Henry feels game is in ‘good place’ for her major test at Royal Lytham

Kylie Henry, one of only two Scots in the field, is confident she is properly prepared for this week’s Ricoh Women’s British Open thanks in part to a decision to “do things differently” in 2018, writes Martin Dempster.

Due to the Ladies European Tour schedule being threadbare for a second season in a row, the 32-year-old Glaswegian was out in the United States playing on the Symetra Tour earlier in the year to get herself ready for the two biggest dates on the calendar.

That already paid off for Henry in the Ladies Scottish Open as she made the cut at Gullane last week in a worldclass field and now she is aiming to repeat that feat at Royal Lytham as it hosts the fourth women’s major of the year.

“I’ve done things slightly differently this year by playing on the Symetra Tour [the LPGA’S feeder circuit] so I feel like my game is in a good place. I did feel like I was under-prepared last year, which is why I’ve done things slightly differently this year,” said Henry, a twotime LET winner in 2014.

“The LET is still my priority, so I won’t be missing any of those events for ones on the Symetra, so I’m not sure if I’ll go back or not. On the Symetra Tour, it is quite different. The girls are doing things as cheaply as possible. I’ve got a goodfriendouttherewhoused to play on the LET, Stephanie Na, so I’ve been hanging out with her and we’ve had a great time.

“It’s a good experience, but I’m well past the stage of committing to the Symetra. If you’re going to do it, you need to go there for the full six or seven months and play near enough every tournament and do it as cheaply as you can. Because I’m going back and forth, it’s pretty costly, so I’m not sure how many more I’ll play over there.”

Henry, who is flying the Saltire on the Lancashire coast along with Catriona Matthew, the 2009 winner at Lytham, added: “I played this course for the first time a few weeks ago. It was so burnt but the greens are in great condition. It was brilliant. It’s such a good course and you need to be hitting good shots because it’s tight.”