A joyful Pia Babnik is looking to get her season back on track at the Jabra Ladies Open this week as she returns to the setting of her maiden victory on the Ladies European Tour (LET).
The Slovenian superstar secured victory at Evian Resort Golf Club in 2021 when she held her nerve to defeat Annabel Dimmock in a playoff at just 17-years-old.
“I have great memories from here,” Babnik says. “I didn’t expect the win in 2021. My life changed afterwards and it’s been great. It’s an amazing place. They always take such good care of the golf course.
“The conditions are a little different to what they were in 2021, but it’s going to be a great week.“
After a difficult start to 2023 – one hampered by swing complications after changing shoe insoles to help with a back injury – Babnik is now feeling good and ready to return to form in France.
“Right now my game is ok,” she says. “At the beginning of the season I was all over the place, but now it’s slowly getting back together so I’m really happy.
“I’ve mostly been working on my swing technique because I got new shoe insoles so my swing completely changed. I started to hit on the inside and I didn’t know where the ball was going to go. But everyday right now it’s getting better so we’ll see.”
As for the conditions this year, the big-hitting Slovenian will have to adjust her game slightly with strong winds scheduled throughout the week.
Babnik says: “I’m going to have to hit it lower this week. But I know how to do it. But if it’s going to be too wet, I won’t be able to hit it too low, so we’ll see. It’s an open course for my game, so I think it suits me.
“It doesn’t change being a defending champion. I’m going to try and do my best and we’ll see what happens.”
Babnik gets underway at the 2023 Jabra Ladies Open at 8:45 am on Thursday alongside defending champion Tiia Koivisto and Germany’s Chiara Noja.
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