South Korea's Jiyai Shin is hoping the changes she has made to her game in recent times come together this weekend as she looks to defend her title at the Evian Masters.
"I haven't won this season, but I now feel ready," said the 22-year-old, who burst onto the scene when she won the Women's British Open as a teenager at Sunningdale in England in 2008.
"I have a new caddy and I changed coach and everything is now beginning to feel more comfortable.
"I am now working with Glen Daugherty in San Diego and he used to work with Yani Tseng (the current world No.1).
"He has given me more distance with the driver -- not quite as long as Yani unfortunately -- but it is working well.
"It is great to be back here. It is one of my favourite tournaments and I have a lot of good memories."
Shin posted a 14 under par total 12 months ago and won by a shot from a group that included the precocious young American Lexi Thompson.
Now 16, the Florida girl has yet to hit top form this season but she is also hoping this could be her chance.
"I'm so excited to be back," said Thompson, who has played in four LPGA Tour events as a sponsor's invite this year without getting into contention.
"I haven't played as well as I would have liked yet this season, but I played great today in practice."
Thompson, whose father, Scott, is her caddy, will miss next week's Women's British Open at Carnoustie in Scotland as she has decided to enter the preliminary stage of the LPGA qualifying school.
"I had entered the Monday qualifying for the British but had to pull out," she explained.
"But my goal is to get my card so I can play every week on the LPGA. Hopefully, there will be many more chances to play British Opens."
Gwladys Nocera, Anne-Lise Caudal, Caroline Afonso and Virginie Lagoutte-Clement are the French challengers in the 111-strong field.
For Lagoutte-Clement, the 2.29 million euro event offers a chance to consolidate her position in the Solheim Cup rankings.
The 32-year-old from Montelimar is currently in the fourth and final spot on the European rankings for the match against the USA at Killeen Castle in Ireland in September.
"There are a lot of good players such as Diana Luna, Caroline Hedwall and Suzann Petersen who could all easily overtake me," said Lagoutte-Clement, who defends the Scottish Open title next month.
"Making the Solheim is a huge goal but there are still four more tournaments to count so it is far from over."
Japan's Ai Miyazato, who finished tied fifth at this month's US Women's Open, is hoping to regain the Evian Masters title she won in 2009, while another top contender is Michelle Wie, the American who was second as a 15-year-old amateur back in 2005.
Meanwhile, England's Laura Davies, a two-time winner and always a crowd favourite, was struggling with a back injury on the eve of the tournament.
"It's no good, I can't really get through the ball," said the 47-year-old. "But I'm not going to give in, I'll be teeing it up tomorrow."
There are no comments yet