Untimely break for Kay
Finger injury threatens tilt at major amateur titles
GIFTED Gold Coast golfer Rebecca Kay is hoping a busted finger will not keep her out of a major new national event next month.
Kay, who turns 19 early in the New Year, is nursing a broken middle finger on her left hand and has not been able to pick up a club for six weeks. – the finger is still in a splint.
She is racing against the clock to get to line up in the PGA Master of the Amateurs tournament at Royal Melbourne on January 9-12.
Another star Coast teenager, Isabelle Taylor, has also been invited to join 23 other elite Australian players.
“Hopefully, the finger will be right in time for the Masters,” Kay said.
“It’s a really big event and this will be the first time the women are playing.”
Unlike her former Australian representative and fellow Gold Coaster Karis Davidson, Kay has no idea of when she will try her luck in the professional ranks.
Davidson, 19, last week earned full playing rights for the 2018 Japanese LPGA Tour.
“Karis was absolutely awesome to get onto the Japanese Tour but I’m going to stay amateur for a while now,” the Coolangatta-Tweed junior product said.
“I want to perform better, to use my amateur status to get into more bigger tournaments.
“I definitely want to get on a tour somewhere but at this stage I’m not sure when.”
Taylor is back home after a superb stint in amateur events in Tasmania.
She shot a course record 67 (seven-under par) in the stroke qualifying then had an eightunder for a second place in the stroke title.
Taylor faces a hectic postfestive campaign.
After the Master of the Amateurs she heads to the Australian Amateur in WA.
She then will play the Avondale Medal in Sydney before returning to school to complete her high school education