It has been all go off the course for Annabell Fuller since she touched down in Australia two weeks ago; the English star juggling fitness races with CrossFit training while racking up over 1000km of car mileage heading into the next Ladies European Tour (LET) event.
This week, however, at the Australian Women’s Classic, conservatism is key for the adrenaline junkie from Roehampton as Fuller looks to play safe following a period of disruption on the course caused by Cylone Alfred.
Just 10 days ago the Australian WPGA Championship was cancelled as the turmoil of the tropical storm moved in on the nation’s east coast. Fast forward a week and Fuller, alongside her LET peers and WPGA Tour counterparts, has not been able to play a practice round at the Australian Women’s Classic with the tournament reduced to 54 holes to accommodate for the heavy rainfall.
“It’s definitely been different to what I was expecting,” Fuller said. “I would have expected at least six or seven rounds under my belt, but instead I’ve had none. It’s been a little bit of a change of mindset heading into this week. I think I’ll play a safer and a little bit more conservative.
“I think the swing feels fine. It’s a little difficult when you can’t go out and hit driver on the course, because it’s different to the range when you can play without pressure. But I think to hasn’t been too long since the last event so hopefully I can get back into my routine.”
Fuller – currently third in the LET Order of Merit thanks to two top-10 finishes from two events – has been on the adventure of a lifetime so far in Australia having kicked off the swing competing in Hyrox doubles alongside Pauline Roussin-Bouchard.
The 22-year-old explained: “It was eight kilometres of running, and in-between each kilometre is a different movement of exercise. I do CrossFit a lot so it’s very similar movements to that. Pauline loves to run, so we were speaking about it a lot. Next thing you know we’re in Brisbane doing Hyrox! Honestly I had the best time. It was unbelievable. 100% [we’re going to do it again]. We’ve already been looking at other races to do together.”
“I’m also currently doing the CrossFit Open. I’m in week three of that, so the next round will be after this weekend. Everyone in the world does it who does CrossFit. Every single affiliate gym will take part in it. Depending on where in the world you are, it’s usually Thursday or Friday. Everyone has the exact same workout to do and you have someone judging you. They then submit their score to you. I did make a mistake of starting the first week after Hyrox… so my burpees were definitely not appreciated!”
“I’m really enjoying my time here. We went down to Sydney [during the cyclone] so the weather has been great. We were able to play a couple of courses which was nice. I went to a couple of gyms too, so definitely made the most of it.”
Back on the course, while Fuller may have been light on practice heading into this week’s shaken-up showdown at Coffs Harbour Golf Club, she will no doubt be quietly confident of her chances given her a fantastic start to the season – the Englishwoman finishing runner-up in her last event in Riyadh.
“I think I’m a bit more comfortable this year,” Fuller explained. “I know the routines I like and how I like to go about things. I have Neil on the bag this year which has bee a big help. We get along well and it’s been a great start.
“Like every week, I just want to go out there, try my best and have fun. Whatever the end result will be will be. Obviously I would like to play well and make the trip worth it, but you can never have too high expectations.”
Fuller gets underway at the 54-hole Australian Women’s Classic in New South Wales on Friday morning at 07:41am. She plays alongside France’s Nastasia Nadaud and compatriot Gabriella Cowley.
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