Having arrived in Nanjing last Tuesday, Dimmock was looking forward to getting her Olympic adventure underway finally a week later.

But on Monday evening the 17-year-old made the difficult choice to pull out after a back injury, which had been troubling her all summer, flared up once more.

It was not a decision taken lightly, particularly with the Wentworth Golf Club starlet having practiced at the driving range as well as getting a look at the Nanjing course – one she believes would have suited her style of play.

However, as she targets making an impact at the Rio Games in two years time, Dimmock believes she made the right judgment – no matter how hard it was to come to.

“It was a really tough decision to withdraw,” she said. “I sat down with my team leader Becca Wood, chef de mission Sarah Winckless and the physios and we came to a decision based on what would be best for me.

“And whilst not competing isn’t the decision I wanted it is the right decision. It is really upsetting not being able to compete, but it is the right decision.

“I’ve had the injury for a while and I actually only started being able to hit balls two days before we flew to China.

“We hoped that would have healed enough and I would have been OK for competition but it is a ligament strain and unfortunately it wasn’t going to heal with just rest.

“I need to make a long-term strategy, and once that is in place it should never really come back which is positive.

“Rio is definitely a realistic aim for me, I am looking to turn pro soon and I think Rio will be a good goal to aim for. It would be good because I would understand better about the Olympic environment so I can go there knowing what might be thrown at me because of this trip.” And while Dimmock will return home having failed to swing a club competitively in China, she insists her trip was far from a wasted journey.

“It is huge that golf is now in the Olympics, the experience I have had in the short time I have been here is going to really help me in the future with my game,” she added.

“When I next play in China I will know much more about what to expect with the courses, the people and the culture.

“It is so new, I have never experienced anything like this before, it is really exciting and in a way takes your mind off of the golf because there is so much going on. I have really enjoyed meeting new people and learning about different sports.”