Anna Foster aiming high as she finds her feet on tour
Pinergy Brand Ambassador and LET golfer Anna Foster ahead of this week’s KPMG Women’s Irish Open Credit ©INPHO/Ben Brady
Elm Park rookie Anna Foster is determined to write her own story on tour and believes she has the game and the form to challenge for a history-making win in this week’s KPMG Women’s Irish Open at Carton House.
The former Auburn University star (23) finished a career-best tied fourth in the German Masters on Sunday to jump to 31st in the Order of Merit on the Ladies European Tour.
She knows it will require some exceptional golf to top a 16-strong Irish challenge in Co Kildare this week and outshine a host of stars from Leona Maguire and Solheim Cup skipper Anna Nordqvist to LPGA stalwarts such as Charley Hull, Madelene Sagstrom or Georgia Hall.
But she also knows that her Order of Merit position has taken the pressure off in her battle to keep her card and if her ball striking is up to scratch and she doesn’t get ahead of herself, she can contend to become the first home winner of the title this week or go on to join Maguire as an LET winner at some stage this season.
“After this past week, it gives me the freedom and a bit of confidence to go out and allow myself to think that I can win,” said Foster, who is an ambassador for the energy transition company, Pinergy.
“It wouldn’t be at the front of my mind, I’m trying to take every shot as it comes, but I have more freedom finishing fourth last week.
“Order of Merit-wise, I am comfortable for the next while, so I can go out and try to do my best for the next few weeks.
“It’s exciting, it's a good place to be in. If someone had told me at the start of the year that I’d be in this position now, I would have taken it.”
One top-10 and three top-20 finishes from ten starts prove she has the ability to compete on tour.
But rather than comparing herself to other Irish players, she’s just trying to be herself and see what she can achieve.
“I’d say my favourite Irish golfer growing up would have been Shane,” added Foster, who plans to try and qualify for the AIG Women’s Open later this month.
“I was in Portrush when he won the Open. I am trying to write my own story and not try to compare myself to others as well.”
As for her game, she was pleased to see it hold up in Hamburg last week on the back of two missed cuts, as she has always believed she was good enough to compete on tour.
“It was nice to put a good tournament together. I felt my game was trending in the right direction over the past few weeks, so to finally see it paying off was really good,” she said.
“The golf course was quite tough, I allowed myself to make mistakes and move on straight away, stayed really patient throughout the week.
“My main goal was to hang around, be there or thereabouts. Sunday was tough, but I'm really happy with how I managed to stick in and climb up the leaderboard. Everything was pretty solid.”
Having played top-class collegiate golf, she felt ready to turn her hobby into a profession and has worked hard to improve her short game and mental approach.
“The game feels very similar to me,” she explained. “I feel like the main things that change are off the golf course with your team, and this is now my business and career, compared to it being, I guess, a hobby, even though amateur golf is basically semi-professional at this point.
“Golf-wise, there wasn’t a huge step up or transition; it was a very similar level. Just managing all the things off the golf course has been the biggest adjustment.
“I always knew I could play at this level. You play amateur and college golf, you might not think they are that impressive, and they go and play on LPGA or LET.”
Dealing with the ups and downs of travel and results is a challenge, but she’s happy to be on home turf this week alongside clubmate Emma Fleming, one of nine Irish amateurs in the field at Carton House.
“It’s in great condition,” she said of the O’Meara Course. “I’ll do my prep and treat it like any other tournament and try not to make it any different, just get the bonus of home support.”
