ALTHOUGH she may not be able to match the power golf of most of the men who tee up on the PGA Centenary at Gleneagles today, Heather MacRae is hoping if she finds enough fairways and greens on a course flanked by dense rough then she should still give a fair account of herself at the Scottish Professional Championship.
Initially taken aback by the scale of interest when she became the first woman in 76 years to qualify for the Tartan Tour's £55,000 flagship event, the assistant professional at Gullane in East Lothian – she was working in the club shop yesterday af
ternoon – is eager to make a mark.
"I'm really excited about playing now," she said. "When I first qualified, it was all a bit overwhelming and not what I'd expected at all. Even last week I was pressing the panic button. But I've been out playing and practising the past few evenings and I'm hitting the ball pretty good.
"The PGA Centenary is a long course and while they've brought in the ten per cent rule (the PGA can put her off tees which make each hole up to ten per cent less yardage], I'll still be using more club for the second shot than most of the men. I won't be on an even level, if you like.
"But I'm hitting it pretty good and the ball is going straight, which is just as important at Gleneagles as how far you hit it. I've played the course a couple of times recently and the rough is pretty bad. I think I've only missed three fairways, so if I can keep that going then I'll be fine."
Given the amount of publicity which has surrounded the 25-year-old from Dunblane since she signed for 75 at Downfield last month and became the first woman since Meg Farquhar in 1933 to take part in the Scottish PGA, MacRae is uncertain about what to expect in Perthshire.
"It's difficult to say how well you'd like to do in relation to everyone else because you've no idea how they are going to perform," she added. "I was hitting the ball really well last night, but my opponent made eight birdies in the first 11 holes. All I want to do is come off the course feeling I've played as well as I can. That's all I can ask for."
MacRae's decision to enter the Scottish PGA wasn't motivated by any desire to pursue the same path as Michelle Wie, who accepted various invitations to play on the US PGA Tour and, in the process, undermined her own career. The reason she's teeing up with the men on the Tartan Tour is simply because opportunities to compete as a female professional in Scotland are limited.
With her brother, Andrew, also in the field at Gleneagles, Heather hails from a golfing family. As a junior at Callander, she was the only girl member and is no stranger to playing against men. "But it's not about that," she said. "It's really a case of entering whatever I can."
The full article contains 525 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
