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from Colin Farquharson Gillian,
Claire has been given a job on the coaching staff of the University of Oregon but she is using the "summer holidays" time in the States to pursue her dream of playing as a tour pro with a view to trying to win, eventually, a place at the LPGA Tour School. This "Letter from America" by Claire underlines that for every Annika Sorenstam or even Janice Moodie, there are hundreds, maybe thousands like little Claire Hunter ... not much money, a lot of guts and hoping that the big break is coming in the next tournament. Claire Hunter writes: "Hello Everyone. "Well another tournament has gone by and it's getting better. I shot 80,75 and 81 and almost got a check. My game is getting better and better and my confidence has not been like this for three years at least. I feel I have a swing now, not one that fits for the day. "Today is my day off and then back to the next tournament which starts Monday at a place called Landmark (where they are playing the LPGA Qualifying School this year) which is 5 minutes from last week's course. " The weather here is 106 degrees and has been like this for the past four days now, but I think I am getting used to it. I haven,t been driving my car much as the girls give me a lift everyday. It makes the travelling a little bit more fun. "I have this tournament and then head to Hesperia and then back to here and then I am back to Eugene, Oregon for a week. My buddy Pam is coming back from Futures Tour to spend a week in Eugene so we will get some time off to golf and go hiking and fishing, camping etc (some fun outdoor things). "I am hoping to play in the Futures Tour in August for three events but I don't yet if I am on the alternate list. Anyway I am just about to go shopping and have some lunch and then go swimming. "A nice casual day. "Take care" Claire in her next letter she writes........... "Howdy. Well, this week was a better tournament for me. I ended up finishing second and won a cheque. I finished seven strokes behind the winner, a girl who also won last week. "We also had a Skins game for $60 a day. I won $48 the first day as I had four birdies on the front nine, so I came away with around $420 in total prize money. " The tour (West Coast Ladies Golf Tour) I am on right now for the last two events is a new tour that has just started up last month, so there were only seven girls competing for the two cash prizes. My game is coming along and I am feeling great playing with a good game again. "Hopefully the tour will grow as more girls know about it. If you want to look at the website, t he guy who runs it has put some pictures on the internet from the tournament and also player profiles which are pretty good. The address is www.wclgt.com "I am still in Palm Desert today (4th July). I head up to my next event tomorrow. I am staying in private housing with a lady who plays on the US Challenge Tour. We are staying right next to the clubhouse (like two houses) so that is good news. My car is not handling the heat very well. "The purse for the next event is $10,000. The one we jst played in was $2,350. "Take care and hope to talk to you soon Claire Hunter" |
I
thought you (and your readers) would be interested in the latest E-mails
sent to me (and a group of others) by Claire Hunter, an Aberdeen girl
who was a member at Deeside GC, played for Scotland at girls international
level and won the North of Scotland women's championship at Murcar in
1997 during one of her summer vacations from American college. She eventually
went from McLennan Community College, Texas (a junior college) to the
University of Oregon at Eugene and was a member of the women's golf team
until she graduated this last May. Her ambition has always been to be
a tournament professional but she could not afford to go the whole hog
although her financial situation has improved since her dad, who works
in the oil business in Aberdeen, was able to raise more than £5,000 from
a local golf tournament. |
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by Gillian Kirkwood |