“A good ten years ago I went to a Welsh game in Cardiff, and I remember it being a cracking game,” says the World Golf Hall of Famer, who lives less than an hour from the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham. “But this was the first England game I’d ever seen live.”
And what a game Davies chose: a breathtaking Autumn Nations Series match between England and New Zealand that ended in a two-point victory for the visitors, when the men in white seemed poised to snatch a late win.
“I love the All Blacks but I’m obviously a massive England fan,” explains Davies. “I’d always wanted to see the All Blacks too, so it was the dream ticket. I’m a big sports fan, so I knew there was a bit of a thing [with the haka], so it was really interesting seeing it. The way the boys moved up a little bit was very well done.”
For Davies, being a competitor goes all the way back to her childhood days, when she and elder brother Tony would want to win at anything and everything. “It’s one thing to take part and make up the numbers, but it’s all about winning,” she says. “And even if you don’t, you’ve got to give it your best shot.”
While golf is known for being an individual sport, Davies clearly cherishes the times when she got to compete in a team environment – especially in the Solheim Cup, an event with which she is synonymous. “In golf you do spend a lot of time with just yourself and your caddy, but when you’re in that team environment, it changes your attitude,” says Davies. “I always thought it took the pressure off a little bit: you’ve got your teammates there with you, and if you do make mistakes they’re never going to put you down.
“Your teammates build you up, and you can see that in rugby. If any mistakes are made, the players immediately help you shake it off, and I like that side of it. It’s not just down to you all the time.”
That team mentality was in evidence at Allianz Stadium on the weekend when head coach Steve Borthwick and captain Jamie George rallied around fly-half George Ford, who missed two crucial attempts at goal late in the game. “I felt sorry for the guy,” admits Davies. “Most kicks are routine, but that one was so significant because it was to win the match. But do you know what? He missed the first one and stood up and had another go. That’s the thing about great sportsmen: they come back.
“I can guarantee some of the opposition boys went up to Ford and put an arm around his shoulder, because while professional sport is ultra competitive and can be nasty at times, everyone knows how everyone else is feeling at any given time.”
She compares a potentially match-winning kick from the tee to “a putt to win a tournament, or an important drive on the 72nd hole.” The psychology involved in golf is notoriously difficult to navigate, what with so long to contemplate an error between shots. “Golf is tough because we have to create the momentum, whereas in all other ball sports it’s a reactionary thing,” says Davies, 61. “Mentally, the more time you’ve got to think about something the harder it gets.”
Davies admits that she’s had her fair share of Ford-esque moments of misery in her career. “There have been times when you’ve got the chance to win a major championship and you don’t win it. When you win all the bad thoughts don’t matter at that point; it’s when you lose a championship,” she acknowledges. “It’s very hard to get over, but ultimately you have to get over it. In golf it can take its time because it’s just you: you’ve made the mistake, you’ve hit the bad shot at the wrong time. But that’s the game.”
Is there a process to overcoming that feeling of sporting despair? “A lot of sulking and whining and then it’s another week,” answers Davies, who is a PGA Tour commentator for Sky Sports. “That’s the thing about golf: if you do blow a tournament, there’s always a tournament next week. The average year for a pro is between 25 and 30 tournaments a year. But it definitely used to hurt when you messed up the big ones.”
So what kept her going for so long in her career (Davies has only recently begun to wind down)? “Just competing. It goes back to that word ‘winning’. Our tournaments go from a Thursday morning and through Sunday, and to have a chance to win something over those next four days just really appealed to me. Towards the end of my career I won less and less, and it was just a thought, ‘Am I good enough?’ and eventually the answer was no.” She still plays seniors golf, and derives pleasure from the fact that it still appeals to her competitive nature. “Winning is winning, no matter what tour you’re on,” is how Davies puts it. “It’s the same feeling when you’re going down the stretch, trust me. I do enjoy that side of it.”
Davies will continue to support England through this Autumn Nations Series campaign and beyond. “I always watch the games, I’d just never been to one,” she says, relieved to have now put that right. “In fact, I love watching any top-class rugby. I do enjoy watching the Aussies and the New Zealanders too, but there’s nothing quite like watching our boys play.”
England v Australia, Saturday 9th November, 15:10, Allianz Stadium. Live on TNT Sports.
