Claire hoping to qualify for European Tour
Aberdonian Claire Hunter is back in Europe after several years at colleges
in the United States. It is only a flying visit from her base at Eugene,
where she had a golf scholarship at the University of Oregon after an
earlier spell in Texas, but Claire, who will be 25 next March, is hoping
that the trip will lead to her spending the golf season on this side of
the Atlantic.
Claire is one of a field of 132 at the European women's professional
tour qualifying school which starts it's 72-hole eliminator at Saint Quentin
sur Isere Golf Club, near Grenoble on Wednesday. Only the leading 30 and
ties at the end of four rounds will gain entry to most of the 2003 European
women's circuit but Claire will tee off in an optimistic frame of mind.
"I am very confidence of finishing in the top 30. The weather in Aberdeen
was so bad that I did not manage to practice while I was home for a few
days but I've managed to get in some good practice after arriving in France,"
said Miss Hunter.
Claire's 21-year-old brother Ryan, who plays off a single-figure handicap,
will be her caddie this week. "Ryan used to caddie for me when I was a
junior but I've reminded him that this week is about work not play. I
have a lot of hard work to do if I am to make my mark on the women's scene
and it really starts this week," said Claire who has won a mini-tour event
in the United States since she turned pro earlier this year.
She is a former Aberdeenshire and North of Scotland women's champion
and a Scotland girl international in her teens. Had she stayed at home,
she would almost certainly have been a member of the Scotland women's
international line-up.
"I feel my golf career is definitely moving in the right direction. My
years in the United States I am certain will prove invaluable. I've been
in Oregon for nearly six years and the difference between Scotland and
America is massive."
Like several others in the European Q School field, Claire has also entered
the United States Futures Tour Qualifying School, which starts at Orlando,
Florida on November 5, three days after the European event ends. It will
mean a hectic dash back across the Atlantic for Miss Hunter but she is
hoping that it all works out in her favour. A player's card for professional
tours in Europe and the United States would be a terrific boost for Claire.
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