The rivalry between great Aussie mates in women’s golf
Steph Kyriacou is great mates with her fellow Australians in women’s golf, but says they’re also fierce rivals on the course.
Steph Kyriacou wants to catch up her with great Australian mates in women’s golf in more ways than one.
The 25-year-old shares a close bond with esteemed compatriots Minjee Lee, Hannah Green and Grace Kim.
That trio are all global major winners – and Kyriacou wants to join them.
“Obviously we’re friends first,” Kyriacou said on Tuesday.
“But we are competitors and we want to beat each other as much as we want each other to win.
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“We all have the same mindset: if we’re not going to win, we want our friends to win.”
Kyriacou said she would revel in the friendly competition with her mates during the Australian summer, starting with the Women’s Australian Open at Adelaide’s Kooyonga course from March 12-15.
The Sydney-born golfer enters the fresh season ranked No.45 in the world after her best year on the LPGA Tour included five top-10 finishes.
Last year also featured the highlight of teaming with Green, Lee and Kim to win Australia’s first International Crown in South Korea in October.
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“Last year for me was probably my best year so far on the tour,” Kyriacou said.
“It was the most consistent.
“The first couple of years I struggled a bit and it was very hard to make changes while playing.
“I’m starting to see more results from all the work – it has taken a few years.
“So I feel good about this year. Obviously see what happens, but I am feeling confident and I think things are starting to come together and I am starting to see more results.”
Kyriacou said she was now applying lessons learnt on the elite tour.
“In the (United) States, you just learn a lot the first couple of years,” she said.
“Personally, I went on to the LPGA thinking I could win on my first year – I still haven’t won on the LPGA.
“But it taught me a lot, that everyone has got their own pathways.
“And then I started comparing myself to myself. If I can get better in that way, that is the one thing that really helped me settle down in America – everyone has got their own journey.”
-with AAP
