Two-time Ladies European Tour (LET) winner Pia Babnik looks back to her best and is loving golf again following a difficult 12 months on and off the course.
A popular figure on Tour, Babnik had a year to forget in 2023 when a back injury forced her to change her swing which led to a horrid run of high scores, missed cuts, and eventual loss of status.
“I had a lot of back pain in 2022”, Babnik explained, who missed 11 cuts in a row to close out the 2023 season. “Also my feet were hurting. I couldn’t finish rounds without feeling pain and had to sit down in-between holes. We play long, long rounds.
“So I had to change my insoles so I wouldn’t feel pain anymore. Because back injury is the worst. But it takes time for your body to get used to new feelings. It completely ruined my swing and I didn’t know what I was doing. It was crazy.”
Continuing to grind away on top of seeing a mental coach, the 20-year-old Slovenian opted out of attending LET Q-School – instead regrouping over the winter before arriving at Vipingo Ridge early for the season opening Magical Kenya Ladies Open [Babnik tee’d up as invitee].
Making the cut in Africa, a rejuvenated and healthy Babnik has since produced a remarkable turnaround, taking advantage of several invites to make four more cuts from four before qualifying for last month’s U.S. Women’s Open – golf’s toughest test where she eventually finished T29.
“I’m very happy with where my game is at,” she said. “It’s been a long time coming. It’s simply down to a lot of hard work I put in. It’s just kept coming together and I think last week [at the U.S. Women’s Open] it finally did. I’m just really happy. I think it’s the best tournament because so many people come out to watch. That’s the best part. It’s obviously very tough conditions but I was happy with the challenge.
“The hard work was both [mental and technical]. A lot of technical stuff in the swing which I needed to change. I changed my swing technique last year, in August, and it takes time. Mentally, you just kept playing but I honestly I didn’t know what to do. So I had to put in some work on that side too.
“My family have also been a big support, encouraging me along the way. I continued to see improvement on every practice session I did. With that, it was easier to keep putting more and more hard work in. But yes, at times it was very, very hard. Because you don’t see it right away. You put hard work in and there’s not a lot showing. But I just stayed patient. I saw improvement and knew it would be ok.”
As for this week, Babnik – now category 14 following the LET’s latest re-rank – is teeing up in the Italian Ladies Open at Golf Nazionale where she is beaming with confidence, and most importantly happiness, once again.
She said: “I’m just enjoying it so much. Last year I wasn’t. I was just thinking the other day how I can come here [to the LET] and just enjoy the courses that we play and the nice weather. I’m simply enjoying the way I am playing. It’s a good golf course, a tough one. A lot of tee shots are very hard. But I think it’s going to be a good week and I’m looking forward to it.”
Babnik gets underway at the 2024 Ladies Italian Open on Friday at 13:45 playing alongside South Africa’s Casandra Alexander and Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes.
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