Many players on the Ladies European Tour have a companion on their bag… and we don’t mean their caddie! We hear the stories behind their fun, colourful and often hairy mascots.
Whitney Hillier
I moved up to St Andrews for the summer into a ‘wee cottage’ in the country. There are lots of farm animals around and we saw a farm with highland cows and really liked them, so bought this head cover from Scotscraig Golf Club and called it “coo,” (like the local pronunciation!)
Kylie Walker
My head cover is called Ernie because he’s from The Els Club in Stellenbosch, South Africa. I’ve never been to Stellenbosch but it was a gift. He’s been with me for a few months but he’s a bit annoying because all his ginger hair comes off and ends up everywhere, so I’ve been hair spraying him to keep him under control.
Paula Hurtado
I found it funny to have a little boxing glove head cover, embossed with the signature of Pat Perez, who used to be a boxer and now plays on the PGA Tour. A friend of ours who caddies on the Symetra Tour, Jeff DeCoen, he takes a lot of head covers to tournaments and players take the ones they like the most.
Marianne Skarpnord
The monkey is from Dubai. I think it was last year when my sister and niece were there. I had a rough day and my niece wanted me to be happy again so my sister went into the golf shop and said you can buy anything you want and give it to her and she picked out the beautiful monkey. She is three now so was probably two-and-a-half then. It makes me happy so that’s why it has to come every week even if my caddie hates it because it falls off.
Marta Sanz
I have an Auburn Tiger on my bag which is from my college, Auburn University. His name is Aubie, the mascot. I also have a monkey from the World Amateur Team Championship in Turkey. It’s a gift and I really like monkeys.
Camilla Lennarth
My costumed elephant head cover is called Big Al and he’s the mascot of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. I think everyone who went to college in the United States loves their mascot.
Connie Chen
My dad bought me this Labrador. I think it’s an Arnold Palmer one, because it’s got this crown and I got it in Dubai Mall. I had a Weimaraner when I was in SA but when we moved to China we put him up for adoption. I miss him. This I got in China. It’s kind of a giraffe/fantasy creature, so you can call it a Pokemon. I was into Pokemon when I was a kid and I tried Pokemon Go. It’s not as good as the original Pokemon so I got into it for a week and then I got over it.
Aditi Ashok
I used to watch a lot of cartoons growing up and when I saw these (octopus and sheep key rings), they reminded me of my child hood. I thought I’d put them on as they put a smile on my face. I use them to get the zips open. The Tiger is because when I was young I was a huge Tiger fan. I wanted to play and win every tournament and he was winning everything. Ever since, it’s been sort of lucky, so I’ve always had one since my childhood and the shark is just there. I don’t know why. The Annika one is there because I looked up to Annika a lot. I got this one at her Invitational tournament in Florida.
Rosie Davies
(Mr Gunnersaurus) I’m a huge Arsenal fan and I think I was four when my dad took me to my first Arsenal match. Since then I’ve been a die-hard fan and a season ticket holder since I was four. I used to play for Arsenal, so pretty much everything Arsenal I like. I started playing for them when I was nine until I was 15.
Linda Wessberg
I’ve had a sheep head cover called Mats for around 15 years. The first one was given to me by my friend, former LET player Nina Reis. When it became very old I swapped it for a newer model with someone in Australia, around 10 years ago! The original Mats is a friend of ours at home, who is really sweet. In Sweden we have a saying, “as sweet as a lamb.”
