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| Kylie celebrating her maiden win three weeks ago in Holland |
Scotland’s Kylie Walker believes she is in good shape to carry her winning form from Holland to Slovakia as she prepares for the Allianz Ladies Slovak Open presented by RESPECT at Gray Bear Golf Club in Tále on 19-22 July.
The 27-year-old Glaswegian earned her maiden win at the Deloitte Ladies Open last month and celebrated in style with a party on an Amsterdam canal boat.
It is now back to business for Walker as she heads to Slovakia, the first in a stretch of six LET events in five countries around Europe.
On her hopes for the event, she said: “I just want to keep my game moving forward and be in contention more often. I enter every tournament trying to win.
“I’m really looking forward to going back to Slovakia, the tournament has improved every year and the course is a good test. It’s a fun course to play. There’s a few holes that are tricky but with a good game plan, a good score is out there. The 18th is my favourite hole at Gray Bear, it’s a reachable par 5 with water down the left. If you hit a good drive, it should be roughly a rescue to the green.”
With her win in Holland, Walker qualified for two Majors: the Evian Championship and Ricoh Women’s British Open, which will give her the opportunity to boost her position even further in the Rolex World Rankings following a massive jump of 180 spots to World No 188 following her victory. She is now ranked as the 182nd player in the world.
Walker added: “I’m just really excited and happy to be playing in two majors this season. The British open will be brilliant at Royal Birkdale and I’ve never been to Evian so that will be a fun new experience.”
The fifth edition of the Allianz Ladies Slovak Open gets under way from Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd June at Gray Bear Golf Club in Talé near Brezno. A field of 126 players from at least 33 countries will compete for a purse of €275,000 and there will be a cut to the leading 60 players and those tied after two rounds.
In addition to Kylie Walker, leading players in the field include the recent Turkish Airlines Ladies Open champion Valentine Derrey, Solheim Cup winner Charley Hull, Sophie Gustafson, Trish Johnson, Melissa Reid and Whitney Hillier, who finished third in the tournament last year. Veronika Falathova and local amateur Lea Klimentova are the two competitors from Slovakia. Czech star Klára Spilkova has also played in this event and is a popular regional player with high expectations. She tied for sixth at the recent Turkish Airlines Ladies Open where she contended for her first win.
Former winners of the Allianz Ladies Slovak Open are Gwladys Nocera (2013), Line Vedel (2012), Caroline Hedwall (2011) and Maria Hernandez (2010). Nocera will not defend her title as she has qualified to play in the US Women’s Open taking place the same week in North Carolina as one of the top five players from the 2013 Ladies European Tour.
Further information: http://www.slovakgolfopen.sk/
