Dame Laura Davies is enjoying her 2018 campaign in Australia and says that outplaying the youngsters is keeping her motivated at 54-years young. In her first three events of the season, she has tied for 21st in the Oates Vic Open, 34th in the AgtewAGL Canberra Ladies Classic and 40th in the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.
Starting the inaugural Australian Ladies Classic at Bonville Golf Resort in 20th position on the Order of Merit, she says that she still feels as competitive as ever.
“I just love it! It keeps you young, playing with the youngsters. There are a few of us dinosaurs left like myself, Juli Inkster and Trish Johnson, the ones I turned pro with. It’s just great to be out on the golf course with these young girls and trying to compete with them,” she said. “We are very lucky to be here at Bonville this week. It came up very late, but a lot of effort and time has been put into making this event happen. For us players, it’s just great to be here.” The average age of the winners on the LET in 2017 was 22 and last year, Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul, became the youngest ever winner at 14 years of age.
Despite that, the four-time major winner and former world number one, Davies believes that a 46th LET title could be on the horizon. “I just love to win. For anyone in sport, it’s all about the winning. Whether you’re just playing a friendly game for a couple of quid with your mates, you still want to win and you don’t want to lose… especially to friends. Any great sports person has to have that passion to win. Just to turn up and take part is not enough for the great champions and I hope I’m one of them.”