Rumors had been swirling around Karrie Webb, that her entry into the 2022 Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio field meant the World Golf Hall of Fame member was on the comeback trail. She nixed that idea during her press conference on Tuesday at Boca Rio Golf Club.
“I don't think there is any full time, or even a big chunk of part-time golf in me,” said Webb, a Palm Beach County resident, where the second LPGA Tour event of the season is being contested. “When you're away from it for a long time, there’s a lot of things that you do miss about it. I think it’s very convenient that I could stay at home this week and play in a tournament for the first time in a while, and, you know, not feel the rigors of having to travel with luggage.
“I'm just excited to be back, see people I haven't seen for a while and to be around the atmosphere on the LPGA.”
Her last start on the LPGA Tour was at the 2020 Pelican Women’s Championship. While she has been away from competition for an extended period, Webb has still been involved in the game with her Karrie Webb Series Scholarship and the inaugural Australian WPGA Championship.
“It came together pretty late last year. The men's Australian PGA was being held, but that was in doubt because they couldn't get international players in the field and there was an interest to include the women, to have a Women’s PGA Championship, so this year they played in the same field as the men,” said Webb. “What was really promising for me is there was interest to have a standalone event going forward, 2023 [and beyond].
“When I was asked to have the trophy named after me, that was obviously a very great honor and not something you ever think is going to happen. I got to design the trophy. I've held up a few trophies, but never had a chance to design one that hopefully many women will hold up for years to come.”
Su Oh captured the title and raised the maiden Karrie Webb Cup on January 17 in Queensland. A past recipient from Webb’s scholarship series, it was “really special” for Webb even though she could not make the trip to Australia. Oh is one of the many Australians that Webb stays connected with, despite Webb not regularly teeing it up.
“I communicate with all the girls quite often, actually. They're all on my favorites for live scoring, and I now understand what my parents went through all these years of watching live scoring, especially if the telecast isn't on or I'm not able to see the telecast,” Webb said with a smile.” It's stressful watching live scoring when you care about the results that the girls have.
“It’s exciting this year. We've got two Aussie rookies, Karis Davidson and Stephanie Kyriacou, both great players. Karis was one of my scholarship winners; Stephanie wasn't, but I followed her couple years in Europe and knew her before she turned pro. Both great players, and it's great that we've got such a big Aussie contingent on Tour at the moment.”
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