Hello Manon, until recently we used to courteously ask how your holiday season or your summer vacation went. Now, we are asking more about how your confinement went ...

I spent it in Pau, where I joined my boyfriend for a few months. The weather was great, but since I live in an apartment, for training it was necessarily a bit complicated. It allowed me to cut a little, it was maybe a bad for a good. I maintained myself physically and put on my synthetic balcony. I also used a lot of the technical mat created by Olivier Léglise, which allows you to control your club path.

Do you think you can play again this year on the circuit?

Honestly, I am not yet 100% sure to travel given the conditions. I rather formatted myself with the idea that I will not play in tournament again until next year. Except, possibly, if there are tournaments in France. I am waiting to see. Financially for me, it's more complicated to travel, I prefer to train.

Your debut on LET in 2018 was excellent as you were the second best rookie. How do you explain the year 2019 which was, on the contrary, disappointing?

In 2018, I was living in Morocco and I decided to return to France to be closer to my boyfriend. This change of life, as well as personal problems, no doubt made that mentally, it did not follow and that I had a very bad 2019 season, from start to finish.

At what age did you discover golf?

At the age of 7, in Réunion, where I lived from 1 to 11 years old. I am in a sporting family but my parents were not golfers. My mom played tennis and my dad was a top cyclist. I discovered golf thanks to my sister and her husband, Nicolas Claverie, who runs two golf courses in Marrakech.

What is your strong point in golf?

My big game and my bunker outings.

And your weak point?

The putting.

Despite Oliver Léglise's carpet?

Yes (Laughter). It goes very well on the mat, but less outside when there is stress. A long time ago, I experienced a period when I was doing yips at the driving. I then did some chipping. Since the end of 2018, I have now been doing putting. I accumulate so much stress on the course that I sometimes help out. In some tournaments, I even had panic attacks. I work a lot on breathing because my problem is more mental than stroke level.

Have you tried making some changes, such as the gripper grip for example?

I adopted the reverse grip and I glue the handle on my left forearm. This is what suits me best it seems. As long as I'm not too stressed out ...

Other than putting, is there any particular area of ​​your game that you work on?

Currently, I am working on impact. I try to hit low, bland balls to counter my tendency to draw.

What are your goals for the rest of your Manon career?

First of all, get back on my feet after a difficult season, regain my self-confidence, have fun on the course and get back to my 2018 level. In the longer term, I would like to be one of the best players on the European circuit and win. a tournament.

You already have a Wikipedia entry which mentions your silver medal at the European Team Championships in Gleneagles in 2018. Is that your best memory as a golfer?

It's one of my best memories, yes. Play the European Championships with Justine (Dreher) for his country, it's a chance, something that you have to have done at least once in your life. In fact, my whole year 2018 was a good memory, but I also had others ...

Which ?

I have many good golfing memories of my childhood in Reunion, with great encounters. Or my college years in the United States, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the same university as Victor Perez. At first, I was reluctant to go so far from my family, with the language barrier, etc. But my father was able to convince me to go and I thank him for it. Despite the always a little difficult first months, once settled there, we only want to go back. I started to study business, then I branched out into languages. I learned Spanish, Japanese, I even took sign language courses for four months.

And your worst memory?

The first one that comes to mind is the British Amateur in Portrush, Northern Ireland. I was 15 and got sick. I was forced to give up after 8 holes on this magnificent course ...

Speaking of magnificent courses, which is your favorite in France?

Dinard. I have lots of beautiful memories, especially on the occasion of the Open Generali, which no longer exists and that's a shame. I loved this competition and this course. I love the view, Brittany. The course is atypical and can be challenging if the wind picks up. There is also the clubhouse ...

And abroad ?

There are so many… If I have to choose one, I would say the tournament one in India, I forgot its name…

(After a little internet research) The DLF Country Club, south of New Delhi?

Here. Already, it is a very beautiful course aesthetically and very well maintained, despite the heat, humidity, pollution ... There, there is not a hole where you can rest. All moves are important, especially the faceoff. Anything can happen. We can have a day of "phew" or on the contrary, it can turn into a disaster. In 2018, for my first year there, I had a top 10.

Your best score?

-6 at the Phare golf course during the Biarritz Cup. I must have been 17 I think. Part of crazy, I had notably managed two eagles and a hole in one with my pitch!

Did you get more holes in one?

So far, I've done three in my life. Besides Biarritz, I managed one during a “recce” at the Portuguese Open in 2013. A 5 iron shot or a hybrid, I can't remember very well, the hole was long. And the last one was in 2017 in Texas during a competition with my college. I made a hole in one… but returned a card of 82! (Laughter)

Is there a player you admire?

Graeme McDowell. I like his swing, his personality. I have never met him but I find him a generous, jovial person, who laughs with everyone and does not take the lead. A bit like Furyk, he has an unusual swing but he has some things that I would like to have too. Among women, there are a lot of players that I like, but I don't really have a role model.

Other than golf, do you have a passion or something that you enjoy doing?

With confinement, I started painting with my boyfriend or gardening, which I had never done before. And then, I also found a job in the bakery, a sector in which my parents are. This please me a lot. I got a taste for selling and I love to cook, which goes well together. In fact, cooking and eating is what I love most after golf (Laughter) !

We may not do the title of the interview with this sentence ...

No, better not, but it's true that I am very greedy! (Laughter)

Interview by Franck Crudo

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