Annabel Dimmock, the No. 1 ranked female amateur golfer in Great Britain and Ireland, has turned professional and joined the Ladies European Tour.
The 18-year-old Scholar of Wentworth Club in England reached No. 10 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking and won the GB&I Order of Merit in 2014. She produced a string of excellent results including sinking a 30ft putt to win the Sunningdale Foursomes and also clinched the Helen Holm Scottish Open trophy after her stateside win at the Jones Doherty Cup. She was also runner-up at the Welsh Open Stroke Play, Spanish Amateur and South Atlantic Ladies’ Amateur (SALLY).
The youngest member of the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup Team at St Louis in the USA, Annabel represented Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup in Scotland. She was selected to represent Team GB at the Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China. As an amateur, she also finished tied for 27th place in the ISPS HANDA Ladies European Masters on the Ladies European Tour.
Having attended the LET’s Lalla Aicha Tour School in December, Annabel will make her professional debut via a sponsor exemption at next week’s RACV Ladies Masters at Royal Pines, Gold Coast, Australia, which is the first tournament on the 2015 Ladies European Tour schedule, taking place from February 12-15. She will also compete a fortnight later in the ISPS HANDA Ladies New Zealand Open on February 27-March 1 at Clearwater Golf Club in Christchurch, against a high quality field including World No.2 Lydia Ko.
Annabel said: “I am very excited to be turning professional. I’ve felt ready since playing in my first LET event, the ISPS HANDA Ladies European Masters at The Buckinghamshire in July. I played the Curtis Cup and stayed amateur for the Junior Ryder Cup, Youth Olympics in Nanjing and finished my amateur career winning the LGU order of Merit, as the No.1 amateur in GB&I.
“I am looking forward to playing in my first tournaments as a professional at the RACV Ladies Masters and the ISPS HANDA Ladies New Zealand Open. I am disappointed I’ve had to give my place up in the Ricoh Women’s British Open but I still hope to qualify. My first year is all about learning and trying to gain my full card. It has been great to see Charley Hull and Amy Boulden both winning the LET’s Rookie of the year awards and this has really inspired me.”
On her ambitions for her first season as a professional, she added: “I like to set myself regular small achievable goals and work hard at it. I’m lucky to have a great coach in Lawrence Farmer and personal trainer in Mark Alcock who are both passionate about their jobs.”
Annabel has had great support from Wentworth’s Golf & Tennis Foundation and the Club’s Chief Executive Julian Small commented: “A big part of Wentworth’s ethos is to inspire the next generation to play golf and the Scholarship programme offers a great opportunity for local boys and girls to do that. Having seen the success of Ross Fisher it is wonderful to now see our first female scholar achieve Professional status and play on the Ladies European Tour. Annabel has been a role model within both the Junior and our vibrant Ladies Section and it is fitting that the announcement takes place here at Wentworth, where the inaugural Curtis Cup match was played back in 1932. Going forward, we are looking at ways that the Club can support Annabel in her career and we wish her the best of luck.”
Annabel has recently welcomed Global Reach Partners, DG Imports, BMW and TaylorMade to her team and with her outstanding amateur record, she is expected to receive invitations to play in a number of high profile professional tournaments this season. Follow her results and progress at ladieseuropeantour.com.
About the Ladies European Tour (LET)
Since its creation in the UK in 1978, the Ladies European Tour (LET) has become truly global, with its 301 members representing 36 nations able to compete in at least 22 tournaments in 2015, in 16 different countries on four continents. The LET Access Series was launched in 2010 as a development pathway to the LET, with the top five players on the ranking qualifying for the LET the following year. In 2013, Ivan Khodabakhsh became CEO of the LET, whose headquarters are at Buckinghamshire Golf Club in Denham, near London, England.
About the Wentworth Club Scholarship Programme
The Scholarship Programme is part of the Club’s charitable Golf & Tennis Foundation and was introduced in 1991 to give local youngsters with potential in golf and tennis the opportunity to develop their skills through the Club’s facilities and coaching.
The Scholarship is financed mainly from members’ contributions, under the management of a separate board of trustees. The main aim of the Scholarship is to guide and coach young people from within the local community who could not otherwise have the chance to access all that membership at Wentworth has to offer. A Scholarship can help a youngster live their dreams and become a professional, or capitalise upon a wonderful, life-enhancing opportunity in a world-class environment. Once enrolled in the programme they receive free membership, guidance from professional coaches, tuition and support.
The Club has a super track record in identifying talent at an early age and helping it to mature. Amongst its ex-Scholars are Wentworth’s European Tour Pro Ross Fisher and Annabel now adds to that roll of honour.
