GOLF - Bon Voyage!

Northland amateur Caroline Bon will tee off at the mecca of golf - St Andrew's - next weekend, contesting the two-day St Rule Trophy on the Scottish club's new course. "I'm really looking forward to it - there is so much golf history there," the 22-year-old said ahead of her first trip to the United Kingdom.
Bon leaves for the UK tomorrow and, after Scotland, will head to London for the Astor Salver tournament on June 3 at Beringshire Golf Club.
It is then onto Harlech, Wales for Bon where she will play in the British Ladies' Amateur Championships staged from June 9-11 - the main focus of her trip - and finally, Bon will zip across the Irish Sea to Cork for the Ladies Open Stroke Play at Douglas Golf Club on June 20-21.
Only the top 140 women could enter the British Amateur, and Bon's great results over the last 12 months and a handicap of 0 have placed her up there, despite some recent below-par performances.
In April, Bon finished a disappointing 12th at the NZ Stroke Play and, last week at Tauranga, she was last in her field at the Carrus Open. While it has not been the best lead-up to the trip, more is going on than meets the eye, Bon says.
"The main reason for going overseas is to gain experience before turning pro ... which is my main goal and will hopefully happen within the next 12 months," she explained. "But in the meantime, I have been making changes to every aspect of my play to be able to sustain my game when I turn pro."
Those changes include becoming stronger both physically and mentally through a programme set by coach Quentin Diment, sports psychologist Vicki Aitken and physiotherapist Trevor Montgomery, and it is hoped results will be seen in six months' time, Bon says.
"It's really hard because everyone knows your results but they don't know what I'm going through to get to the end result of turning pro,"' she said.
An hour and a half in the gym each morning has strengthened Bon's core region - which will benefit her in the long run, but has created some timing issues with her swing.
"It's frustrating because I can smash the ball really hard down the fairway but they will be ugly shots," she said.
The mental part of sport is just as important as the physical side and Bon has been practising visualisation and setting coping strategies to prepare her mind for the high level of competition.
She aims to finish in the top 10 at all the tournaments except the British Amateurs where, due to the strong field, a top-20 finish will be a "fantastic result". "It's going to be such an awesome experience," she said unable to hide her excitement.
Following the last tournament in Ireland, Bon will travel for three weeks in Europe before returning to Whangarei to start her final semester in her NorthTec sport and recreation degree.
It will be a well-earned break for Bon who said the last few weeks have been a mission - getting up at 7am and going to bed at 3am so she could train, complete assignments and fit in work shifts at Kensington Fitness.
"I can't wait to get on the plane and get some sleep," she said.