Dani Masters

The Tenerife Ladies Open marked the first stop in Europe for the Ladies European Tour in 2006 after two successful tournaments in South Africa and Australia.

The LET’s players were cutting quite a figure on the fairways at the five star Abama Golf Resort, with their model-like good looks, personalities and sporting ability.

Players’ such as Danielle Masters from England, Australian Anna Rawson, German Anja Monke, Scotland’s Lynn Kenny and Spaniard Marta Prieto were the epitome of golf fashion and glamour and were attracting much media attention.

On the Ladies European Tour, many players are fully aware of the importance of using their image to attract the interest of sponsors and professional women’s golf is following in the footsteps of tennis, where photogenic Russian star Anna Kournikova thrust the game into the spotlight.

The Kournikova effect, which revolutionised ladies tennis and put it up on the same level as men’s tennis, has set a successful model for golf to follow.

Marta Prieto

On the Ladies European Tour, many of the young players are using their looks to maximum effect, capitalising on their earning potential with endorsements from huge international corporations.

Among the players competing on the European golf circuit, the promising new rookies Danielle Masters and Anna Rawson will be watched closely as they battle it out in their first year on Tour. These players have the games to earn victories and to make their mark on the New Star Money List. Masters, being European born, could even make it into The 2007 European Solheim Cup Team if she can produce the results over the next two seasons.

Players such as Spaniard Marta Prieto, New Zealander Lynnette Brooky and French woman Gwladys Nocera have found a maturity in their games but at the same time are promoting their images to get the all-important attention of sponsors.

Beauty, talent and glamour combined make an extremely marketable product and many of the players’ representatives are increasingly recognising this, allowing the LET’s best players to take on a dual role as advertising model and powerful competitor.

Danielle Masters - England

Danielle Masters

Danielle Masters made a powerful entrance to the European circuit at the Ladies’ European Tour’s Qualifying School in November and it would not be surprising if she were to make a big impact in her rookie year. She is 23 and lives in Kent.

Q: Danielle, how have you found the start to life on Tour?

I was disappointed after the ANZ Ladies Masters in Australia because I had very high expectations, but I came back and worked harder, saw a few people and worked on a few things. It was so far away from home and I was travelling on my own so it was really, really lonely. I think it gave me an insight into how Tour life could be if you didn’t socialise. Although it’s always a different story if you play well.

Q: What are your main goals this year?

To make the cut in each event and to have my first win in my first year would be great.

Q: Who do you hang out with on Tour?

Well this week I’m sharing with Becky Brewerton, a Welsh player. We get on really well and so do our families, which is nice because we can just relax in the evenings. It’s like having a sister on Tour because we just rip it out of each other all the time.

What are your passions or hobbies outside golf?

Danielle Masters: I have a hamster called Molly. Me and my boyfriend take turns looking after her when I’m away. I’m also learning Spanish, which is good because it gives me another focus and its something to do in the evenings.

Q: Who are your sporting heroes?

Danielle Masters: The golfer Ai Miyazato because she’s so young and she gets so much media attention but yet she handles it all so well. She always takes the time to stop and say hello, she remembers everything you tell her and asks you about it later. She’s so nice and I hope all the cameras and everything don’t change her.

Q: Are you into all sports?

Danielle Masters: I like playing tennis, swimming, playing pool and I used to play football, hockey and go horse riding. I’m not a good watcher of sports; I’d rather do something rather than sit and watch it.

Gwladys Nocera - France

Gwladys Nocera

Gwladys Nocera is 30 and live in Biarritz, France. She is one of the Ladies European Tour’s most outstanding talents. Although she has not yet clinched a victory, she posted seven top ten finishes in 2005 and was a runner up three times. She also beat American Cristie Kerr 2&1 in her singles match at The Solheim Cup in Indiana.

Q: Gwladys, you came so close to your first win on Tour last season. Are you hoping to go one better this year?

You know, I’m going to do my best. My main goals are to play in the Evian Masters and the British Open; that is my favourite tournament. It gives me goose bumps when I get there.

Q: What have you been working on?

I did a lot of working out over the winter trying to get my body fit for the big tournaments. I worked with my coach Olivier Leglise on my swing, short game, putting.

Q: What do you do to relax?

I enjoy having dinners with my friends with a good bottle of red wine. I spend a lot of time I San Sebastian. They have good tapas and good shopping.

Q: What would you have been if you weren’t a golfer?

I would have been a tennis professional. That was my dream when I was a kid.

Q: What is your favourite course in the world?

Porthcawl is wonderful but Royal Birkdale has to be my favourite.

Q: What car do you drive?

An old car. I don’t really care about cars. I love rugby. My team is Biarritz and they were in the quarter final of the European Cup last week so I watched that.

Q: What is the main focus this year?

Of course I want to win a tournament but I think if you play well you will win a tournament. I think if you have the determination you will do it.

Lynnette Brooky - New Zealand

Lynnette Brooky

Lynnette Brooky from Wellington in New Zealand is a three time winner on the Ladies European Tour having won the 1998 Ladies Austrian Open, the 2002 and the 2003 French Opens.

Q: What is your main focus this year?

Just winning a tournament. Every tournament is going to be important. I’m going to be trying my best to get into the Evian Masters.

Q: What sort of ranking would you be happy with this season?

I’d definitely like to be in the top five. My aim is to be number one before I retire so I’ve just got to work harder and harder.

Q: How did you get into golf?

You had to because of my father. He played all the time and he made me feed balls for him when he was practicing. I think the most important thing I learned off dad was know what you’re doing and feel what you’re doing so that you can fix it. It’s all about trusting yourself and not looking up when you chip. Those are the things that I keep to.

Q: What advice would you give to an amateur?

To get out of bed in the morning thinking that if that’s what you want to do then you have to do it every day. If they take a day or two off that’s fine but they have to keep going out and practicing.

Q: So the message is to put in the hard work?

The most important thing with golf is you have to be patient and you have to have an attitude where you’re sort of standing higher than everyone else. It’s how you’re seen on a golf course and how you achieve your goals. A lot of people are great golfers but they have to have the right attitude.

Q: What is your earliest sporting memory?

When I was sitting with all my friends, all boys, at the side of the rugby field and the ball came over and I caught it and kicked it back. All the boys stopped and watched and the coach came over and said do you want a go. I was the first female to play in a boy’s rugby team at my school as full back. I was about 13 in about form two and my father didn’t like it because I was telling him that I was always in the rucks. He didn’t like the fact that there were 15 guys jumping on top of me. So I gave it up and joined the soccer team. He said he couldn’t win; he couldn’t get me playing golf. I only really started playing golf when I was in my early 20s.

Lynn Kenny - Scotland

Lynn Kenny

Lynn is 25 and from Stirling in Scotland. She is hoping to make a mark in this, her second season competing on the Ladies European Tour.

Q: Are there any venues you’re looking forward to visiting on Tour this year?

I’ve always enjoyed Chart Hills and Sweden was amazing with all the crowds and support for women’s golf. They are mad for it over there. It was fantastic.

Q: Do you enjoy playing with the other Scots on Tour?

There aren’t many Scots on Tour. There are a lot more up and coming amateurs. I don’t think I played with any Scots last year but I think that over the next few years you’ll have some excellent players like Carly Booth, Sally Watson, Heather McRae, there are loads who will be good Tour players.

Q: Who do you hang out with on Tour?

Becky Brewerton is my buddy and Dani Masters is out on Tour this year and we were very good friends as amateurs.

Q: Are you happy with the way you’re playing?

Well I made quite a few swing changes over the winter and it was quite hard work at the time but it all seems to be falling into place now.

Q: Who is your caddy?

Craig Lee, my boyfriend. He’s from the Golf Swing Centre in Stirling. That’s his new business. My mum will caddy for me again for the rest of the season after my sister gives birth in a few week’s time.

Anja Monke - Germany

Anja Monke

Anja Monke is a rising star on the LET. She is 28 and entering her third season on Tour.

Q: Anja, what have you been doing in the off-season?

I was in hospital for a week as I had to have my tonsils out and it took me six weeks to recover. Then I was practicing in Phoenix for three months. I have a coach who is based over there. We changed my swing a bit and I’m hoping it will help me to play more consistently this year.

Q: Which events are you looking forward to this year?

Well I’m looking forward to the BMW Ladies Italian Open because I love Rome. I would love to qualify for the British Open too. I’d also love to play in the Evian Masters. I played there last year and loved it.

Q: Why did you start to play golf?
I started to play tennis but I followed my parents when they played golf and one day I really enjoyed it so I continued to practice.

Q: What is your best practice advice?
Practice your short game. A lot of amateurs practice with the wedge but it is important to practice your putting and chipping.

Q: What is your favourite course?
Fontana, Austria. It is located outside Vienna and it is beautiful.

Q: What is your dream vacation?
The Maldives is my dream vacation but as long as the sky is blue, the sun is shining and there is a beach then I am happy. I do not want to take my golf clubs though!

Linda Wessberg - Sweden

Linda Wessberg

Linda Wessberg is 25 and lives in Gothenburg. She is entering her third season on Tour and her goal is to win her first professional tournament this year.

Q: Why did you start to play golf?
I was eight or nine years old and my parents brought me to the junior activities at my club. I often play with my family and I play matches against my uncle.

Q: How is your life outside the golf course?
I like all kinds of sport and I play a lot of football and ice hockey. I enjoy spending time with my friends and we go shopping a lot. On a perfect Saturday I am either at home with my boyfriend and a bag of chips or I am partying with my friends.

Q: Who are your sporting heroes?
I like Zlatan, the Swedish footballer who plays for Juventus because I like his attitude. The media don’t like him but he doesn’t care. Tiger of course is a hero. I mean I live his way of handling himself on and off the golf course. He is a sponsors’ dream.

Q: Who is your dream caddie?
Bono in U2


Marta Prieto - Spain

Marta Prieto

Marta was the best national player on the LET last year. Her brightly coloured knee length medical socks always cause a sensation in countries from Australia to Spain.

Who taught you to play golf?
It was a teacher at my club. I started playing the same year as my father, I was eight years old.

What sort of a player would you say you are?
I’m a mixture of Tiger and Seve Ballesteros.

Is fashion important to you?
Yes, I mean we all try to make the best of ourselves.

What is your best practice advice?
It is about quality and not quantity. Also focus when you are on the driving range.

What is your dream vacation?
A long, white beach in the Caribbean.

Who is your dream caddie?
Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Anna Rawson - Australia

Anna Rawson

Anna Rawson is a successful golfer and cover girl who earned her card to play on the LET at La Cala last year. She is in her rookie year on the Ladies European Tour.

Q: Who is your favourite player?

Annika Sorenstam is a model for any golfer because she has talent and is a hard worker. I also admire Michelle Wie because she has brought such a lot of attention to the sport.

Q: What are your goals for the year?

To be the rookie of the Year and to play in the British Open and the Evian Masters.

Q: How would you describe yourself as a person?

Q: I think I am very confident but sometimes a bit silly. My heart leads my head. But I am very competitive and I can also be great fun.

Q: Who do you admire?

My grandfather Ken Rawson was a model of success and I always respected him because he was always making an effort to be a great person.

Q: Why do you play golf?

Although golf is my job, I love it and I cannot think of anywhere else I would rather be for four hours than on a golf course. Golf courses are spectacular offices and I remind myself of that every day. Although golf is my job, it also defines me as a person and I love the classical aspect of the game. It is a game of style and a challenge. You can always improve but never achieve perfection.