Ana Menendez went close to lifting the inaugural Ladies European Thailand Championship at Phoenix Gold last season. The LET star from Mexico fired rounds of 68, 72, 70 & 75 to finish in second place on -3. She will be hoping to go one better this year and is taking inspiration from Mexico defeating Germany at the World Cup ….
You had a great performance last year finishing second, what do you think was key to that result?
I think last year I stayed very patient with my game, you need that out there as you can get some funny bounces on the course. I really think patience is going to be important again this week.
What do you think of the Phoenix Gold Golf & Country Club course?
I think it is a great course. It is a little shorter than what we are used to but it gets complicated in other ways. I think it is very strategic and I really like it.
Do you think there are a lot of birdie opportunities this week?
The greens are definitely holding better than last year, so yes I think so. On the back nine holes there is less rough than we had last year so that opens up more birdie opportunities and the par-5s are playing a little shorter.
What do you love about Thailand?
I really like Thailand. The people are really nice, everyone is really happy and you see a lot of cool things like the Buddha on the mountain.
Have you got any plans to do things away from the course?
I would like to go and see the Sanctuary of Truth. I have spoken to some of the players from last year who went and they said it was really good, so if I have time I would like to see that. I’m looking forward to experiencing more of the local food.
What are your thoughts on Mexico’s winning performance against Germany in the World Cup?
I was actually very jet-lagged and unfortunately fell asleep. I honestly didn’t think we were going to win that game and I’m really annoyed with myself that I didn’t manage to stay up and watch it. It was really cool and everyone at home is very happy and are now hopeful for the next couple of games.
What kind of impact to the win have back home?
It was crazy. People were on the streets celebrating and they produced a small earthquake in terms of the noise and jumping around! I think it is really cool to see that. I feel inspired by them. It shows you that anything is possible and you do not need to be the number one favourite to win, as Mexico definitely wasn’t expected to win. I think it is really cool that in sport, anything can happen.
