TWO young Hawkesbury golfers will experience the trip of a lifetime when they head to the United States in August for a major tournament.
Wilberforce’s Imogen Carter and Windsor Downs’ Ti Fox have qualified for the US Kids Golf World Championship, to be hosted at the renowned Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.
Imogen, 9, said she was excited and nervous about the trip, while Ti, 8, said was feeling ‘super’ about it.
The pair qualified for the trip, after winning a US Kids Golf tour held in Australia last year.
Ti became the first player to win all eight rounds of the tournament, while Imogen won the last three in a row to sneak into the top spot.
Imogen’s final round, which was played at Moore Park in January.
“Imogen had an amazing effort,” said ti’s dad Chris, who coaches the pair.
“In the last round, she was behind, didn't know the others' score, and when they finished, Imogen had won by one stroke, which let her win the tournament as a whole.”
Chris said he was looking forward to the trip as much as the children.
“It is a wonderful opportunity for them. The self-esteem they will receive from participating in such a big event will be huge,” he said.
“Whether they develop as golfers doesn't really matter.
“It is just fantastic to see how much they have grown in the past 12 months and see how much better they are.”
Neither Imogen nor Ti play against each other, but they have both developed a good friendship thanks to the game.
Indeed, the pair have become such good friends, that they have taken to co-ordinating their outfits ahead of a day’s golf, much to the delight and amusement of their parents.
“They just ask each other ‘what are you wearing to the tournament?’ They try to match up,” said Imogen’s mother Hilary.
“They just did it on their own. They've done red and black, blue and white. It is pretty cute.”
Imogen also wears a bow in her hair to match her outfit, while Ti wears a Ben Hogan style cap everywhere he goes, which according to their parents has made them recognisable among golfing circles.
Both parents said they were happy the pair had taken a liking to golf, and believed the confidence of both children had grown enormously since they started playing.
Hilary said both kids made friends of all ages through golf, and said she loved seeing them taking to fellow golfers.
