LEWINE MAIR
CARNOUSTIE, SCOTLAND |
For the last
30 years, no one has been casting a more
knowledgeable – and independent – eye
over the women golfers and their scene
than David Leadbetter.
elons of the game, Leadbetter turned his
attention to that side of girls’ golf which
is currently being overlooked altogether
as people think of golf more as a career
than anything else. He wants parents who
encourage their sons to play golf doing the
same with their daughters – and making it
plain that the sport is not all about getting
to No. 1 in the world.
“There are,” he says, “plenty of other
things to aim for other than a career at the
highest level. A girl can try for her Tour
card and, at a time when she is footloose
and fancy free, she can get to see the
world.”
As indeed, applied with his own wife,
Kelly. She played in America and Europe
for several years, with the highlight of her
career a win in the Hennessy tournament
in France.
Nor, as Leadbetter says, do they even
need to turn professional to get plenty
out of the game. Here, he points to his
daughter, Halley. For a long time, Halley
was only interested in ponies. Then, to her
parents’ surprise, she took it upon her-
self to get into golf and has recently won
herself a golf scholarship to the University
of Arkansas.
“Playing golf is a great way of getting a
college education and enjoying the game’s
social side,” Leadbetter says. “And if, after
university, a girl wants to go into business,
she’s still going to be quids in.
“If you want to get on in the business
world, it doesn’t do you any harm to be
able to hit a golf ball.” l
Leadbetter on U.S. women’s golf: “The Americans don’t
have a lot of good young players coming through.”
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
Zoom level
fit page
fit width
A
A
fullscreen
share
print
download
clip
SlideShow
fullscreen
Open Article
article text for page
< previous story
|
next story >
add comment
|
read comments
Share this page with a friend
Save to “My Stuff”
Subscribe to this magazine
Search
Help
