England’s Trish Johnson earned her place in this week’s Evian Championship with her 19th Ladies European Tour victory at the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open a fortnight ago and she is looking forward to playing on the new layout, which was redesigned for the major championship last year.
As a three-time winner of the French Open, Johnson has a strong affinity with France although she realistically feels that this week she would be pleased with a top 20 finish.
“I’m very excited. It’s nice to be playing well coming here because it’s a tough venue and I haven’t played well here for a while, so I’m really looking forward to it,” said Johnson, who has fellow LET member Becky Brewerton acting as her caddie. “This week I think a really good week would be top 20, realistically. You want to win but you’ve got to be a little realistic in a field like this. If I played the best I could for four days and putted the best I could, I could win.”
Although she has participated in the charity football match at the Camille Fournier Stadium on several occasions over the years, she is going to pass this time after recent back and foot injuries. “That would be sheer stupidity. I’d love to but I’m just not capable anymore, not if I want to walk the next day,” she said.
At 48, Johnson became the oldest winner in the 36-year history of the Ladies European Tour when she took Laura Davies’ record at Archerfield Links in Scotland but she is still motivated to win more silverware.
“Nothing has changed. Age means nothing as long as you are fit enough to play, which I am. I’ve always been pretty fit and I just want to win. It was really nice a couple of weeks ago because it was unexpected and I didn’t think about it and gave me an eye opener. Perhaps I want to win too much, really. I don’t really know the answer. After two rounds in Scotland I was quite shocked at the position I was in because it was so easy. When I’m trying as hard as I can it’s not that easy, so there’s some sort of lesson to be learnt there.”
