Sydney amateur June Song is excited to return to competitive golf when she defends her Bowra and O’Dea Women’s Classic title at Royal Fremantle on Monday.
The 20-year-old hasn’t played a tournament since walking away from her US college golf scholarship in February and admits she’ll have a completely different goal compared to last year.
“I don’t really have much expectation for myself, but I really want to enjoy it and enjoy being back playing competitive golf,” Song said.
“The past six months have been a bit of a grind to get back to where I need to be.
“But I feel like I’m in such a better mindset and space right now and I’ll see how I go.
“It’s such a great event, somehow I was able to pull it off last year.”
After winning the Bowra and O’Dea at Lake Karrinyup last year, Song left Australian shores to take up a golf scholarship at Iowa State University.
However, she battled homesickness and struggled to get comfortable within the US college golf environment before deciding to return home to Sydney in March.
Song, a member at Avondale Golf Club, has spent the past six months reflecting on her priorities and working to rebuild her game.
“I took a lot of positives out of it (college golf) and had a great time, but I just didn’t feel like it was for me,” Song said.
“For me to be able to feel truly comfortable and have all the support I need, I felt I needed to be home.
“The past six months have really been a big self-discovery journey for me, deciding what I want to do and how I go about it.
“Just a lot of lessons with my coach and discussing things with him back and forth.”
The Bowra and O’Dea field includes some of Australia’s top female amateurs, with Adelaide’s Caitlin Peirce and Song’s NSW team-mate Belinda Ji headlining the tournament.
Royal Fremantle’s Abbie Teasdale, who won the English Amateur last month, appears the best local hope.
Hannah Green was the last WA player to win the tournament in 2013.
BOWRA AND O’DEA WOMEN’S CLASSIC
Royal Fremantle Golf Club
72 holes strokeplay: 36 holes on Monday followed by 18 on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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