Rising Australian star Nikki Garrett is hoping her freshness will be an asset ahead of this week&aposs MFS Women&aposs Australian Open at Kingston Heath in Melbourne. Garrett, 24, hasn&apost played a competitive tournament round since December, but can&apost wait to get out on Melbourne&aposs sand belt this week and kick off her 2008 campaign. “I can&apost wait. I had last week off from the New South Wales Open so I am itching to get back playing and producing some good scores,” she said. “I want to play well, have some fun out there and get back into competitive golf. It has been a little while now. If I am striking it well, my chances are as good as anyone else.” “I had my last tournament in December. I has been a month, a long month. I have been practising a little bit.” Garrett is coming off a breakout season in 2007 where she won back-to-back titles on the European Tour. She knows that she needs to keep winning or risk being overtaken by the other rising stars of the world of women&aposs golf. “There are so many young and exciting players coming through in amateur golf and the professional ranks. It is good for golf, not only in Australia but world-wide. We have a lot of exciting players here. It should be a really good week. You&aposll probably see a lot of new faces on the leader board,” she said. But she is very aware of Karrie Webb&aposs presence this week, and thinks the defending champion will be as determined as ever to win. “Obviously, Karrie is the main threat. Then there is Laura (Davies) and a lot of great European players and some good Koreans. But I think Karrie will be the one to beat,” she said. And she is looking forward to taking on a course rated as one of the best in the world by many Australian stars, including Aaron Baddeley. “From what I&aposve heard, it sets up pretty well. It is nice and long so it will be a good challenge for the girls. You know you&aposll have to play some good golf to produce good scores. It should be an exciting week.”