SHOWING THE CRITICS
Q
So what brought you home and how has that experience changed you?
A
I wasn’t into the academic side of things so I came back and moved to Sydney where I decided to pursue amateur golf. I went to the Australian Championships and did a few things all at an amateur level until I turned pro after about two or three years.
Q
You had your fair share of critics – did that provide extra motivation or was it disheartening?
A
I was probably not one of the better players in the country. On the golfing grapevine I heard that people said I’d never make a cent from the game and people laughed behind my back when I did turn pro. I’ve always been the type of person who says, ‘well I’ll show you’. I got married (to Warren Sevil) at the same time I turned pro because I like challenges. So it was a pretty busy period.
Born: Maiden name: Lives:
Age: Children: Amateur career:
Tenterfield, NSW Jenny Jones Lakelands, Merrimac 55 Ryan, 25, Laura, 21
Member of Australian and NSW schoolgirl teams in 1981
Member of Mississippi State University Golf Program Runner-up NSW women’s amateur championship in 1986
Professional career:
Turned pro: 1986
Won nine professional tournaments from 1987-2001 Prizemoney: $3 million-plus Golf Digest Australian Woman Golfer of the Year in 1992 after finishing No.1 in Australian LPGA Order of Merit
Accomplishments:
Australian Sports Medal for golfing achievements
Founder of Girls in Golf calendar to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation 2007 and Make-A-Wish Foundation 2009