MacDonald turns pro after Turkish invite
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KELSEY MacDonald has fulfilled her ambition to become a professional golfer.
The 22-year-old, who writes an exclusive column for The Inverness Courier, officially announced yesterday that she was turning pro after receiving an invitation to take part in a Ladies European Tour event in Turkey next month.
A lifelong ambition for MacDonald, of Nairn, she insists that being given an opportunity to play in the Turkish Airlines Ladies Open in Antalya from 9-12th May makes it the ideal time to set out on her professional career, despite it conflicting with other previous commitments.
"I came home for a quick visit to catch up with family and was heading off again when I received a phone call to say that I had been given an invitation to the Ladies European Tour event in Turkey," she said.
"This was what I had been waiting for and the invite has made me just go for it and turn professional.
"I then had to co-ordinate flights and accommodation as I had entered two back-to-back events in Sweden on the Access tour. "I eventually managed to get flights sorted from Manchester to Antalya, then Antalya to Copenhagen, and finally Copenhagen back to Edinburgh!
"However, I’m just very, very happy and really excited to finally say that I am a professional golfer."
MacDonald’s decision to turn professional comes on the back of an amateur career that saw her crowned Scottish women’s and under-21 stroke play champion in 2010, while representing Scotland at the World Amateur Team Championships.
The following year, she was part of the Great Britain and Ireland team that lifted the Astor Trophy and also contested the Vagliano Trophy.
In 2012, MacDonald suffered disappointment when she missed out on selection for the Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup squad that won at Nairn Golf Club, but she recovered from setback and already this year has won the prestigious Jones-Doherty Women’s Amateur Championship at Coral Ridge Country Club, Florida.
