Nikki Garrett

How much have you enjoyed your first year on Tour?

I’ve definitely enjoyed it. It’s been a lot different to amateur golf. You’ve got to be more organised. But it’s been a great year golf wise and on and off the course. It’s been a nice year all round. Everyone I’ve met had been really nice. I had heard before I came here that it was the friendly tour and I can definitely agree with that now.

What were the highlights looking back?

The highlight was probably the Wales Open. That was a really great year for me. Playing in the last group on the last day was a goal you always set yourself for and to play well on that last day and not drop out of contention was a really big bonus too. It was funny because I wasn’t nervous all day and I thought I would have been really nervous so it was a big goal to achieve and then I followed it up with another third the next week s that was really good too.

What are your main goals now?

Next year I would love to win a tournament being so close this year it would be nice to get one. To get more top tens too. I’ve had a few top tens but then there were a lot of 30s as well so I want to bring the 30s down to 20s. I want to get more consistent and another goal is to putt better.

I like sitting in the lounge! When I’m home longer I don’t mind playing a bit of squash. I like trying to do a bit of boxing with a friend of mine who teaches it. I haven’t been able to do it for at least six months so I’m going to try and get back into that over the summer. I get so bored with going to the gym I hate it!

What attracts you to boxing?

Its always something different and I’ve got my friend there telling me that I’m a whinger so I think you get to mix things up and have fun while you’re doing it.

It’s always a chore to do weights. It’s a bit of fun to get some cardio in there as well. You do a bit of skipping and things like that so I really enjoy it.

Nikki Garrett – Top rookie on the LET

You’re not into surfing?

I don’t really like the beach much. I was learning to surf when I was younger and I fell off and moved vertebrae in my back so I haven’t really been back on a surf board since then and I think that put me off the beach a little bit. I’m more of a swimming pool person because you don’t get the sand everywhere and if you want you just get out. I like looking at the beach and I like occasional walks along the beach. My boyfriend and I used to do a lot of stair running and we’d do that at the beach. It was nice because you’d go through so much pain going up the stairs on the way back down you could look at the beach. It was more calming and relaxing. I’ve got really sensitive eyes too so the salt water stings the, I’m a big wuss!

How important is the rookie of the year to you?

I get this question a lot and I think I disappoint people with my answer but it doesn’t mean a lot to me. I didn’t come out here to win the rookie of the year. I came out her to test my game against golf courses and whatever happens, happens. You can’t control what the other girls do. It would be a great honour to win it and have my name next to Annika and Laura Davies but it’s just an added bonus for me. I would be happy if I came last but I’ve proved to myself that I can play well out here. It’s an added bonus. It capped off a great year I suppose.

Tell me how you started playing golf.

My mum plays golf and my mum’s brother, my uncle and my grandparents. It was in the family. I used to be the annoying little one that used to follow my mum up to the golf club and hit a few shots here and there and annoy her and her playing partners. It liked it but it was always a challenge. I played other sports as well but golf was more individual and it was all about you I suppose. If you had a bad score it was not because you’re team mates let you down it was because you didn’t play well. So that’s how I started. I grew up friends with Jan Stephenson so I knew she was a good golfer and did a lot for golf. Having her around… actually my first set of golf clubs were hand me downs from Jan so she was my favourite golfer because she was my friend. I was always interested to see how she would go. She wasn’t my hero but I liked looking up to her.

Who do you like watching?

I like watching Camillo Vilegas. He’s got the flair and he’s got the style. He brings some excitement into the game. He’s not afraid to lie on the greens to line up the putts and I think he’s really fun to watch. It’s good to see someone that’s young and fresh to pop up out of nowhere and achieve great things.

Being an Australian are you into cricket?

I don’t follow it much but I like one dayers because I get bored with test matches. We used to play back yard cricket like every Australian family. We watched the 20/20 and that was fun to watch because they just bashed it and they went for everything. I love watching the big hits.

Whose game would you like the most?

Well Annika’s the number one player so you have to say Annika. Annika’s game and then Lorena’s putter because she sinks so many putts does Lorena! When she’s playing well all you see on the telly is her sinking 25 foot putts. I would love to hit it as consistently straight as Annika does. I was next to her on the range this morning and mine were ten feet left and right and she was like, “pin, pin, pin!” It would be great to hit it straight like that and putt like Lorena.

What is your ambition short term?

For the short term I would love to win next year and I’d also love to win in Australia in my home country in front of the home crowds. That would be unreal.

Tell me about your life when you were growing up…

I’m from Shelly Beach so its right in the middle of Sydney and Newcastle so it’s on the beach and now it’s like a retirement village. Everyone goes there to retire so its quiet and I had a really nice childhood with a lot of golf and a lot of surfing and body boarding. All my family was there and my grandparents and cousins. I can’t think of anywhere else in the world I would have preferred to grow up. We are so lucky over there and we’re so far from anyone else. You can’t ask for a better summer than in Australia.

Does your boyfriend surf?

No he plays football, rugby league. He got a surf board last year but he always falls off. He’s not very good. I think he’s too big to surf. He’s a football player and always has been. When he was 18 he got contracted to South Sydney Ravidos, a Sydney club. He didn’t make the national NRL; he just plays club football now. He has an eight year old son and he’s a school teacher so they are the main focuses. Football’s just for the weekend. He’s a primary school teacher. I don’t know how he does it.

Have you sought out any player and taken any advice from them this year?

No. I played in a couple of pro tournaments as an amateur so I kind of knew what was going on. The only bit of advice was when someone told me I had to register at the first tournament and how to di it. That was the only bit I didn’t know. Some will tell you the name of the staff so once you find all the people you need to know… that’s where some of the other players are good to you.