On all fronts, February was a fantastic month for women’s golf in Australia headed by terrific tournaments and the launch of our new women’s fitness participation program called SwingFit.
As I write this, we’ve just completed a pulsating ISPS HANDA Women’s Australian Open at Victoria Golf Club with Karrie Webb celebrating an astounding fifth victory in her national championship.
There were so many storylines that came out of another terrific championship on Melbourne’s sandbelt and it was fantastic to witness the drama of such a close battle right to the very end.
Outside of the wonderful wins for Karrie and Cheyenne Woods, one of the biggest stories to come out of both the ISPS HANDA Women’s Australian Open and the Volvik RACV Ladies Masters was the performance of National Squad member Minjee Lee who finished second on the Gold Coast and co-led the field into the final round in Melbourne.
A two-time Australian Amateur champion, US Junior champion and Australian Junior champion, Minjee’s abilities are recognised around the world and it was wonderful to see that talent on display in professional tournaments.
After her victory, Karrie reflected on Minjee’s efforts at both tournaments.
“She's got more talent in her little finger than I ever did at 17. She should hold her head up high. She's played very well the last two weeks, probably the best out of anyone consistently the last two weeks. She should be really proud of herself. You'll definitely see a lot more of her,” Webb told the media.
We will definitely see much more of her and more of her fellow National Squad member Su-Hyun Oh who lit up the field with a third round 66 at Victoria Golf Club.
What it did show was talent for all ages. Karrie has inspired so many young girls and women to take up golf or continue with it. In addition to all the Karrie fans, there are a growing number of fans for Minjee – people keen to see one of the undoubted future stars of Australian women’s golf add to the mark she’s already made on the game so far.
The ISPS HANDA Women’s Australian Open was also the perfect occasion to launch our new women’s participation program called Swingfit which will be piloted at centres around the country.
In each session the instructor takes women through a general warm up, followed by conditioning exercises, golf specific instruction, games, drills and concludes with a social gathering.
For more information visit swingfit.golf.org.au