Florentyna Parker experienced a different role on the golf course a few weeks ago as she made her debut as a referee.
The Solheim Cup player, who is still competing on the Ladies European Tour, got the opportunity to referee at the LIV Golf Andalucía.
Having earned her refereeing qualifications late last year, Parker applied to be a referee at the event which was held at Real Club Valderrama from July 12-14.
“I started a few years ago and I did my final exam which was the Level 3 with the R&A in November last year,” she said.
“Unfortunately, I had to miss the Magical Kenya Ladies Open because I attended TARS at St Andrews. Then I was fully qualified, and I just wanted to get that under my belt.
“I have been thinking about what to do after my career because I have been here 16 years on the LET. Whether I use it or not, I was thinking as a player it’s great knowing the rules.
“I didn’t want to referee the women’s game because I’m still playing on Tour and still part of women’s golf, so I thought where else can I go? I sent my CV and applied, and they got back in touch and Valderrama was my first week.
“At first, I thought I was only shadowing but I got thrown in the deep end and had to do some rulings. It was fantastic and they were all so nice and the players as well, I absolutely loved it.”
Parker, who turned professional in 2009, has won three times on the LET with victories at the 2010 ABN AMRO Ladies Open, the 2014 Ladies Italian Open and 2017 Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open.
The Englishwoman was also a part of Team Europe at the 2017 Solheim Cup was held at Des Moines Golf and Country Club in the United States.
After starting her 2024 LET season in the South African swing, Parker has had some steady results with a T17 at the Dormy Open Helsingborg, T12 at the Ladies Italian Open and T21 at the Dutch Ladies Open.
The three-time LET winner was playing in the Dutch Ladies Open after refereeing the 12th hole at Valderrama and she was able to take on board things she had learned from watching the men play.
Parker continued: “I was in charge of hole 12 which was statistically the hardest hole on two of the three days. It was a par-3, it was the perfect starting hole for me, and they’d thought of that very well beforehand. It couldn’t have been any better.
“It’s so interesting because sometimes we get blindsided by ourselves and we are quite hard on ourselves on the golf course. It was fantastic seeing the best players in the world competing and being up close and seeing everything.
“I was on a par-3 which was very difficult and I did see a lot of bunker shots and today I was two for two from bunker up-an-downs. I did learn a lot there.
“I saw some amazing bunker shots and chip shots, I do know what I need to work on for my game in the next few weeks off and I hope to have another refereeing opportunity soon.”
Follow all the Tour on our socials – @LETgolf on Instagram, TikTok and X, and Ladies European Tour on YouTube and Facebook – #RaiseOurGame
