An Interview With Kirsty Taylor
1. How does it feel to be back on tour?
It feels great now, I feel my game is back and my fitness and strength is back for playing 18 holes five days in a row. It’s a long road and I know I’m still on my first few steps though.
2. There is an obvious comparison between your illness and Seve’s – how did you first find out you had a tumour?
I had a fit in Spain in January 2008 and then flew home to have a scan. I found out within an hour and a half that I had a tumour and was operated on a week later. I had to have a second one 10 days later and then had six weeks of radiotherapy. That ended in May.
3. What was the hardest thing about that time?
Being told that I had to have radiotherapy was very hard. I thought that I’d come through the worst of it and had started to recover. It felt as though I was starting all over again. But all in all, I know I’ve been very lucky to come through everything.
4. What kept you going?
I’ve had a lot of texts, phone calls and emails. It was unbelievable the amount of cards and flowers I got – I even had a vase crisis at one stage! It was lovely and that really helped me to know that people were thinking about me. Obviously the support of my husband helped me and both sets of parents. Also the drive to play golf again.
5. And you developed green fingers while you were recovering?
Gardening has been my salvation, I never thought I’d see the day that I was into gardening, but I am now – the other girls on tour just laugh at me, which is fine.
6. You made your comeback in Switzerland in May this year. How tough was it to come back out on tour?
Because I finished 2007 on such a high and was playing so well I almost expected it to be easy. Now I’ve realised how hard we do work out here. The concentration needed to get into tournament mode, no matter how much golf you play at home, it’s not the same. People kept talking about Tiger having all that time off. His lay-off was six months – I’ve had three times as long as he has.
7. Were there any emotional difficulties that came with it?
Yes, a big problem was that I enjoyed being at home so much that it was difficult to come back out. It felt weird, there were a lot of new players, a lot of new faces, an awful lot of new caddies. I felt like I didn’t fit in and it didn’t feel like the same tour that I left.
8. How did you cope with that?
After missing the cut in my first five events I’d decided, that was it, I wasn’t enjoying things and that I was going to retire. It was purely bad golf that drove me to that. But I took time off to get my head together and entered pre-qualifying for Lytham. I almost made it through final qualifying and felt that I’d turned a corner.
9. What are your expectations now?
My first goal was to make a cut, which I did in Wales last month, but obviously I’d love to win again. Technically my swing is better than ever so when it clicks, I think I’ll be away. I’ve told my husband that if I say I’m giving up again he can change the locks!
FACTFILE
Born: Lancashire, June 18, 1971
Turned pro: January 3, 1995
LET wins: Wales Ladies Championship of Europe (2005)
Career low round: 61
Interests: Gardening, reading, skiing, cinema