next you play 36 holes and you’re going to the US Women’s Open. It’s crazy, but I’m really excited.

“It’s my dad’s 60th birthday party soon and I don’t have a present for him, so I was thinking about what to get him. Me and my boyfriend thought about tickets to Pebble Beach before this, and now he can come with me.”

England’s Alice Hewson also got her ticket to the 78th US Women’s Open Championship, which will be held from July 6-9.

The 25-year-old produced rounds of 71 and 70 to finish in second place and it will also be a debut in the Championship for the LET winner.

“I’m really excited,” said Hewson. “I was happy to get the job done, especially straight off the back of finishing the tournament here in Belgium. I’m really happy how I held myself together on the last few holes. I didn’t really see any scoreboards which was helpful in that situation.

“I have never been to Pebble Beach before. It changes my plans a little bit for this season, I’ll adjust a couple of events but I’m more than happy to do that for this opportunity. I think my whole family is coming with me. I’m so excited and really happy that the whole family should be able to be there with me.”

At the end of 36 holes, it was Finland’s Elina Nummenpaa and Belgium’s Manon de Roey who shared third place on two-under-par.

However, with three qualifying spots up for grabs, the duo headed back to the 18th tee for a playoff and it was home favourite De Roey who made a par on the first playoff hole which was enough to seal her place at Pebble Beach.

De Roey, who will be making her US Women’s Open debut, explained: “I feel unbelievable! I could not even have imagined this at the start of today. To do it in Belgium as well, I’m stoked and so excited.

“Today was very stressful, the first 18 I didn’t play so well but the second 18 I was up and down with eagles and double bogeys and then I found out I had to play another hole.

“I wasn’t that nervous on the tee in the playoff and I hit a good tee shot and then I wasn’t that nervous on the approach to the green, but the two putts I was quite nervous because I knew it was going to be really close.”

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By Kent Gray
The headline on the backgrounder press release playfully screamed Alice in Wonderland! As the halfway leader of the $1 million Saudi Ladies International, Alice Hewson is indeed in a happy place at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club although even the Englishwoman concedes the paradise piece is still at least 36, long holes away.

A second-round 64 took the 24-year-old to -9 for the championship, a shot clear of Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen. New Zealand’s two-time major champion Lydia Ko and Swedes Caroline Hedwall and Linnea Strom sit one further back on -7.

Hewson’s second-round shaved three strokes off her career-best LET score and included six birdies as she negotiated Royal Green’s tougher homeward nine in an impressive 30 strokes.

“I really enjoyed my day today. It didn’t really feel like a 64. I just played every shot as it came and I putted really well. I think I only had 22 putts, so that really helps on these greens,” said the Hertfordshire-born pro.

“I didn’t really put too much pressure on myself. I didn’t drive the best. I was in the rough a little bit more than I might’ve liked but I was actually giving myself some good angles to be aggressive into the pins.”

So, how about the weekend now you have a target on your back?

“I go into every single tournament with the ultimate goal to win – that’s why we play golf,” Hewson said.

“The next few days I’ll just go out there and enjoy it, stick to my processes and do exactly what I’ve done these first two days. I can only go out there and control what I can control, and that’s my game and my processes.”

Sanna Nuutinen.

Nuutinen followed her opening 71 with a 65 on Friday.

“Today I just made a lot of putts. Ball striking wise, I made a few changes two months ago and it’s only been getting better and better. I’ve not been hitting it bad, I just haven’t made any putts for a long time, so it was nice to get the putter going again. As long as I’m always putting for birdies it’s fine, just not when I’m having to make a lot of putts for par.

“It’s a four-day event so there’s a lot of golf to play and a lot of things can happen, so I’ll just stick to my process, which is trying to get better every day.”

Ko, who led going into Friday’s second round, has a little more cooperation from her driver.

“My long game was much better today. I made some careless mistakes on the back nine but other than that I played solid,” said Ko.

“I could’ve made some more putts but most days you feel like you could’ve done better. I’ve just got to keep working out there and hopefully the feel with the long game that I thought was good out there will continue into the weekend.

“I’ve been setting myself up with good opportunities for birdies. Continuing that and setting myself up with chances is the best I can do.”

Further back sit Swedish three-time Major winner Anna Nordqvist on -4 and Australia’s Minjee Lee on -3, with Alison Lee (USA) and England’s Dame Laura Davies both tied with a heap of players on -2.

The 2nd Aramco Saudi Ladies International presented by Public Investment Fund will be followed by the Nov. 10-12 Aramco Team Series – Jeddah, the last of four new $1million team tournaments added to the LET this season.

How things stand heading into the weekend @AramcoLadiesInt ?

All scores ???#RaiseOurGame | #SaudiLadiesIntl

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) November 5, 2021

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By Keely Levins
After the first matches, the Curtis Cup looked like it might be a tight competition. Two matches were halved and the U.S. won one, leaving Team USA up 2-1. But then on Friday afternoon, the momentum shifted and the Americans began to dominate. At the end of day one, it was 4-2 U.S.

At the end of day two, the U.S. had increased that lead to 9-3.

The dominance was predicted by many. Looking at the teams on paper, Team USA has the clear advantage, with six players in the top 10 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Team Great Britain and Ireland have just one player in the top 20.

When looking at a team with so many dominant individual players, the only question was: Can they play as a team? Team USA has answered that question with a resounding yes.

Both teams have quickly acclimated to the group dynamic of the Curtis Cup. The positive energy is palpable. Getting to play with a partner on both of the first two days have only added to the encouraging, team-centric vibe. But on Sunday, the final day, things are going to be different.

The Curtis Cup requires an unusual level of agility from players. They have to shift between three formats: four-ball, foursomes and then individual — each of which challenge players in a different way. Being able to adjust from format to format to format is a challenge in and of itself. After two days of having a teammate, every player at the Curtis Cup will have to play her own ball.

Yet both sides say they are prepared.

“It’s going to be different tomorrow because you don’t have a teammate to rely on. You have a partner in case you mess up in better ball and then in foursomes you have someone there reading your putt,” said Alice Hewson of England. “It’s going to be really different, but it’s more what we’re used to.”

The players felt that the other formats, though fun because they involve teammates, have helped them build individual confidence as they shift back into an independent mindset.

“In alternate shot, you have to work so much with your partner, you have to strategize,” said Lauren Stephenson. “Sometimes it’s hard to rely so much on someone else, but then it’s also fun. You have to hit good shots in alternate shot and put yourself in the right places. If you can play alternate shot, you can play on your own.”

The Great Britain and Ireland team have a huge task tomorrow. If it were somehow able to keep the Americans from scoring the 1.5 points they need for a win and get to the 10 points it needs to retain the cup, it’d be an astounding and historic victory, one that looks doubtful at this point. But it is going to go out onto Quaker Ridge G.C. and do the only thing they can control.

“We just need to go out and carry on attacking,” said Hewson.

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