Bon still on course for pro career

While Northland's Caroline Bon fell short of earning a full tour card after the final round of the Ladies European Tour qualifying school in southern Spain yesterday morning, she is still excited about leaving the amateur ranks and turning professional.
Bon started the fifth and final round needing at least an under-par score to get close to winning one of the 30 tour cards on offer for next year's tour but instead she could only manage a six-over 79 on the par-73 South Course at the La Manga Golf Club.
"The prospect of turning pro is me ... it will definitely be a challenge but that's all part of the fun and I'm extremely excited to get the chance," she said yesterday.
She played with France's Celine Palomar and rising young Welsh star Sahra Hassan on the final day on the tougher South Course, on which she had played well on during the week.
"Today definitely wasn't the best for me. I played pretty badly and that means I finished in the 31-50th category, so I will have a few exemptions into some events next year," she said.
At this stage just how many events she will be invited to, still has to be clarified. "I still have to email the organisers to find out how many events I will be able to play, so right now I'm not exactly sure, but the season will still start with the New Zealand Open [in February]," she said.
Bon will receive invitations to play in some tournaments but the bigger money events will probably be closed to her, unless she can gain entry via a qualifying tournament.
But there are other options open to the Northland Golf Club player, to help ease her into her first professional season.
"There are the Swedish Tour and the LET Access Tour to think of as well and I think if you manage to win an event [during the season] then that means you don't have to go to Q-school again, so that's the plan."
Bon was pretty happy with the way she fought back from a poor start in the first round at La Manga to get back into contention to make the cut and gain partial access to the professional tour.
Her first-round 79 on the par-71 North Course saw her in 82nd place, before she rose up the field with rounds of 74 (sth), 74 (nth) and 75 (sth) to make the cut into the top-50.
"I'm extremely happy with my fightback to make the cut - eight shots is a lot to come back from, so very proud of that but still gutted [after today's round]," she said.
Sweden's Caroline Hedwall was the runaway tournament winner with a score of 15-under in the five-round tournament and Bon said she is a player to watch out for in the future. "I never got to watch her play this week unfortunately, she is just an exceptional player, so relaxed," Bon said.
Bon and boyfriend Billy West, who has been her caddy during the two tournaments she has played in over the past month, will now have a few days off to unwind before returning home for Christmas with the family.
"Our flight home isn't until the 23rd, so plenty of time for waiting in anticipation for our family Christmas lunch," she said.
Few can say she hasn't deserved it. It has been Bon's best year in terms of consistency on the golf course and now she gets to test herself against the world's best and, hopefully, achieve her goal of earning a living from the sport she loves.