While she doesn’t play a lot of tournament golf in the United States, Alice Hewson tries to visit the country as much as she can while competing on the Ladies European Tour (LET). She has two cats, Clyde and Figaro, that live stateside as well as a fiancé, Stephen, whom she’s hoping to marry sometime next year, date to be determined based on the 2024 LET schedule.
But this trip across the pond isn’t her typical week-long stopover in between tournaments in Europe or an extended vacation to spend quality time with her future husband. This one is all business as Hewson prepares to tee it up in her very first U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Golf fans on the other side of the Atlantic might remember Hewson from the Hanwha LIFEPLUS International Crown earlier this season that was held at TPC Harding Park, site of the 2020 PGA Championship won by Collin Morikawa.
She and Liz Young were last-minute additions to the England Team, flying into San Francisco from the United Kingdom on the shortest of notices, and the dynamic duo earned their country’s lone point on Saturday, defeating Ruixin Liu and Yu Liu of the People’s Republic of China, 1 up, after Hewson got up and down for birdie on the par-5 18th hole.
Hewson’s grin stretched from ear-to-ear long after she and her partner shook hands and traded hugs, and a few months on from that moment, it’s something that the 25-year-old will never forget.
“It was an absolute honour to end up going to the International Crown,” said Hewson, who had only represented England as an amateur until that week in May. “It was just an incredible experience to be a part of that team and represent my country as a professional golfer. That was my first opportunity to do that and it was such an amazing experience. We had a great time with the team.”
Now, Hewson is preparing to play in the U.S. for the second time this season at another iconic venue: Pebble Beach. Historically, the course has played host to numerous USGA championships and PGA Tour events as well as two LPGA Tour tournaments in 1950 and 1951, when the Association was merely a toddler. But it’s the first time a women’s event of this magnitude will be held here, and being a part of that history isn’t lost on Hewson. And the irony of getting to play two of the most well-known courses in the country isn’t either.
“To be playing in my first U.S. Open is really exciting. I’m looking forward to having that new opportunity and seeing how everything works and putting myself out there against the best golfers in the world,” said Hewson, who is 185th in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings. “I’ve never even seen Pebble Beach before so that’s such a great opportunity. It’s incredible to see where the women’s game is heading. Even like the (AIG Women’s Open), the venues that we’re going to year on year now are just incredible and it’s so great to be a part of that history.”
But Hewson isn’t just looking for a participation trophy. She’s here to compete and plans to take what she learned from her experience at TPC Harding Park and apply it to this major championship. While she gets to play a wide variety of golf courses on the LET, this type of golf is a different animal, one that Hewson will have to get a handle on in a hurry before her Thursday 1:18 p.m. tee time with Kana Mikashima and Emilia Migliaccio.
“There’s definitely a bit of a different way that you have to play the game around those golf courses,” said Hewson of the conditions at TPC Harding Park. “The rough is quite different versus what we play in Europe, what I played growing up, even what I played when I was over here at Clemson (University). We played a lot of Bermuda over here and that’s very different than what there is on the west coast.”
No matter the result, Hewson will always remember this week as a special one. Stephen and her family will be on-site to watch her play, a treat for Hewson whose parents and sister don’t often get to come out with her on the LET because of work and school. She also has yet another opportunity to live out her dream of playing on the LPGA Tour, something that only happens a few times a year during the European swing. It also gives her a taste of what she’ll be up against once that dream finally comes true, once she finally catches what she has doggedly chased since turning professional in 2019.
“Both my mom and dad work. My sister is at university, so they don’t get the opportunity to come out and watch too often, let alone all three of them,” said Hewson. “So to have all three of them and my fiancé there, to have my four best people with me, it’s just gonna be so special.
“The only LPGA events I get to play are majors and then like the (Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open) and ISPS Handa (World Invitational). My goal is to be on the LPGA at some point so it’s nice to have the opportunity to be among the girls and see where the game is at, see what I need to improve going forward. I feel like the potential is there and need to keep working hard so that one day I can be playing on the LPGA full time.”
