At thirteen years old, Doey Choi from Concord Golf Club was the youngest competitor to play in the 2014 Bing Lee Fujitsu General Women’s NSW Open. Doey has played in numerous junior championships, but this was her first professional tournament. Over 100 players, which included over twenty amateurs, played in the Women’s Open, the fourth major women’s golf tournament in Australia. Asking how she handled the pressure of being the youngest competitor in the event, Doey said she was really excited to come, but became nervous, saying It was scary at first. It was a great experience and good to watch the [professionals] putting. She wasn t happy with how she played in the beginning and was getting angry with herself telling her mum I should just go home! Watching her fellow pros, she admired their mental game and got back on track. She told herself It’s a pro tournament so I ve just got to do my best to play good golf. She knew she was the youngest competitor and started to take the pressure off herself. After that she parred the remaining holes. Her mother was very proud of Doey s game, and said: She played well. It would have been nice to make the cut, but this was a great experience for Doey. She felt privileged to be playing in the event and learned some valuable lessons in her first professional tournament. She’s definitely going to be working on her short game and putting more. At times Doey even out drove the seasoned professionals. She played alongside one of her most admired players, Joanne Mills, who won the inaugural Women’s Open event in 2006. It’s embarrassing having a thirteen year old out drive you, said Joanne. She continued, She’s a nice girl and I nearly died when I heard she was thirteen. A big challenge for Doey over the year is to fit in golf and school, as she tends to miss school to enter tournaments, saying I try to work hard and keep up with school work. Doey s goal is to continue to play good golf and set a good example for other kids. It is no surprise she has attracted her first golf fan. A little ten year old girl from New Brighton who was at one of my tournaments came to watch me play. She even invited me to come play at her club. With a bit more experience chipping and putting, and as she gets older, Doey is surely someone to watch out for. She will get plenty of opportunity to practice next week at the 2014 Women&aposs NSW 72-hole Stroke Play & Amateur Championship.
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