Hannah McCook feels she has never been better placed to approach the Ladies European Tour Q School this weekend.
McCook plays on the LET Access Series, and finished 12th in the order of merit in the 2022 season.
By finishing inside the top 21, McCook was able to fast-track to the final stage of qualifying which takes place in La Manga this weekend.
McCook will aim to navigate five rounds, held between Saturday and Wednesday, which will be staged between Real Golf La Manga Club’s north and south courses.
It is the first time the 29-year-old has avoided the pre-qualifier, and she also has the comfort of knowing her LET Access Series card is in place for next season.
Nethy Bridge golfer McCook feels those factors will be beneficial in her efforts to secure a place on the LET for the first time.
She said: “This is the first time I have gone straight to the final. This has also been the best season I have had leading into it as well.
“It’s quite nice knowing I can just go to the final and it’s only one week.
“It’s not as if I’m going over for two weeks and hoping to get through, then trying to figure out plans.
“I have played those courses enough times now. With going straight to the final, I don’t need to see them any more times than I have already.
“The first few times you go to Q School you get so nervous.
“I will still obviously get nervous, but at the end of the day, it’s just another golf tournament.
“I’m thankful I’ve got an Access Tour card confirmed. If the worst comes to the worst, I have definitely got a job next season.
“I’m going in to try and improve on what I’ve got, which is quite a nice position to be in.”
McCook has got back into rhythm in 2022
McCook has enjoyed a fruitful season on the LET Access Series, in which she recorded five top-10 finishes.
Her highest placing came when she finished second in the Montauban Ladies Open in France in June.
Having undergone hip surgery the previous year, following a long period of Covid disruption to her schedule, McCook feels it has been a fulfilling 12 months.
She added: “This will be my fourth time at Q School. I went at the start of 2020, but obviously never played, and then I was injured.
“In hindsight, I didn’t really need to go to Q School, but I went back last year just to get back into competing and improve my category.
“At the start of this year, it felt like I had been away for ages. I felt so nervous and anxious about everything for weeks, probably up until about May or June until I started to get a bit more comfortable.
“I finished second in France, and then to be able to keep going all summer after that was good.
“Sometimes I feel I could do with a week off, but I don’t really want that because I had so long away from the game. I just want to keep going.
“It got to the end of the season and we were all pretty tired, but it’s nice we’ve had such a full schedule. The LET Access Tour was brilliant this year, it was thanks to them I had enough to play in.
“I’m really pleased with the amount of top 10 finishes I had. I have been in the final group a couple of times, so it has been really good to get the experience of doing that.
“In my first season in 2019 I wasn’t anywhere close to that at all, but doing this year has shown I can do it. That has given me a boost to keep working on things.”
Women’s Scottish Open a memorable experience
McCook also played in the Women’s Scottish Open for the first time this year.
Due to her injury last year, the place was deferred to this year.
Although she did not make the cut at Dundonald, McCook says the experience has given her the drive to return to that stage.
McCook added: “I was able to play in the Scottish Open, which was like playing in a major compared to normal weeks on the Access Tour.
“It was the biggest event I had played in.
“It was a brilliant setup at Dundonald, and it felt great to be there.
“I felt comfortable being there as well though, which was a good feeling.
“It meant I had a really busy summer, but I wouldn’t have changed it.
“Hopefully I will get back there next year to play it again.”