European season in full swing

AT last, the Ladies’ European Tour is well and truly underway. And just as the opening two tournaments of the LET in Australia in February were won by an Australian, Karrie Webb, so the Tenerife Ladies’ Open and Spanish Open were won by her compatriot, Nikki Garrett.

Many of our readers will recall that last year Nikki was the LET’s 2006 Ryder Cup Wales Rookie of the Year. She won this award by some margin, finishing 12th on the New Star money list and having two third-place finishes.

Before turning professional, Nikki was Australia’s top-ranked amateur in 2005, and had finished runner-up in the 2004 St Rule Trophy – an amateur event played annually at St Andrews.

When Nikki won in Tenerife, she did so in really windy conditions, so look out for a good performance from her when the Ricoh Women’s British Open is played there in August!

Someone else who was in contention for most of the week in Tenerife was Lady Golfer columnist Becky Brewerton. Since Becky did so well as an amateur and at such an early age, it seems that she we should be talking about her as a veteran. It’s hard to believe that she is still only 24 and just starting her fourth year as a professional.

I have no doubt that Becky’s first win isn’t far away, as well as her first Solheim Cup appearance.

Another player who nearly thwarted Nikki’s victory in the Spanish Open was Rebecca Hudson. Rebecca’s career has some similarities to Becky’s in that they both were hugely successful in the amateur ranks, did well in professional tournaments when still amateurs, and seem to have been in our golfing consciousness for ever.

Unlike Becky though, 27-year-old Rebecca really struggled when she turned professional, and after finishing 122nd and 102nd in her first two years as a professional was in danger of disappearing without trace. In 2005, she started to enjoy her golf again and had some good finishes which gave her confidence.

No-one will ever take over the mantle that Laura Davies has held at the top of British golf for so long, but either Becky or Rebecca could be the one to overtake Laura as Britain’s No 1 player in Europe in the next few years.

Rebecca finished second behind Nikki in Spain and led until the 16th in the final round – a par three where her six iron came up short in the water and cost her a double bogey. That, in the end, was the precise difference in the final scores, with Nikki winning by a single shot.

Rebecca has made no secret that she would dearly love to make this year’s Solheim Cup team and she has moved up to fourth place in the standings.

Gwladys Nocera showed signs of a welcome return to the form that gave her three victories in 2006 with a third-place finish in the same event, and is already a racing certainty to make the team year. Gwladys stated in our magazine last month that making the Solheim Cup team again is her big goal.

Unlike at Crooked Stick, Indiana, in the 2005 Cup where Gwladys was only played in the minimum number of matches, I think that her experience and subsequent success on the LET will make her one of the strongest players in the European team.

As such she will be part of the backbone who will need to excel if we are to win the Cup back. With a record prize fund to play for and almost weekly tournaments to play in between now and early October, including the Evian Masters and Ricoh Women’s British Open, there is much for the players to look forward to.

Good times indeed.