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“I spend a lot of time on the snow and I enjoy it a lot but now I’m trying to play the best golf possible. I really enjoy skiing but now I have to play golf. They are two different things.”
Vittoria’s hard work may be starting to pay off as she just made her first cut of the season at the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open.
After each tournament, Vittoria discusses her performance with her skiing colleague Claudia Gambarino, who is also a ski instructor as well as a sports psychologist, in order to find ways to improve.
“I think playing as an amateur they gave us the best instruments to plan our physical and mental training,” explains Vittoria, who holds a degree in sport management from Terano University. “I learned and now I am doing that. I am enjoying it a lot and I hope to continue.”
Before finishing 10th at LET Q School in October, Vittoria had a successful amateur career and was the 2004 Italian stroke play champion as well as the 2005 Italian matchplay champion. Like many first year players, her aim for the season is to retain her tour card for 2009.
“I would like to have a good experience this year and I will try to keep my card for next year,” she says.
“The Tour is a bit different to how I expected. When you play in a tournament as an amateur you have a team with you so everything is organised and you just play. Here you have to organise yourself and you have to spend a lot of time on the internet finding flight tickets and accommodation. After that you have to play as well as possible. It’s a little bit different but I can do it! I am here to play well and I am trying my best to do that.”
Vittoria will play in as many events as she can throughout 2008, with the BMW Ladies Italian Open at Argentario Golf Resort and Spa in Tuscany her first opportunity to compete on home soil.
There are 24 first year tour players on the LET in 2008, all of whom are vying to be crowned the Ryder Cup Wales Rookie of the Year.
