Kim Burke and Jacqui Morgan co-lead the Australian Women’s Senior Amateur Championship after posting opening rounds of 76 at Gosnells Golf Club in Western Australia.
Playing as a part of the Golf NSW state team, the pair lead by a stroke over New Zealand’s Robyn Boniface with Gosnells member Lyn Bennett three back in outright fourth.
In the age divisions, Boniface leads the Veterans 60-64 category by two over Bennett, Gosnells member Ros Fisher leads the Veterans Plus 65-69 division and Helen Craig of Melville Glades has a one stroke advantage in the Super Veterans.
Kim Burke is playing as one of the youngest in the field, having just reached the qualifying age of 55. In her Australian Seniors debut, the dual member of Magenta Shores and Shelly Beach is excited to have the opportunity to play.
“I've had this week pencilled in for a long time,” said Burke.
“I was 48 when the age limit was moved out from 50 to 55, so I feel like I’ve been waiting for seven years to play here!"
Burke says her motivation in the strokeplay isn’t all about individual glory, but instead to perform well as a part of the NSW Seniors team.
Burke had the honour to represent NSW at the junior level, although she never made it into the women’s team despite travelling as a reserve to the 2010 interstate series.
Since then Burke has been with the team as a manager, travelling frequently to interstate events.
“Being able to represent NSW is a big deal for me,” said Burke.
“I really want to have a good score tomorrow as I’m just really happy to be able to represent my state.”
With team-mate Jacqui Morgan co-leading, the NSW team is in great shape as it leads the interstate competition.
Morgan is a golfer that confesses to have gotten better at golf with age. As the 2012 Australian Women’s Senior Champion she is in familiar territory at the top of the leaderboard, but Morgan feels there is a long way to go with potentially five rounds of golf ahead of her.
“I played well today, but when you get to the matchplay you have to be lucky as well, and the standard of play here is really high." said Morgan.
“In 2012 I feel I got lucky in the Round of 16, I got through 1-up after trailing by three with four to play.
“Today I hit it pretty well, I just had one three putt on a par three, it was downhill and I got it pretty quick. The greens were tough and fast but it’s a great golf course. They’ve done so much work on it, it’s really good to see that they’re happy to have us over!”
Morgan has been given some extra motivation from her fellow Monash Golf Club members, who see this week as a chance to achieve something special.
“Monash is great, and we’re lucky to have Cameron Davis as a member who is the current Australian Amateur champion. To have two current Australian champions at our club, that would be a big deal. There’s obviously a lot of clubs out there so it’s a pretty hard thing to do.”