Karrie Webb is excited to be back in her home country this week at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open where she will be going for an unprecedented sixth win at the event.
“Well I think you know it’s our Open, it’s our Australian Open and I think that carries a lot more prestige for Australians than it does for anybody else,” Webb said. “I think everyone wants to play well, every Australian wants to play well in the Australian Open and sometimes the added pressure, the added focus that they might not get when they’re anything else in the world. Sometimes it’s hard to get used to and to deal with.”
The Open this week will be the first of several opportunities for Webb to represent Australia in 2016 as she is on pace to represent her home country at both the Olympics and UL International Crown.
“I just checked the points the other day and we’re eighth, so we’ve all got to help our rankings a little bit to make sure that we qualify,” Webb said of the UL International Crown. “So first I think it’s important that we make it and then you know it’s important that we come together as a team. I think Aussies over in the States or even Europe you see it as well, we all sort of stick together so it’s fun you know when we played it two years ago it was fun to hang out just as a team and we don’t get to do that very often in golf so you know for me I’d like to, like for us to qualify and you know once we qualify have fun and hopefully we’ll have a chance to win.”
While those events are important to Webb they are down the line as she looks to add a 42nd title to her impressive LPGA Tour resume in front of a raucous home crowd.
“You know if I play in Australia once or twice a year it’s the only time that you know the majority of the crowed are for me,” Webb explained. “You know whenever we’re anywhere else in the world, you know if we’re in the States the crowd has their favorites but if you’re playing against an American you know they’re cheering for the American which rightly so they should be but so it’s a nice change to have that when I come home.”
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