Ash Barty Embraces Relaxed Approach for NZ Open Pro-Am Golf with Anthony Quayle
Tennis icon Ash Barty is set to bring a no-stress mindset into her high-profile pro-am pairing with close friend and DP World Tour professional Anthony Quayle at the prestigious NZ Open. The pro-am segment of the $A1.69 million golf tournament, hosted at Millbrook Resort, has grown to rival legendary events like Pebble Beach and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews in stature and appeal.
Star-Studded Field Features Sporting Legends
This year's event boasts an impressive lineup of sporting greats, with eleven-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater joining the field. Other notable participants include former Australian Test cricket captain Ricky Ponting, his longtime New Zealand rival Stephen Fleming, and ex-All Blacks stars Jeff Wilson and Israel Dagg. Since retiring from tennis to focus on her young family, former world No.1 Barty has had minimal time to dedicate to golf, another of her beloved sports.
Barty's Limited Practice and Positive Outlook
The Wimbledon, French Open, and Australian Open champion is eagerly anticipating her team-up with Quayle this week, where she will compete with a handicap of four. "This is a beautiful place to visit, a beautiful place to play golf, so it'll be nice to dust the cobwebs off the clubs," the 29-year-old told AAP. "I've played two rounds of golf in two years so the form is pretty scarce. The good thing is I'm fresh and there are no demons so what could possibly go wrong?"
Quayle's Confidence in Barty's Abilities
Barty reached out to Quayle several months ago, and he was delighted to agree as her playing partner for the pro-am. "It's kind of all worked out really well," he said. "For such an incredible athlete, each time I've asked her how her lead-in to this event has been she's like 'Oh, it's just terrible, the game's terrible, I just haven't played enough'. And then I was watching her hit a few putts with a custom Wimbledon Odyssey putter. She holed about eight in a row and I'm like, 'I don't know what you're talking about. You could be a bit of an over-achiever here'."
Quayle's remarks suggest that Barty, despite her limited recent golf practice, could emerge as a dark horse contender in the pro-am competition, leveraging her elite athletic background and competitive spirit.
