Swinging their way to success

Excerpt from Guardian Messenger
Wednesday, 30th July 2014

Click here to view the original article.

Duo helps secure pennant

TWO of Australia’s brightest young golfing talents helped Glenelg claim its third straight Grade 1 women’s pennant this month.Glenelg South’s Jenny Lee, 18, and Elysia Yap, 19, of Cumberland Park, led the Bays to a convincing 4.5 to 0.5 win over The Grange in the prestigious round robin match play tournament’s final.

Lee and Yap, ranked No. 1 and 2 in SA respectively, have played throughout the club’s pennant hat-trick. They were joined by Jillian Hodge, Sarah Griffiths and teenager Matilda Wheare this year.

“It was pretty good because it was a completely different team to the one that we had at the start,” Yap says.

“It’s a great club to be a part of, they’re all really supportive of the pennant and it’s a great group of girls to play with.”

Whyalla-raised Yap took up the sport about 10 years ago. “It’s challenging, it’s different every time so you keep coming back,” she says. She hopes to turn professional after completing her Sport and Recreation Management university course.

Lee, who moved from Sydney to Adelaide in 2010, is the country’s fifth-ranked golfer. She trains for six hours a day, six days a week, chasing her own dream to enter the professional ranks. “My first goal is getting into the national squad and then trying to play more tournaments overseas and gain experience,” Lee says.

A driver cover featuring cartoon cat Garfield has accompanied Lee on course for the past three years. “He’s my fur friend – I think he gives you luck sometimes,” she laughs. The pair’s immediate attention will turn to the individual state ranking tournament, the Vardon Trophy, which concludes this month.