Kayla Mortellaro's first international adventure is going to
be one to remember. She's playing in the 2013 ISPS Handa Women's Australian
Open – the first stop on this year's LPGA Tour.
“I'm going to just try to keep playing golf the way I always
play golf – one shot at a time,” said Mortellaro, the most successful golfer in
University of Idaho history and the first Vandal to earn a playing card on the
LPGA Tour. “It's a golf tournament; just golf. I can't make it any more than
that.”
But … “It's pretty exciting to be starting in Australia.”
Mortellaro left last Saturday for the Land Down Under with a
practice round scheduled for Tuesday and the tournament beginning Thursday –
for Mortellaro. If you're going to be following the Australian Open online,
Mortellaro's tee time is 6:20 p.m. Wednesday in the Pacific Time Zone and 1:20
p.m. Thursday at the Royal Canberra Golf Club.
“There's not a whole lot of time for adjustment to the time
difference,” Mortellaro noted but she's in the same situation as dozens of
other golfers from around the world who will be teeing off in the 157-player
event worth $1.2 million.
“This is a completely new experience,” she said. “In an LPGA
Tour event, there are going to be some nerves and some unexpected things that
happen. I just have to eliminate the distractions and focus on golf.”
That is exactly what Mortellaro needed to do to qualify for
the LPGA last fall. After a grueling march to the Tour's final qualifying tournament,
Mortellaro soared to a 79 in her first round of the five-day qualifier before
battling back with a 67, two 69s and a 72 to earn her card.
“I tried to make it like it was just golf,” she said. “You
couldn't make it bigger than it was or you wouldn't be successful.”
She took that mindset and a dogged determination with her to
Australia.
“Overall, my game needs to be better,” she said. “It needs
to be consistent. That's the one key to being successful – the consistency
within the round, within all four days of the golf tournament, throughout the
year as well.”
Mortellaro, whose equipment is sponsored by Ping with her
balls and gloves provided by Titleist, knows four rounds aren't guaranteed.
After the first 36 holes, the field is trimmed to the low 70 and ties.
“I'll either be playing Saturday or Sunday or seeing something
of Australia,” she said. “I'd much rather be playing golf.”
