GETTING TO KNOW… KIRSTEN RUDGELEY

Following an outstanding amateur career, Kirsten Rudgeley secured status on the Ladies European Tour for 2023 after finishing T9 at the Final Qualifier of LET Q-School.

The Aussie has represented her country at both junior and senior levels, with her first notable win coming at the Australian National school sports championship at the age of 15.

Climbing the ranks to become Australia’s number one ranked amateur in 2021, Rudgeley went on to secure victories at the Scottish Woman’s Open Championship, English Amateur Championship and the New Zealand North Shore Classic.

Now chasing success in her rookie season on the LET, we caught up with Kirsten to reflect on her golfing journey, her amateur highlights, and her goals for 2023.

Hometown: Carramar, Western Australia

Home Course: Mount Lawley Golf Club

Age: 22

Started golf at: 7

Turned pro: 2022

Handicap: +6

I got into golf when I was seven. My dad took me to the driving range and just like any other kid I pretty much enjoyed it straightaway. I then started playing properly when I was about 11, and ended up having to choose between that and football, because I used to play a lot of football as well. But I went with golf… and here I am now! After that I managed to into my state team, then the Australian national team, so as a progressive, my golf just got better and better. 

I literally only decided to turn professional just before LET Q-School! I just went over there and thought that I’ll give it a go… and then I got my card. It’s all been pretty relaxed so far really. Whatever happened, happened for me. There was no real pressure which definitely helped.

Q-School was a good experience. My uncle lives about hour and a half away from La Manga, so I was able to stay with him for a couple days before getting to the hotel on the course. So because of him I’d played in Spain a couple of times before. Q-School is a long two weeks, as it would be at any Q-School. It’s the hardest amount of golf you’ll ever play, but I played really well and was very happy to walk away with a card.

Playing for Australia has been awesome. The federation has been great to me the whole way through my amateur career. And even now, they’re still awesome and really supportive. So my amateur days were pretty cool, especially playing in the world team events and being able to travel the world with my teammates, it was great fun.

I played Augusta last year in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. It was an awesome…