Rare chance for club pros to represent their country

THOUGH they could finish no better than fourth, the five golfers who represented Australia in the Women’s PGA Cup in New Mexico in late October described the experience as the highlight of their careers.

“To get the chance to go over there and represent Australia is the highest honour I’ve had to date,” Queenslander Katelyn Must said. “To be overseas, surrounded by likeminded people in an elite environment, is very special.”

It was a rare opportunity for the five women – club professionals, teaching pros and golf administrators – to play competitive golf, let alone represent their country on the international stage.

Must was joined in the Australian team by Anne-Marie Knight, head teaching professional at West Beach Parks in Adelaide; Nicole Martino, golf manager at the Western Australian Golf Club; Paige Stubbs, the teaching pro at Castle Hill in Sydney; and Angela Tatt, assistant professional at Ballarat.

They gained selection after winning qualifying tournaments in their states.

It was the second staging of the Women’s PGA Cup, which promotes women working in the golf industry and featured teams from Canada, the US, Great Britain and Ireland, Australia, South Africa and Sweden.

Played at Twin Warriors Golf Club, the Cup was a 54-hole stroke play tournament with the three best results each day counting as the team score. The US beat Canada by two strokes, with Great Britain and Ireland third. Stubbs (77-72-77) and Must (77-73-77), a teaching pro at Peregian on the Sunshine Coast, were the best of the Australians, their scores counting on each of the three days.

“The event provided an invaluable experience,” said PGA of Australia National Membership Coordinator Sue McCall, who travelled with the team.

“Teams that began the week as competitors have finished it as friends and colleagues. Everyone is looking forward to coming back and doing it again in 2024.”