Janice Moodie happy with what she did at Royal Melbourne
Janice Moodie came to Australia last week with big aims in her mind. The only Scottish player at the Women’s Australian Open was aiming to do her best, if not win the title.
With a strong roster comprising leading players from across the world, Moodie set foot on the course of Royal Melbourne with plenty of confidence and got off to an impressive start.
Aged 38, Moodie has not racked up a victory in almost a decade and the Women’s Australian Open brought many challenges to her.
Although she finished 68th, she was glad she made the cut and lived up to her promises to a great extent.
Round 1 was good, as the Scott kicked off her day by reeling off an impressive birdie. She knew that the only way to remain on the course was to avoid making too many careless putts.
Moodie recently got into some vigorous training at the practice range and regained her putting skills.
Her calculated moves kept her from driving the ball off the track. She parred with ease, which meant she could move ahead without tainting the scorecard.
Royal Melbourne, which is best known for its challenging holes, proved a little tricky for the ambitious Scot. She appeared to lose control on her putting and ended up bogeying the hardest par-3 3rd.
Moodie had to keep a close eye on her rivals because the field was more competitive than she had imagined.
Most important of all, the current world number one Yani Tseng was around, flexing her muscles.
Although the 38-year-old knew she could not outshine giants like Tseng and Suzann Pettersen, the least she could do was card a decent score on the leaderboard, which she almost did.
An overall 308 was good enough to help her make the cut.
Moodie’s stature might have been dwarfed by the presence of top players. However, she appeared to be in high spirits, thanks to the inspiration she gained from Catriona Matthew.
Moodie has been seeking a win for a long time and she knows that if she manages to grab one, the price will be bigger than she thinks.
This is what has kept her on and she started drawing inspiration from her counterpart Catriona.
The biggest reason behind her liking Catriona is that the two Scots partnered in the Solheim Cup a few months back.
Another important factor is that Catriona won the Ricoh Women’s British Open in 2009, which Moodie said, has been a source of inspiration for her.
She said in one of her interviews that she liked Catriona for her successes and always tries to imitate her. It remains to be seen if she will ever outshine her favourite player.
“If Catriona can do it, I can do it,” she said a couple of months back while talking to the media.
She said that ever since she had her first child, her priorities saw a little change but she managed to stay focused on her game.
She added that her fans and analysts have always argued that her game has been on the decline since becoming a mother.
Citing the example of her good performance in 2006—the year she gave birth to her first child, she said she played amazingly well, despite negative impressions about her game.
“When you take quite a bit of time away from the game and then try to build yourself back up again, the juices get flowing again,” she said.
Moodie may not have seized the top spots at Royal Melbourne, but she is thrilled that she did not miss the cut.
The upcoming events may prove tougher for the 38-year-old Scot but she says she has found her form once again.
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