Ella Scaysbrook has just kicked off a northern hemisphere schedule that reads like a bucket list, and if her opening round at the Ai Miyazato Suntory Ladies Open is any indication, she’s in the mood to make the most of every single minute of it.
The Golf NSW High Performance squad member is competing on the JLPGA Tour in Japan this week, having received an invite to take on one of the strongest domestic women’s tours in the world.
This morning she announced her arrival at Rokko Kokusai Golf Club in Hyogo with a one-under-par opening round, a more than handy debut on foreign soil for the 20-year-old Newcastle golfer who is playing in Japan for the very first time.
“I’m really excited to be here, it’s my first week in Japan ever,” Scaysbrook said.
“The course is really good. It’s pretty long and tight, and hilly, which I’ve heard Japan is.”
“This is the first week of a long stretch, so I’m just going to try and pace myself, but hopefully have a good week.”
From Hyogo, Scaysbrook heads to the United States where the schedule gets even bigger. First stop is the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, where she’ll spend the week alongside seven-time major champion Karrie Webb as part of the Golf Australia Karrie Webb Scholarship Series, a program with a track record of producing some of Australia’s finest.
“I’m definitely very grateful to have got the opportunity,” Scaysbrook said.
“I’ve never met Karrie in person. I’ve messaged her a couple of times, but she actually messaged me first, which was pretty cool.”
It’s a week she’s planning to squeeze every drop out of. She’ll get to play alongside Webb, ask questions of one of the greatest players the game has ever seen, and for the first time get up close with the Australian major champions she’s long looked up to, the likes of Golf NSW’s own Grace Kim, Hannah Green and Minjee Lee, who have all walked this same path before going on to claim major titles on the LPGA Tour.
“I’d just really love to go and spend a week with the Aussie girls that have kind of done the things I’m looking up to,” she said.
“I’ve never really met Hannah or Minjee personally, so I’ll be excited to meet all of those girls and spend some time with them, see how they prepare for that kind of event. I’m definitely going to ask Karrie a lot of questions. I think I get to play some golf with her too, which will be exciting.”
After that comes the North & South Amateur at the iconic Pinehurst Resort, the Women’s Western Amateur in Chicago, the Canadian Women’s Amateur, and then the US Women’s Amateur, the event where Scaysbrook announced herself to the world last year, gatecrashing the draw at Bandon Dunes and not stopping until the semi-finals.
“It’s probably one of the events I’m looking forward to the most,” she said.
“Last year’s result gave me a lot of confidence going into this year. I’m just hoping I can go a little bit better, and I know it could be my last time to play it, so I want to make it count.”
And it could well be her last, as Scaysbrook has LPGA Tour Q-School in her sights at the end of the year, and she’s not shying away from what that means.
“I’ve been thinking about going to LPGA Q-School since I was very young,” she said.
“I feel like now is the right time to make that next jump in my career.”
“I didn’t go to college or anything, so I feel like if I stay amateur for any more years I won’t get any better. Throwing myself in the deep end, I feel like it’s just the right thing to do. And even if I don’t get through, at least I’ll have that experience and can give it a go again.”
After going toe-to-toe with the best amateurs in the world last year and holding her own, Scaysbrook heads into this stretch knowing exactly where her game stacks up.
“Knowing that I could go that far and beat all those girls that are well known in the States, it’s made me come into events knowing that I am as good as the other girls,” she said.
“I obviously know it could be a bit tough, but I feel like I’m up to that challenge. I know that I can compete on that tour (LPGA), in my mind, anyway.”
With three rounds still to play in Hyogo, Scaysbrook will be looking to build on her solid start and carry the momentum into what promises to be a defining few months in her young career.
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