She exudes friendliness and good golf. She is Noemí Jiménez, the 22-year-old from Malaga who has made her debut this season on the Women’s European Tour (LET) and also on the Symetra Tour in the United States, where she has signed up to try to achieve the American Women’s Tour (LPGA Tour) card at the end of the year. The Costa del Sol resort Finca Cortesín trusts in her talent and has become one of her sponsors.
Graduated from the Arizona Estate University, where she has studied Business and Tourism, Noemi began her new life after the summer by switching to the world of professional golf. When we did this interview, at the end of March, she had played a tournament in each circuit. Her debut in the European Championship was at the New Zealand Open, where she faced no less than the world number one, Lydia Ko, and finished in a magnificent eighth position. In her first North American Symetra event she finished thirteenth.
“I’ve started with a lot of desire,” he says, “and hopefully at the end of the year I can keep the European card, why not win some tournament on this circuit, and above all get the LPGA card for next year.”
-How was your experience in your first date of the tour, with none other than Lidya Ko as your rival?
-It was an unforgettable experience to play against her in the same field, in the same tournament, and the truth is that there were a lot of people supporting her and the atmosphere was incredible.
-What do you have to do to get the LPGA Tour card?
I have to be in the top ten at the end of the year, and for that there are twenty-four tournaments. I plan to play sixteen, because I can’t play more as I have to play a minimum number of tournaments on the European Tour. The goal is to get enough points to get into the top ten.
-You got your golfing teeth into the Real Club de Golf Guadalmina, just like Azahara Muñoz. What is it about this Marbella club that makes it so successful?
-Maybe it’s their golf school, that since we were very young they took us to tournaments, we had classes on Saturdays and the truth is that there was a fantastic atmosphere, very fantastic, and in the end you end up creating yourself there as a player.
-And now you have reached an agreement to represent Finca Cortesín around the world. What does this mean for you?
-It is an honor for me to represent this club. I had always been looking forward to coming here to train, and in the end, thanks to my merits, I have been able to do it. I am very happy.
-What can you tell us about this field?
-It is spectacular. I try to play it from yellows and the truth is that it is very similar to the American courses. So it’s a good training for the tournaments I have in the United States.
-What differences do you find between the circuits you are playing, the Symetra and the European?
-In terms of earnings, the European is more important. Both are well organized but you can say that the European is a first division tour, and obviously there is enough atmosphere and level, but the Symetra is improving over the years and it is believed that in the future you will have to reach that tour to be able to move to the LPGA, without having to go through the qualifying schools, as happens in the boys.
-How has your experience on the Gecko Tour been competing against male competitors?
-It has been very good for me to get into the rhythm of competition and the truth is that it is a good tour, perfect for the preseason, and even more because it is played close to home and you can win some money.
-Which tournaments do you find more interesting or more attractive on the European Tour?
I am very excited about the tournaments that are going to be played in Dubai at the end of the year, because of the atmosphere, the environment in general and because as they are co-sanctioned (belonging to two or more circuits) people from other tours come and the level is much higher. The one in Morocco, in Rabat, also attracts me a lot because, with all that I am going to travel this year, it is relatively close to home (Noemi lives in Marbella) and has good prizes.
-With as much travel as you are doing and as much as you have planned for this year, how are you going to combat jet lag?
-I try to sleep where I can and when I can, and for travel I take some natural Melatonin pills that help you fall asleep. Little by little the jet lag is going away, but it’s hard because I don’t stop traveling.
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