Pamela Pretswell was glued to her computer – and celebrations broke out when the list she was waiting for suddenly popped up on the Ladies’ Golf Union website. 

It revealed that she had been one of the chosen eight to represent Great Britain and Ireland at Massachusetts in June. The second Scot in the line-up is Sally Watson, who is the only player to retain her place from the side defeated by the USA at St Andrews two years ago.

“It was a nice surprise,” was Pamela’s rather modest reaction to the great news. “I was pleased with my 2009 season, but I’ve been so busy at university this year that I’ve not had much chance to play. So I certainly wasn’t sure that I would make the team.

“At the moment, I’m on a very tight schedule, but I’ll be ready for June. I’m a member of Troon as well as Bothwell Castle and I’ll be practising and playing as much as possible before the Curtis Cup.”

Pamela was a latecomer to golf. If things had worked out differently, she might have been playing for Britain at tennis or badminton. It was only seven years ago, at the age of 13 that she first picked up a golf club.

“I was in the British junior tennis squad and the Scottish badminton squad and played a lot with Watson Briggs (The current Scottish mixed doubles champion),” she said. “But then I really had to decide if it was going to be school work or tennis. 

“I had also slightly fallen out of love with tennis and decided to switch to golf and really took to it right away.”

During her rise up the golfing ladder, she has successfully managed to maintain a high level of education.  She is in her third year of a business and management degree at Glasgow University – and is already looking forward to graduating next year. 

Her university commitments means that she will miss this month’s Scottish Championship at Craigielaw. “I’ve got three final year exams and it’s a shame that I’ll miss out – but I’ll have a full summer of tournaments,” she added.

The Curtis Cup is the peak of any amateur golfer’s career – and Pamela has already set her sights on making the next golfing step.

“Once I have graduated, I’ll be going to the Ladies’ European Tour School,” said the 20-year-old. “I want to give it a go as a professional. If I don’t, I’ll always wonder how far I could have gone in the game.”

Pamela has taken inspiration from other Scottish professionals. Krystle Caithness, who had a great rookie 2009 season on the LET, is a former Scottish amateur colleague, while Catriona Matthew has proved to every Scot that they can reach the very top. 

Matthew’s win in last year’s Ricoh Women’s British Open was the ultimate in successfully juggling priorities – she claimed the prize just weeks after giving birth to her second daughter.

“Catriona came to our Scottish squad session in Spain in March and she was so nice and so laid back,” said Pamela.  “She really is the perfect role model.”

As for the Cup contest, it will be a whole new ball game for Pamela. She has never played golf in America – her only visit was a family holiday to Disneyland in Florida – but she has already been doing some homework for the trip to Essex County Club at Manchester-by-Sea.

“I’ve checked out the course on the website and I’ve got some friends at university in America who have given me some tips and pointers,” she said.  “I believe that it’s a course where you have to fly the ball to the pin, and I really enjoy that sort of challenge.”

The full GB and Ireland Curtis Cup team is made up of the two Scots – Pamela and Sally – plus 15-year-old Irish twins, Leona and Lisa Maguire, England’s Hannah Barwood, Holly Clyburn and Rachel Jennings plus a third Irish player, Danielle McVeigh.

EB
© Copyright In The Winning Zone, MMX, All Rights Reserved