AIG WOMEN'S OPEN

July 30, 2025

Darcey Harry

Press Conference

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to be joined by Darcey Harry here in the AIG Women's Open Media Center.

Darcey, I think it's probably fair to say you're the home hero this week. You are, of course, a Royal Porthcawl member. What's it like flying the flag for Wales?

DARCEY HARRY: Already it's been pretty incredible being here. It doesn't really feel like it's at home because there's so many people here and usually Porthcawl is very quiet. You can always get out on the golf course, and there's not really usually many people out here.

Today there's just so many people. There's lots of crowds out here already, I can see today. It's kind of nerve-racking, I have to say. It's hopefully going to be a good week. Whatever happens, it will be so nice to finally play a competition on my home golf course.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Of course you are going to be the most familiar player with Royal Porthcawl. How much of an advantage is that local knowledge going to be for you this week?

DARCEY HARRY: There's actually a few tee boxes I've never played off, which was actually quite surprising yesterday going out and playing the course. It was like, ooh, I never knew this was here.

The greens are a bit quicker than I'm used to, and the course is definitely playing a lot longer than I've ever played. So it's going to be a real big challenge. But there's a lot of lines off tees I think are quite crucial to know where you've got to hit it to get in the best places. I think that will definitely be an advantage.

I'll definitely be a lot more confident around the greens. I think I know where not to go, so hopefully I won't be there this week. So, yeah, I think it will be half and half.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: This championship has been billed as the biggest women's sporting event to come to Wales. We've spoken about that a lot over the past couple of months. Is this what you envisioned? Is this what you dreamed of when we said that?

DARCEY HARRY: I'm so impressed with AIG and all the support they've given to women's golf, especially here, this tournament. The whole setup is way bigger than I ever thought. Everything is amazing: The players' dining area, the clubhouse is fantastic, the food is absolutely phenomenal, and the Bolognese, which is my favourite meal, is amazing. I'm very happy this week.

Q. Darcey, I've got to ask about your grouping for tomorrow. You've been paired with Georgia Hall, past champion here and Solheim Cup, and Jennifer Kupcho. First, do you remember watching Georgia when she won it? How excited are you for tomorrow?

DARCEY HARRY: When I saw the groupings, I was really excited to play with Georgia. I was only a junior at the time when Georgia won a few years ago. It was so inspirational seeing her do it. The whole country was so excited when a British player won.

I remember her winning moment jumping into -- I think it was her dad who caddied for her that week. I do remember that. It's going to be great with playing with such an inspirational player and looking forward to having a chat on course with her.

Especially Jennifer as well, I believe she's a major winner as well. That will be nice to have a week learning off those girls.

Q. You said caddie there. Your caddie this week will be DP World Tour player Jacob Skov Olesen. I know you caddied for him before. When was that decision made, and how do you think it's going to play out with him on the bag?

DARCEY HARRY: It was kind of made on Sunday last week, so only a few days ago. I kind of always knew I wanted him on the bag. I think this week is definitely going to be one of the most nerve-racking weeks for me. I need someone on the bag that's going to make me laugh and take my mind off more of the distractions. I definitely think for me that was the best decision.

Q. There's echoes this week of Matthew Jordan, who a couple of years ago was a member at Royal Liverpool and then finished top 10. A big challenge that week was smiling and saying thank you to everybody that was offering him encouragement. Have you considered the management of having so many people supporting you against all the knowledge you've got of the course?

DARCEY HARRY: Yeah, I think it's definitely a first week for me having so many people coming out to watch. I'm sure lots of people will be out there saying well done and keep going, which will be very nice for me. I think it's very different. I'm looking forward to having the support that I've probably never really had crowd-wise before.

So just embrace it and kind of take a learning from it all, just be grateful that people are out here to support the game.

Q. Jacob, when he played The Open, have you discussed what he went through and the excitement of his first experience so you can anticipate what you're going to be feeling on that first tee?

DARCEY HARRY: I was actually out there watching, and he had a great first day. It was really nice to see him beat so many players on that first day. The second day, he had a really nerve-racking tee shot and kind of made a mess of the 1st hole. He spoke to me about it, and I've learned a lot off of it.

We've kind of spoken of the game plan and learned from what he was challenged with last week, or two weeks ago. It's kind of stay out of those pot fairway bunkers and just play as safe as possible, really try to hit as many fairways. It's kind of the goal for this week.

Q. Finally, with you both being rookies on your various tours, has there been a bit of competitiveness this year?

DARCEY HARRY: Yeah, we did have a competition who would win their first competition, and I did win that one, which was nice. I think it's just we both drive each other on, and it's just nice. We both have who is better each week when we have competitions at the same time. Whoever does the best pays for dinner. That's kind of the little competition we have going on.

Q. Obviously you've only just turned pro, and this was your number one target for the year. You must have had expectations of what it would be like. Just wondering now that you're actually here, is it living up to those expectations, and what apart from the tee positions is surprising you?

DARCEY HARRY: It's definitely way better than I ever expected. I didn't really expect all these tents and it to be so busy. They've got the course in absolutely phenomenal condition, which is really nice. It's really lovely to have such good feedback from other players as well. You never want to turn up to your home course and have people not like it. You also want people to say it's a challenge because you don't want people coming here and saying it's easy.

Yeah, it's really nice. The weather is supposed to get quite windy on the weekend, and all week is supposed to be quite windy. That's really nice to see the course play up to its full potential, and it will be a really good challenge for the week.

Q. It's quite good you had the chance to play in the Evian, so this is your second major. What did you take out of that experience that's going to help you this week?

DARCEY HARRY: I definitely got rid of all the major nerves. I played the Scottish Open last week as well, and that's a co-sanctioned LPGA event as well. I kind of thought my game would be nowhere near close to the LPGA players, but I think what I took is play as well as you can and you'll be able to compete with them, and I'm not a million miles away.

The girls were a lot more consistent. They're really good to play with. It's a really big learning curve the past few weeks playing with those players.

Q. Your degree would indicate that you obviously love horses. Could you go into a little bit more detail about that.

DARCEY HARRY: Yes, so I studied equine science and business at the Royal Agricultural University. It was kind of a big choice, decision for me whether I was going to go to America and study something out there. I looked into a few universities in America, and no one did equine science. That's what I wanted to do. I'm very passionate about horses. I have my own horse.

It's a really big hobby for me. I really enjoy, once I finish golf, to have something else to do and take my mind off bad play, good play. It's just a nice turning off point for me.

Yeah, I really battled with thoughts, battled with a lot of opinions, and I just decided to follow my dad's footsteps, go to the university he went to, and it was the best three years of my life and one of the best decisions. I don't think I'd be here now if I hadn't gone there.

Q. Will you really go back to anything involving horses at any stage?

DARCEY HARRY: Probably not. I've still got my own horse, and I just love horses, and I'll probably buy another one in a few years hopefully. Yeah, it's just a great hobby for me, and I really enjoy it away from golf.

Q. Where is your horse? Where does he live?

DARCEY HARRY: He's actually been placed in the Cotswolds. He's a competition horse, and he's with a professional at the moment who competes every season. He's an eventer. He's also an athlete like me. He's competing throughout the summer.

Q. And you're an eventer?

DARCEY HARRY: No. I've done a bit of show jumping here and there. Nothing to his level. I just enjoy it broadly.

Q. Just wondering, as you set out, what you think a successful week would be for you?

DARCEY HARRY: I think definitely just come out here and really enjoy it, try and make sure there's a smile on my face 24/7. I don't think a major will ever get to be played on my home course ever again, so really appreciate the moment I'm getting here and just appreciate all the fans coming out. I don't get it very often.

So I need to take it all in and learn a lot. It's going to be a really big learning week for me. It would be great to make the cut, great to try and give it my best go and see what I can do.

Q. What's your best score on the course?

DARCEY HARRY: I'm not sure because I've never played competition here. I don't think I've ever had a card in hand playing here. Usually when I come out, I just play nine holes. I never really come out and play 18. If I do, it's probably with my dad, just walking around, having a bit of a piss about.

Q. How long have you played here?

DARCEY HARRY: I've been a member here six years now, so a long time. I've played many times on the golf course.

Q. Are players in the field asking you for inside knowledge and you're refusing, or how are you handling that?

DARCEY HARRY: No, no one's asked me for any inside knowledge, which I'm a bit surprised, but no.

Q. I just wanted to ask, obviously you're in love with this course, what will the other players, how will they fall in love with it? What makes it magical and special for you?

DARCEY HARRY: I definitely think it's the views. You can see the ocean from nearly all 18 holes of the course. As well a lot of people have given really lovely feedback about how friendly all the Welsh people are. It's been really nice for them to get insight on the Welsh culture, which is really huge for us in Wales.

I think it's a country that not many people even knew is a country before they came here. Certainly everyone's got a smile on their face here, and I think it's making the Welsh people proud.

OLIVIA McMILLAN: Thank you very much, everyone. Thank you, Darcey, for your time. We wish you the best of luck.