Last week’s Hero Women’s Indian Open champion Camille Chevalier has received hundreds of messages from well-wishers following her maiden win at DLF Golf and Country Club on Sunday, but she doesn’t plan to read them until she returns home to France.
The 23-year-old LET rookie from Aix-en-Provence is determined to stay fit and focused throughout the Sanya Ladies Open, which gets underway at Yalong Bay Golf Club in Sanya, Hainan Island, from Friday.
“Since I won in India, I can play in Dubai and next year I will play in the Evian Championship, so I’m happy about that,” she said.
“I have time to celebrate and party when I go home next week. For now, I’m going to focus on this tournament and do the same as last week: focus on every shot.”
This is Camille’s first visit to China and she is enjoying her stay in Sanya on Hainan Island, which is known as the ‘Hawaii of China.’
“I think China is really cool and I like the beautiful nature here, as well as in India, because it’s very different from European nature, with different flowers, green mountains and pristine vegetation, as well as the sandy beaches. I don’t know the course well yet, but it is well maintained and I am looking forward to playing and placing my shots wisely, which is what I did well last week.”
This will be the eighth consecutive Sanya Ladies Open at Yalong Bay Golf Club, which is hosting its 18th professional golf tournament in total.
While Camille is playing in the event for the first time, fellow rising star Simin Feng, is playing in her third Sanya Ladies Open.
The 22-year-old, originally from Beijing, recorded a best finish of tied 31st in the tournament in 2015 and she said: “It is like China’s paradise here and a great tourist destination. This year, we have made it a home as we have bought a house on the island, so I am really enjoying my time here. My goal is to play as well as I can. It’s my last event of the year so I will put in everything I have. I’ve been doing some mental training so I’m trying to be more aggressive and more decisive with my shots.”
Camille and Simin joined fellow tournament invitees Victoria Lovelady, Emma Nilsson and Valdis Thora Jonsdottir for a photoshoot at the Ritz Carlton Sanya on Tuesday ahead of the tournament, which has attracted 126 competitors from 27 different countries and is tri-sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour, the China Golf Association and the Ladies Asian Golf Tour.
