Amelia’s smile says it all
Kiwi amateur golfer Amelia Garvey had a smile a mile wide as she threw her hands up in the air - ‘‘yeah, I made it to the weekend’’.
Still in her final year at Burnside High School in Christchurch, Garvey comfortably secured passage into the final two days of the New Zealand Women’s Open with a solid one-underpar 71 in the second round yesterday.
Backing up an impressive two-under par 70 opening round in blustery afternoon conditions on Thursday, the 17-year-old’s solid round saw her in a tie for 29th place and made her the second best placed amateur with around half the field in the clubhouse at the Windross Farm course near Auckland.
And with Lydia Ko still sitting at two-under midway through her second round, it also meant Garvey was the joint-leading Kiwi with the tournament host and top-ranked player at the LPGA-sanctioned event.
Garvey had four birdies in relatively calm Friday morning conditions and although she mixed that with three bogeys, including two in the final three holes, she cut a very satisfied figure after walking off the 18th green.
‘‘It’s awesome,’’ Garvey said. ‘‘Just to be able to play more than two rounds and get the full experience at an LPGA event, it’s going to be cool.
‘‘I just feel more comfortable out there than I thought I was going to. The first tee shot there was a bit of nerves but once I got into things I was just able to have fun and enjoy it.
‘‘I’m really happy with the number I’m at and hopefully I’ll have some good rounds on the weekend.’’
Garvey began from the first tee in the second round and picked up two shots in her first five holes to move to four-under.
Her first bogey of the day came at the par four 10th but the 2017 New Zealand Strokeplay champion responded strongly with back-to-back birdies and could have gone to six-under and into the top five had a four-to-five foot birdie chance at the par three 13th not narrowly slid by.
A couple of late slip-ups with bogeys at 16 and 17 meant Garvey had slipped a little by the time she tapped in for par at 18.
But having missed the cut at her two previous NZ Opens, there was not an ounce of disappointment.
The Kaiapoi club member has been working hard on the mental side of her game with psychologist John Quinn, the same man who assists star Kiwi shot-putter Tom Walsh, and said it had helped her take significant strides in the game.
The support of parents Lee and Beverley and ‘‘a couple of Cantabs’’ in the gallery had also helped her feel more comfortable in what she expected would be a much more foreign environment.
As for those expectations when it came to playing in an LPGA event on a Saturday and Sunday, Garvey simply said there were none.
‘‘No expectations really, those two rounds are behind me now.
‘‘I’m not making the most of the par fives like I usually do, so I’ll try to take advantage of that a bit more.
‘‘But there is nothing to lose now really, I’ll be hitting a few more drivers off the tee and attacking a couple more pins.’’
Whatever that meant in terms of a final result, you got the feeling the chuffed young Kiwi already felt like a winner.
With a potential US college scholarship in the wings next year, Garvey said the experience had already proved invaluable.
‘‘It’s already given me confidence I can keep up with these guys.
‘‘I actually thought it would be a lot tougher than what it is but the course does suit me fair bit.
‘‘It’s just good to see the level everyone is at and be able to work towards that in the future.’’