Mimi Rhodes is relishing teeing it up at this week’s ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open taking place at Dundonald Links from 24-27 July.
The 23-year-old has already earned three victories in her rookie season on the Ladies European Tour (LET) winning the Ford Women’s NSW Open, Joburg Ladies Open, and Dutch Ladies Open.
Rhodes tops both the LET Order of Merit and Rookie of the Year standings at the halfway stage of the season with 1,631.88 points to her name.
Heading into a week at Dundonald Links, the English star enjoys playing this style of golf course especially in challenging conditions.
“I feel good about it,” said Rhodes. “I haven’t actually played a lot of it since my amateur days, but I like it.
“A lot of different shots can be played out there in different ways and it’s a really good showcase of golf, especially when it’s windy. It shows you how the better players can control their ball in the wind and stuff. I’m excited for it.
“I really like the golf course, to be honest. I feel like I have to concentrate on the tee shots a lot, especially with crosswind. There’s quite a lot of crosswinds on most of the holes and the greens are really slopey, so just placing myself below the pins when necessary and if I get any misses, missing on the correct sides.
“This is my third week with [LPGA players] around, so I’m definitely more used to it and comfortable. I’m just not putting any pressure on myself, and I will just play golf out there and enjoy it.”
The three-time LET winner had a week off last week having played the Amundi Evian Championship and was able to work on some things while at home.
Rhodes is also joined by her caddie Douglas Pirie, who is Scottish, once again this week, and believes his knowledge will come in handy.
“Dougie is Scottish, him caddying at Kingsbarns means he knows what he’s doing and he’s really comfortable reading the greens as well,” she explained.
“I’m going to get him to read some of the putts. We’re going to work as a team out there and it’s nice for him to be on home soil and know what’s going on out there.
“I’m feeling good, a lot better. I’ve gone to see my coach, had a week off and worked on some mental stuff. I’m just not going to put any pressure on myself, try and enjoy it out there and just try and commit to as many shots as I can.”
The ISPS HANDA Women’s Scottish Open carries more points for LET players with 750 being allocated to the winner instead of 500 at a standard LET event.
However, despite leading the year-long rankings, Rhodes is not concentrating on that and is looking forward to having her dad watching her.
She added: “It’s just a nice experience to have in my rookie year. I’m not going to think too much about the points. I’m just going to enjoy it and it’s nice to have my dad here. Nice to have his support.
“This is his first LET event of the year, so it’s going to be nice to see what he thinks about everything, but I’m glad that he’s come to a nice setup. Next week, with it being so close to home, I’m going to have a lot of people there. I’m just going to have a smile on my face and make the most of it.”
Rhodes tees it up in the first round at 1.37 pm (local time) alongside Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist and Switzerland’s Chiara Tamburlini.
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