Caroline Bon can hardly wait for her opportunity on the world stage at the World Championships in Argentina later this month.
The Espirito Santo team's competition is the biggest international event she has been selected for by New Zealand Golf. "I've been on transtasman competitions in the past, but this timeI'll get the chance to play against the top amateur players in the world and I'm looking forward to see how I measure up," she said.
The Whangarei 22-year-old finished a close third - one stroke adrift of Espirito Santo team-mate Lydia Ko - in the Port of Taranaki Open on Saturday.
Bon shot a 76 and a 74 to finish six-over par after the 54-hole tournament that was shortened to 36 holes after heavy rain washed out play on Thursday. The two rounds were played in testing conditions, with the fairways still sodden from Thursday's rain and the wind never letting up.
"I had two OB [out of bounds] which cost me five shots, but other than that I was pretty happy with the way I played down here in really tough conditions," he said.
The pair finished in third place behind the runaway winner and Espirito Santo team-mate Cecilia Cho. The 15-year-old finished on top of the field with a three under 141 after she led both the men's and women's field after the first day with a round of 67.
The round was an unofficial course record, bettering the previous mark of 69, but it will not count because the course was lengthened for the tournament by about 250m to allow the team to practise on the type of course they will strike in Argentina for the world championships.
Bon feels confident of doing well after winning three major titles this year - the Grant Clements Trophy, the New Zealand Strokeplay Open by five shots and the Tauranga Open by a whopping 14 shots.
"It's been great for me because they named the team so early, I've had a lot of time to get used to the idea of competing in Argentina and to prepare for it and I'm just about ready to go now," she said.
If Cho and Ko can replicate the form they showed at this year's Queen Sirikit Cup in Hamilton and if Bon continues her own form, the team is well placed to impress in the competition. The team leaves for Buenos Aires on the 14th.
