2013 Golf Chic (pdf version) - Ladies European Tour

Hazel has a lot of time for Ryder Cup hero Ian PoulterWho has been the best interviewee andwhy?Probably the one I mentioned with NancyLopez. We headed out to Delaware to theLPGA Championship and had managed tosecure about 40 minutes of her time. I’dhad to do a lot of background research toundertake such an in-depth interview asthis one and we knew her story intimatelyby the time she actually sat down in thechair. But this was also a great opportunityfor me, on a personal level, to ask hersome of the questions I’d always wantedto since I was a little girl. I think it waspretty clear to her from the outset thatwe had done an awful lot of homework soshe immediately relaxed and several timesshe said, ‘Wow, what a question! I don’tknow how to answer that!’ At the end of it,she said, ‘I just want to thank you. I really,really enjoyed that,’ which, of course,is just the most amazing reward youcan have on our side of the microphone!Then she sat there for another half anhour and chewed the fat with us. It wasjust amazing! We came away thinking,‘She’s marvellous, isn’t she?’ Then, abouta year later she came across to play inthe Women’s Open at Sunningdale andI remember walking the course during apractice round with my co-commentatorBev Lewis. She said, ‘That’s Nancy Lopezup ahead,’ and I thought, ‘I wonder if she’llremember.’ Well, she caught sight of usand immediately came across and said‘Hello Hazel, how nice to see you!’ I wasjust absolutely blown away it!Nick Price was always a favouriteinterviewee for me too. No matter what youask him, he’ll always give you a consideredand insightful answer. I really have a lot oftime for Nick.Amongst the current crop I’m pleased tosay that I enjoy speaking to most of theguys and the girls. I don’t see the womenas much as I see the men because of ourbroadcasting schedules, but the BritishWomen’s Open remains one of my mostfavourite events each year. You’re alwaysguaranteed a very good interview withthese women because they appreciateand understand the value of the coverageand the value of promoting themselvesand their sport. I’m also very lucky to workon events like The Masters and the OpenChampionship. I’ve spent a lot of time doingpost-round interviews over the years but it’salso a real treat when I get the chance totalk to the players live in our studio for 5 or6 minutes in a more relaxed setting.Standout interviewees from the currentcrop would include Ernie Els, always a joyto interview, Rory, always fresh and honest;I’ve a lot of time for Ian Poulter, LeeWestwood, very honest, self-deprecatingand humorous. Luke Donald: totallygenuine and a real gentleman. Isn’t itgreat that so many of these guys are fromour shores? We’ve got an embarrassmentof riches right now so it’s a special time tobe involved in golf.How often do you get to play golf?I’ve been very lapse about the whole thingfor one very good, but very small, reason:my daughter, who’s nearly four. I figure thathaving played golf since I was nine or ten, toa reasonable standard, I won’t lose my gamecompletely. Visits to the course are sadly fewand far between right now, although I do getto the driving range. But, frankly, if I’m notworking, or preparing to work, then my timeis devoted to our daughter. My husband andI have already given her a wee rescue clubwhich she swishes about and we’re trying toencourage her all we can. When she gets toschool, I’ll have a bit more time to play again!Would you like to play golf withyour daughter one day?That would be a real ambitionbecause I think it’s something we canall do as a family and it’s somethingthat I have great memories of as achild with my family. Golf is not justa sporting education. It’s very much acharacter-building experience as welland you learn a lot about yourself,your strengths and your weaknesseswhen you learn golf. I think it wouldbe a very handy thing for my daughterto learn for many reasons.You have presented at everysummer Olympics bar one since1988. What was your favouritemoment from London 2012?It is amazing when I think back atit all. The Olympics have given methe most amazing chances to traveland it’s been a huge privilege tohave been to 12 Games, summer andwinter. London was the 12th andobviously one of the very best therehas ever been. It was magnificent andI’m sitting here with a framed pictureon my wall of various highlights fromlast July and August. If you ask anypresenter what was their favouritemoment they’ll probably default toan occasion where they were liveand presenting a programme onair. It’s the same for me. The firstThursday afternoon, in a 90 minutespell, Team GB got the Canoe Slalomgold and silver, a Shooting gold forPeter Wilson and a superb judo silverfor Gemma Gibbons. Absolutelyextraordinary! It was one of the mostexciting afternoons I have ever hadin any television studio any place,anywhere, any time. The wholeproduction team was just buzzing! Iwas also on shift when the Brownleebrothers won their gold and bronze.That, too, was a cherished moment.And on Super Saturday night, whenMo and Jess and Greg Rutherfordwon their golds, I was in my hotelroom trying to prepare for a very earlymorning breakfast shift the next day.I remember trying to peel myself offthe ceiling to try and get some sleepbecause I was up at 3.30 the nextmorning!However, for me, the thing thatloomed largest in the build-up to theGames was the Opening Ceremonyand it is that night that will live withme forever. I was commentating onit alongside Huw Edwards and theresearch for months beforehandhad been a gargantuan task, whatwith 205 nations to talk about in theAthletes Parade. But all the work andthe worry about the responsibilitywas worth it when I think back tomoments like the forging of theOlympic rings during that incredibleIndustrial Revolution scene. Then,Thomas Heatherwick’s remarkablybeautiful cauldron and its idea ofbringing together all of these nationsin such an elemental, intense butfleeing moment of time. It was reallyinspired. I don’t think that OlympicCauldron will ever be beaten forbeauty and ambition. Those are thethings that I will cherish.Do you feel that Team GB can toptheir haul of 65 medals in Rio in2016?I think they will. With the governmenthaving guaranteed elite sport fundingat the same level going into the nextRio cycle, I don’t think the ambitionsof UK Sport and the British OlympicAssociation will dim whatsoever. I’mnot sure whether they think they cantrump 29 gold medals but I wouldexpect they’ll be targeting just asmany medals in total. I don’t thinkthey will back off at all, which is aremarkable thought in itself, is itnot? You might think that becausewe had “home advantage” in London,we’ll never have it so good again, butI have had the pleasure of workingwith people within UK Sport for someyears and they are an extremelyimpressive bunch of people. Ourcoaching system for elite sport isnow the envy of the world. We havesuperb coaches in place, we havesuperb systems in place and I don’tthink they’ll back off one little bitnow. Perhaps we may not top Londonin terms of gold medal performancesbut you can bet that it will still rainmedals in Rio and, who knows, wecould get a few in Sochi next year.76Hazel describes Lee Westwood as, ‘very honest,self-deprecating and humorous’ 77