Above-par Kingston Heath Track Excites Webb And Co

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday January 30, 2008

Martin Blake

PAUL McNAMEE'S theory is to take the Australian Open to the best courses, and success will follow. That's the theory, anyway.

It is why the Women's Australian Open is being played at Kingston Heath - by general consensus one of the top two courses in Australia - for the first time this week, and why it was at Royal Sydney last year. It is also why the men's Open will almost certainly be at NSW Golf Club later this year.

Whether the tournament continues to grow is yet to be seen, but at least McNamee has the endorsement of the players, accustomed as they are to playing on inferior courses in Europe and tricked-up resorts in America.

Karrie Webb, the world No.3 who said earlier this week that players on the American LPGA Tour were "good for selling real estate", believes that if this week's tournament was part of the LPGA, it would rate "top three" in terms of venues. "For the Europeans, probably top two," she said.

Laura Davies, England's former world No.1, went further. "I think it's probably the best course," she said. "I like Sunningdale [in England], but I think this is probably a better version of Sunningdale. I'm trying to think of courses I would prefer to play. The only ones I can come up with are St Andrews and Royal Lytham. This rates as my third-favourite course I've ever played."

Birdie Kim, the 2005 US Open champion, paid McNamee's plan its highest compliment - when she heard that the tournament was at Kingston Heath, she contacted Golf Australia and asked if she could play. Kim was waylaid in New Zealand, where she has been practising, with a visa problem, but was en route to Melbourne last night.

Webb said all the players were excited about the venue in the world-famous sand belt. "You never get bored playing this course and a number of others around here," she said. "The course here, all you want to do is keep playing because it is such a fantastic test of golf."

Webb is refreshed after a break at home in Queensland, although she knows that the grind begins this week. "I haven't hit a bad shot for a couple of months," she joked. "It [confidence] is higher than it was at the end of last year. I feel pretty good about things."

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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