Emma lands dream shot at Ladies European Tour

Jan 15 2008 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

TEENAGER Emma Goddard, one of the lowest handicap girl golfers in the region yet a name seemingly unknown to the talent spotters in the county scene, has emerged from the shadows to win a place alongside the stars of the Ladies European Tour.

“I am really looking forward to it, to test myself against the best,” she says. “This is where I want to be.”

The 16-years-old from Halewood in Liverpool is the first person to benefit from a new golf development, which offers the winner of the girls’ under-18 category in the annual Faldo Series grand final a start in a Ladies European Tour event.

Emma’s debut has been given a warm welcome by both Faldo and the LET.

The six-time Major winner said: “I’m delighted that the Ladies European Tour has offered us their support in this official capacity.

“The Faldo Series has always advocated the benefits of young golfers drawing as broad a range of experiences as they possibly can in order to ensure that they have a well-rounded understanding of the game.

“The experience of playing in a professional LET event will undoubtedly be a hugely valuable experience for our winner this year and in the future.”

Alexandra Armas, executive director of the LET Tour, added: “We are delighted to give this opportunity to young golfers that will be the future of professional golf. ŠIt is important for the LET to be part of the development of young golfers at grass roots level.”

Emma says: “The Faldo Series has helped me to prove that I can compete at the top level in amateur golf. Winning it will allow me to continue to expand my international tournament experience.”

She has a golf handicap of plus 0.2, is one of the most outstanding girl golfers in the region, but has ignored the usual route to the top of girls golf through county events.

Instead she has developed her skills, not at one of the established golf clubs, but with the Vale Royal Millennium club, the junior golf academy based at Knights Grange and Hartford, operated by golf professional Graham Moore.

Moore says that while some young players develop their game within the county scheme, Emma did not want to do it that way.

“She does not feel the need for the usual process,” he says. “She has gone her own way and she is happy doing what she does.”

Emma believes that becoming involved with a county scene can bring a golfer before different coaches, perhaps with conflicting ideas about their pupil’s golf swing.

“I knew one lad who was going to do well and he ended up giving up golf altogether,” she said. She has put her trust and the development of her golf game exclusively in the hands of Moore.

She used to play football for Knowsley Girls at under-12 and under-16 level. She was also a runner and played rounders but now she concentrates on golf.

Her interest began when she was about eight and the day she found some of her granddad’s clubs in his garage, round the corner from her own home.

Her granddad and her father Tony took her to the driving range at Netherley before she joined Allerton Park Cadets. Tony, who was helping the juniors at Allerton, went on a leaders course at Knights Grange and, back at Allerton, discovered more about the Graham Moore International Golf School before Emma joined.

She is studying A-levels at Halewood College – business, psychology, IT and physical education – and, while schoolwork is the priority, she plays golf “pretty much every day.”

Tony takes her to the driving range at Hartford, about 20 miles away from their home, and she plays with the Vale Royal Millennium, where Graham Moore is the president.

He describes it as the only junior golf club in the country.

In addition to Vale Royal Millennium, Moore operates golf schools around the world for adults and children, a junior golf academy based in the Northwich area, and a junior golf tour around the United Kingdom, each with its own Order of Merit.

Emma’s golf CV does not include the usual top golf girl’s successes on the county scene.

But she won her age group in the UK’s Wee Wonders when she was 11, which earned her a place in the US Kids Final.

This year, for the third time and as winner of Moore’s age group Order of Merit, she will again play in the Galloway World Finals in California.

Her success in the Faldo Series has already brought her a place in the Faldo Asian Series finals at Mission Hills in China and now in one of the Ladies European Tour top events.

She hopes to go on a golf scholarship in America in 2010 and remains on track with her dream of becoming a tournament golf professional.

Moore says she will not be fazed by her debut in the professional game.

He explains: “She is used to centre stage.

“She has improved mentally and her ball-striking ability is as good as any lady on the European Tour.

“Her attitude needs working on so that she does not get wound up, uptight if things goes wrong. But she knows that. It is an age thing.”

He hopes to get her other places on the Ladies European Tour during the course of the season.

Moore’s plans for the 2008 season include 16 one-day events and one two-day event throughout the UK, including a visit to Cheshire for the Portal Championship on August 18.