KIRK’S VIC OPEN BID HEATS UP
QUEENSLAND golf star Katherine Kirk says the prospect of winning an LPGA Tour event in her home country is driving her push for success as she prepares for another tilt at the Vic Open this week.
The veteran Aussie finished tied for fifth last year, just three shots behind champion Celine Boutier, and will once again tee it up alongside some of the sport’s biggest names at Thirteenth Beach.
Kirk, who enters the tournament as Australia’s fourthhighest ranked player, won the most recent of her three LPGA Tour events in 2017 and has not won on the ALPG Tour since 2011. But she said she was hopeful some home crowd support would help in her efforts to end her title drought.
“Any time you tee it up you want to win, but if you are competing in your home country and you know you have got a little extra support that makes it extra special if you can do it,” Kirk said. “You feel the energy a bit more and it is a bit like the tennis and watching Ash Barty, the crowds have that much more intensity so there is a certain level of pride that comes with it. To say that you have won in front of your home crowd on the LPGA Tour would be special.”
Kirk, making her first professional appearance for the 2020 season on Thursday, said while there was always some hesitation after a break, she was confident her experience would hold her in good stead.
“It is always nice to start in Australia and you are probably a little bit more unsure about how it is going to go because you haven’t played for such a long time, but being one of the older girls out here now I’m not nervous about it because I have done it before,” she said.
“I know the courses, too, and that always helps so I am not going in completely blind.
“There is always a little hesitation about whether I have my best stuff coming right out of the gate but it is golf, we have been doing it long enough, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”
BARWON Heads local Marianne Skarpnord says she is confident she can repeat her efforts from 2015 and claim a second Vic Open crown this week.
Skarpnord more than halved her world ranking in 2019, dropping from 381 to 153 thanks to a year that saw her claim the Australian Ladies Classic as well as 10 top-10 finishes on the Ladies European Tour.
She also finished tied for 11th at Thirteenth Beach — her best performance from three events on the LPGA Tour — and, having spent the past fortnight reacquainting herself with her home track, the Norwegian is buoyant about her hopes of being among the leaders on Sunday afternoon.
“As soon as the LPGA is in the picture you know the field is going to be stronger than a normal Australian or European field is but I think that is the way for us to grow the women’s game and for those of us not playing on the LPGA to get better so I love it,” Skarpnord said.
“I have played here a lot in the last 10 days so when Thursday comes around hopefully I am ready and can just go out there and enjoy it and play golf.
“But, if I play on the level that I know I can play and if I feel like things are pretty good and I am hitting well and putting well, absolutely I feel like I can match it with the best players that are this week.”
As a resident at the Barwon Heads resort with her husband Richard Green, Skarpnord has a strong understanding of what it takes to navigate the twin courses at Thirteenth Beach.
She said remaining calm would be one of the keys to performing strongly this week.
“If the wind is strong patience is very important,” she said.
“I don’t think it is going to be too bad this week so I think it is just about being smart and not being too greedy.
“Some pins you want to play to the middle of the green and not go for all the pins, and you just have to stay patient and try to focus on each shot and forget about what has happened before, whether that is good or bad.”
Both men and women play concurrently on the Beach and Creek courses at Thirteenth Beach in European Tour men’s and LPGA co-sanctioned events from Thursday through Sunday.