Morocco, 17th March 2010 — Several players start their professional careers on the Ladies European Tour this week when they compete in the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco.
At just 17 years of age, Scotland’s Carly Booth is the youngest kid on the block and a hugely exciting prospect for women’s golf.
Booth first came to prominence at the age of 11 when she became Britain’s youngest club champion at Dunblane New.
She’s completed her apprenticeship on the amateur scene, playing in some far flung destinations, such as Abu Dhabi, where she won the Daily Telegraph Finals in 2007 and 2008.
At 14 she appeared in her first professional event, the 2007 Scottish Open, where she finished as the leading amateur in a tie for 13th place.
Preparations for her professional debut were not entirely according to plan when her golf clubs failed to arrive in Morocco on Monday evening, resulting in her missing out on a practise round at Royal Golf Anfa Mohammédia on Tuesday.
However, Booth is still hugely excited about making her debut. “I’m just excited and I want to go out there and try to play my best. I don’t want to put any extra pressure on myself: just try and enjoy it,” she said.
“I’ve been playing competitive golf since I was about eight years old. I’ll probably feel nervous but I’ve already played two pro events in the past so I’ve had some pro experience and I’m sure I’ll be fine,” she added.
Booth’s boyfriend Evan Brown, who is a qualified PGA Pro attached to Carnoustie, has come out to caddie after their successful team work at LET Qualifying School at La Manga Club in Spain in December, when Booth finished in 14th place.
“Due to him playing a lot this year as well I doubt he’ll be at every event but I’m sure he’ll be at as many as he can be,” she said.
“I know quite a lot of players from amateur golf and I was in Team Faldo with Kiran Matharu, Melissa Reid and Henrietta Brockway, so I know them from amateur golf. I played the Curtis Cup with Florentyna Parker, Krystle Caithness and some of the Scottish girls,” she added.
In fact, she’s so well prepared she’s even taken tips from the 2009 Ricoh Women’s British Open champion, Catriona Matthew.
“I went to see Catriona Matthew a wee while back in January and spoke to her. I played with her at my first pro event so I kind of knew her and she gave me her email and said if I needed any advice just to give her a buzz. I asked her about tour life and what to expect. A lot of it I already knew but some of it helped and will be very useful.”
Still at Glenalmond School, studying for A-levels in Art, English and Physical Education, Booth will not be able to compete in as many tournaments as she would like until after her exams in June, but until that time she hopes to play at least in Switzerland and Portugal.
