Becky versus blokes in Open
GOLD Coast golfer Becky Kay will be the first woman to play in a professional male tournament in Queensland after winning a starting spot at next week’s Queensland Open.
Kay, Australia’s 19-year-old No.1-ranked amateur, shot a clutch two-under off the back tees at Brisbane Golf Club to claim her spot in the Australasian PGA Tour event.
The round, which won her a tournament exemption alongside Sanctuary Cove’s Mitchell Varley, was a playoff between the best amateur golfers in the state – male and female.
The achievement caps off a remarkable year for Kay, who finished sixth at the Amateur Golf World Cup and reeled off three straight amateur wins at the Riversdale Cup and the Queensland and Western Australian championships.
It’s a form-line that has her ready for the hype she will undoubtedly face heading into the event which begins at Brisbane Golf Club next Friday.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” said the Palm Beach golfer who plays for the Coolangatta and Tweed Heads club. “I’m super nervous but equally excited to see what I can do.”
Kay says her tournament goal is to make the cut.
It might sound like a simple mentality but if she is to succeed, the former Palm Beach Currumbin High School student will be first female to make the cut in an Australasian PGA tour event.
“Making the cut would be huge,” said Kay, who has played off the men’s tees on the course only once.
“I’m keen to tee off with the men who hit it 80 metres past me ... it’ll be interesting to see how I go.
“I don’t really know how I’m going to measure up.”
Although she will be handicapped off the tee, Kay will rely on her precision at short range to gain strokes on the 132-player field and do what no woman has ever done before.
“I will be playing more conservative for sure,” she said. “I’ll be further back than all the guys so it will be tough, so my short game better be firing.”
Kay says, despite all the pomp and ceremony the next week is sure to bring and that her historic achievement deserves, the tournament will be another chance to learn about her own game.
“Being able to challenge myself to a higher level is the main thing,” she said.
“This will be an experience of its own. No matter what happens I think I’m going have so much fun with it.”