Marion Ricordeau - © TPlassais / swing-feminin.com

Hello Marion, what has become of you since the end of your professional career at the end of 2018?

My companion (Inigo Ceballos) has been director of the Etretat golf course for a year and a half, so I followed him. At first, I worked as a receptionist in a hotel in the city for eight months. It was a very good experience, I wanted to set foot in the hotel industry. But I often finished between midnight and 2 am and suddenly I had an even less developed social life than when I was on the Tour. For two weeks, I have been working at the Etretat golf course with Inigo. He is my boss, I am his assistant, the roles are reversed compared to the time when he caddeyait me on the circuit (Laughter).

For what reasons did you end your professional career?

For several reasons. I wanted a little stability, I couldn't stand living in a suitcase anymore. In 2016, I played five months in a row on the American circuit without returning to France. The United States is a bit of a double-edged sword, either you like it or you don't. It is not the same culture, nor the same food. I missed my family… And then there was disappointment with my level of play. I was training more and more and my results were less and less good, it was very frustrating. I remember the day I decided to quit, after the last round of the French Open in 2018. I played well all week, even though my score was worse on Sunday. At one point, I did a double and a triple bogey, but the audience kept cheering me on and carrying me, it was very strong. There was a click. I thought to myself that I might never experience all those emotions again and I decided to stop there.

You are one of the few French women to have tried your luck in the United States and to have played on the Symetra Tour and the LPGA. Perrine Delacour recently told us that there was a real difference between the two circuits… *

It's simple, when you play the LPGA you feel like a princess. You feel like you're playing a Major every week. The courses are extraordinary, you are pampered by the sponsors… The Symetra is the second division, let's say younger, more family-friendly. You sometimes play in lost places, the courses are less well prepared. It's a good battle, but there are few chosen at the finish line and you have to have strong backs. We're in trouble all the time on the Symetra, it's a vicious circle. There are fewer sponsors, less visibility, less endowment, there are not the best players in the world who are pulling you to the top. And then, contrary to what you might think, the registration fees are much higher on the Symetra than on the LPGA, $ 500 instead of $ 200, because there is less budget. Casually, when you put your tee off at the start of 1, you're already at - $ 500, not to mention the other fees ...

You were champion of France, then champion of the university world in 2008, in Sun City in South Africa. You won on LETAS at Terre Blanche, in 2012. You also completed 2^e in China, at the Xiamen International Ladies Open, in 2014. What is the best memory of your career?

The one that gave me the most emotions ... (she is hesitating), I would say the university world championship, it was still unreal. On paper, I was far from the best, the scores were very high. The first day, my game lasted 7 hours! In addition it was 35 degrees that day, while in August, it is supposed to be winter in South Africa. We had spent 7 hours in the dungeon ...

Seven hours to play golf is a record!

In fact, the Chinese delegation or that of Taiwan, I do not remember any more, had sent a team of players who had started golf… four months earlier. Suddenly, they had blocked everyone. But my victory was a real surprise for me, I did not expect it. I still remember Morgane Bazin spraying me with Powerade on the green of the 18th, when I didn't even think I had won! So my first reaction was to complain, to complain about being all sticky and to worry about my clothes. (Laughter). I remember being very moved when they put the gold medal around my neck. If in addition we had swayed the Marseillaise, I might have cried like a madeleine (Laughter). With Morgane and Audrey (goumard), we also finished third by team. By turning pro, I no longer felt the same emotions, I was no longer there for the same reasons, golf had become my job. It was no longer the same pleasure, the same pure joy that one can feel as an amateur.

There is also this tournament in China in 2014, where you finish second but cash the winner's check ...

Yes, it is also a good memory, obviously. I had finished three strokes behind the winner, but as she was still an amateur, I had pocketed the victory check. At the time, I hung out a lot with the Australians and the British who told me: "You got the check, you won! ". But me, as I had finished three shots behind, I didn't really have that impression. It was a good time for me, because the week before I had finished around the 10th^e place of another tournament in China. It had done me good financially because I had no sponsors at the time. 2014 is without doubt my best year.

And the worst memory of your career?

On the Symetra Tour, I remember doing 10s out of a par 5 twice in the same month, which had never happened to me. The second time was at a tournament in North Carolina on the last hole and I missed the cut by 4 shots. I was completely unhinged, I was next to my pumps. I hadn't even tried to fight. It had marked me because it was not the person I wanted to be.

Another highlight in your career is the day you first met Laura Davies ...

Yes, I was still an amateur and I had been invited to the French Open in Arras. Many friends from my region had come to support me. On the first day of training, I am on the practice and there, I see Laura Davies arriving. I had no golf culture at the time and, apart from the French, the only one I knew was Laura Davies! I look at her and there, very nice, she throws me: " Hi, how are you ? ". Any surprise, I jabber I do not know what as an answer and I chained scratch, top, socket ... it took me 5-6 strokes to find my senses! She must have wondered how I had qualified for the tournament (laughs).

And you finished in front of her during the tournament?

I don't know, I just remember having a great tournament since I had finished 21^e. For two or three years, I didn't manage to have a better result on the LET when I was turned pro, so I had it a little through my throat. As for Laura Davies, I had the chance to share a part of recognition with her a few years later.

How old were you when you started golf?

Around 12 years old, at the Ailette golf course in Picardy. But I got really interested in this sport when I was 17. Kid, I played a lot of volleyball, golf was almost an obligation for me, I preferred to play playstation with my friends. My father insisted and had the last word. And then I met two pros from Chantilly and Morfontaine, Frédéric Regard and Eric Bournazel, who told me that I had real potential. Without them, I would never have had a professional career.

Your strong point in golf?

It has changed over time. When I was 15-16, I was a powerful player. Now it's all shots within 100 yards, wedging and putting. I really enjoyed practicing putting, so I made a lot of progress. As for wedging… I remember sharing the game with world n ° 4 So Yeon Ryu during my first British Open at the Royal Birkdale. At first, I was a little afraid of being bored playing with a Korean (laughs), but she was actually super nice and really impressed me at wedging. I said to myself: I want to do the same! It was she who made me want to go and play in the United States.

Your best score?

-8 at the Médoc golf course, during the Grand Prix Schweppes, in 2014 or 2015 I do not remember which year exactly.

Have you ever completed a hole-in-one?

In competition, no. I managed one on the Symetra Tour, during a "recce". And another just three weeks ago, on hole n ° 9 in Etretat, during a two-man scramble. The lady I was playing with was her first competition, she was in awe (laughs).

Your favorite routes?

Internationally, the Royal Birkdale and the Victoria Golf Club in Melbourne. Birkdale, it was my first Major and the Victoria, I played very well there, that must influence me a little. But beyond that, these are the types of courses that I like, a little dry, where you have to work and place the ball… not target golf courses.

And in France ?

I love Chantilly Vineuil and Morfontaine, but also the golf de l'Ailette even if it may seem a bit “chauvinistic”. The setting is nice, there are never two identical holes, you play at the edge of the water, in the forest, it is more or less hilly ... I realize that I was lucky to grow up and to train on such a course.

Is there a player you admire?

Tiger Woods. He is a model in golfing terms, he has dominated his sport for so many years, it's impressive. Being able to come back to the highest level and win back despite all your physical problems, and not only, is very strong. And then there is also Jordan Spieth. But there, it may also be because my parents had the chance to play a Pro-Am with him. They told me he was so nice, they almost felt like playing with their son.

Speaking of Pro-Am, what do you think is the most common fault with amateurs?

They are not aware of their real level, both ways. Some take their good shots for normalcy and others, on the contrary, only see their bad shots when they are also capable of hitting very good ones. They do not have a very lucid vision of their level of play. Normalcy is not the best or the worst move that you can hit in a game.

Interview by Franck Crudo

* https://swing-feminin.com/perrine-delacour-sur-le-lpga-on-voyage-en-avion-alors-que-sur-le-symetra-cest-en-voiture/