Cara Gainer is in a different place this season having come close to winning on the Ladies European Tour (LET) in 2023.
The Englishwoman, who turned professional in 2020, had her best season so far with five top-10 finishes including losing in the playoff at the Amundi German Masters.
Gainer ended the year 16th in the Order of Merit and that was despite a wrist injury in the latter part of the season.
With the start of the 2024 LET season this week in Kenya, the 28-year-old believes she is in a different headspace than before.
“I have had quite a few close calls last year in particular,” she said. “I feel like it’s quite close and as soon as I can hopefully get over the line with a win, it’s going to be a waterfall moment and we will see what happens from there.
“I think patience and believing that you can do it are important. It’s only really last year that I got to that point where I felt like I was here and was one of the best players to be here and knew that I could compete. I have a different mentality now and hopefully it’s only a matter of time. I work hard and hopefully; these things pay off.
“Golf is a lot about confidence and you’re not going to have you’re A-Game every time you go out there, so it’s about how can you string together a decent score when things aren’t quite going for you. Particularly in a four-round tournament like this week, you might not have your best play for four rounds but it’s about making that score and what you can do.
“I was really happy with last year, not quite the last few events I wanted, I had a bit of a wrist injury when I was going really well so that was a bit of a dampener on the year, but I’m starting fresh now. The wrist is all good and I’m ready to get going.”
It’s an afternoon tee time for the 28-year-old who will begin her first round at 12.54 pm (local time) alongside South Africa’s Cara Gorlei and Spain’s Ana Peláez Trivino.
And the Englishwoman knows there is a tough test ahead at this week’s Magical Kenya Ladies Open but has done well here previously.
In the 2023 edition, Gainer started her year finishing in a share of ninth place which gave her some momentum.
She explained: “This is my third year that I’ve come to Kenya and it’s a bit of different place. The conditions are always quite challenging with the heat and the course is a bit different. It’s quite quirky, it’s pretty tight, quite firm and the wind gets up, it’s really going to be a lot about short game and making those putts and trying to keep it in play. It’s a tough golf course and I think anything under-par each round is good going.
“The greens are certainly softer, but it looks like it’s going to be windier than in previous years. I came in a bit late so played 18 holes on Tuesday and the Pro-Am today. It’s playing similar but it’s definitely tough. It’s not a go out and get all those birdies, par is a good score.”
The first round begins at 7.45 am (local time) on Thursday February 8 with the final tee time being at 1.38 pm (local time).
Follow all the action @LETgolf on Instagram and X and Ladies European Tour on Facebook and YouTube – #RaiseOurGame #MLKO2024
