Walking in the hills with my father to work off the Christmas excesses. I love it. That’s what I did on Thursday morning. Very close to home, a mountain not very high, but steep, next to Larraínzar, the village hill. Between the climb, which is a bit challenging, the descent, and some nature-surrounded paths around here, you end up walking for about three hours. It feels fantastic. In the dictionary definition of the word disconnect, there should be a picture of my village. I feel so at ease here.
Basically, that’s what I’ve been doing since the Open de España ended. Disconnecting, family, nature, and padel, lots of padel… By the way, if you see Javier Erviti, caddie on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour and with whom I won the Open de España, or Íñigo Urquizu on the street these days, you have my permission to ask them how the match went that they played against me and Javi Urquizu… That’s all I can say.
Between the Open de España and December 25th, I haven’t touched a club. The weather hasn’t helped either. It’s been raining, cold, unpleasant. On Christmas Day, I did take the opportunity to hit some balls and shake off a bit of rust. It’s important to disconnect. There will be time to get back into the swing of things. On January 4th, I’m heading to the United States to start the preseason. A month to fully prepare for the new year, which, as always, I approach with great enthusiasm.
I always say it, I know, but the plan doesn’t change: the goal for next year is to win again on the LPGA Tour and be in contention in the Majors, at the top. I see myself at a level to compete with the best and fight for victories. This year I’ve hit the ball very well. I’ve been very comfortable all year from tee to green, but the putter has held me back a lot. Things haven’t worked out. You know how it is. I think I’ve become too obsessed with technique, and that has affected me a bit in the end. Technique needs to be worked on, of course, it’s important to have a good strike, always hitting the centre of the clubface if possible, but once you’re in the tournament, I think you need to have naturalness, more freedom, not think so much about technique, but about the hole, you, the strength, a bit of the line, and that’s it…
In this sense, one of my goals for next year is to improve my routines, and when I say improve, I mean play faster. I think it will do me good. I’ve always been a player with a lot of feeling, but lately, I accumulate a lot of information in my head before shots, and I’m not sure if it’s the best for me at the moment. I want to simplify everything a bit more. Another aspect I want to improve is the drive, having more consistency from the tee.
As for the changes for next year, perhaps the most important, as you already know, is the caddie change. I already mentioned that Álvaro and I parted ways. He’s a great caddie, knows a lot, but we both were convinced it was time to look for other things. In 2025, I’m going to start with Casey Johnson. He’s a Canadian in his 40s, a professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour Canada. He’s worked with Marina Alex and Eun Hee, has won, is calm, and I’m convinced we’ll do very well together.
From this year, I have to highlight the victory in the Open de España. I loved it. It was very exciting for me. I got emotional. I love winning, but above all, I love winning in Spain, in front of the Spanish public, with my family, friends, it’s something very special. The week with Erviti was great. Then, as top weeks of 2024, I would highlight Chevron, where I started poorly, but we recovered very well and finished sixth, even with some chances on Sunday, and Phoenix, where I played very well and finished third.
As I say, I know I have more than enough level to win again on the LPGA Tour and be at the top in the Majors. It’s a matter of two things coming together, not much more. Except for four who are very strong, the rest of us are there. And in case you’re wondering, for me, those four who are a step above are Nelly Korda, obviously, Atthaya Thitikul, who I love, does everything well, Ruoning Yin, super professional and very consistent, and Lydia Ko, who has an amazing mind.
And now, I’m off to a handball game. This is life.
