Following a prolific amateur career, Emma Spitz turned professional in August 2022 and knocked up four top-10 finishes on the Ladies European Tour (LET) as an invitee, including a fourth place finish at the Aland 100 Ladies Open.
The Austrian later secured her LET card for the 2023 season after placing T6 at Q-School, and has since enjoyed a solid start to the season – one which includes winning the U.S. Women’s Open European Qualifier in Belgium.
As she prepared to take on Pebble Beach in the third Major championship of the season, we caught up with Emma to hear about her golfing journey, her PING Junior Solheim Cup memories, and her goals for 2023…
Hometown: Vienna, Austria
Home Course: GC Schloss Schonborn
Age: 23
Started golf at: 7
Turned pro: 2022
I started playing golf when I was seven. We live on a course but not because of golf, because my parents wanted to live outside of the city. It just so happened to be on a golf course! Some friends from my school played golf at the club, so they were like ‘you should come and play with us’. One of the dad’s friends then started a training camp for all the kids from the school, so that’s how I started!
I scored 56 points in my first competition! The next summer they started a kids series in Austria when they had different stages and then a final to qualify for the US Kids World Championship. I played my first event with my brother – who had played for a little longer than me – and after the round he asked how it was, and I said, ‘I don’t know, it was fine,’ but I’d ended up getting 56 points!
Growing up in Austria, skiing is huge. Golf is not as big, so I was a big fan of skiing and Lindsey Vonn and Marcel Hirscher. Outside of golf, they were my big heroes. Then within golf, Rory McIlroy was the first player I really followed when I started watching golf.
In the beginning I didn’t enjoy golf at all! I thought it was boring. But then with this tournament series I found it a lot of fun and really enjoyed the competition. When I was 10 I had three events in one week, but my parents had booked a holiday that week, so I was like, ‘no, I can’t go, I need to play!’ So my grandparents had to drive me to all the tournaments. I enjoyed it and played really well. After that I knew I wanted to be a golfer.
Winning the Girls Amateur Championship is the biggest win I’ve had. I didn’t expect it at all. I’ve always enjoyed playing in the wind and that week it was super windy,…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Ladies European Tour…