If fantastic golf stories were nuggets, this Ford Women’s New South Wales Open could comfortably masquerade as a genuine gold rush.
As the start of the 2026 seasons for many in the WPGA and LET fields, there are naturally some cracking rookie yarns, none more so than leader, Ireland’s Aine (pronounced “Onya”) Donegan.
It’s her first event as a pro, naturally her first as a member of the LET, but for four hours of her second round, she looked a great shot at a course – and maybe even tour – scoring record.
She’s playing with an Aussie-based Irish caddie she met in Sydney last week and they look like they’ve been paired for years as they take the lead into day three.
There’s the story of Englishwoman Luca Thompson, a late call-up after being a distant reserve for the event who had to make a mad scramble to Australia that was butchered by a visa delay en route.
Late to her morning tee time, Thompson played with the threat of a penalty over her head, then poured in nine birdies to briefly lead before the bulk of her five bogeys curbed her run.
She was relieved to learn no penalty would be applied because the error was not her fault, but then made a brace of double-bogeys in her afternoon round and fell all the way back to a share of 26th.
After a rain delay that forced half the field into playing 36 holes on day two, there are tales of mental toughness of those who butchered the morning round, scoffed down lunch and promptly bounced back as if nothing had happened.
This is a special shout to Perth’s Kirsten Rudgeley, renowned for her pluck, but who showed that and more with an afternoon 66 after a strangely flat 80 in the morning.
But then there’s the yarn that takes a very rich cake, one of physical fortitude for a player who could easily be excused for taking any other option than that which has left in second place overnight.
Tuncurry’s Sarah Kemp, an unlucky runner-up in the first edition of this event back in 2006, suffered a career-threatening injury two years and only in December had another surgery to remove all bar one pin from her damaged ankle.
An extremely accomplished player with nothing to prove but her enduring love for the game, Kemp wasn’t certain she’d get through one round but was suddenly thrust into two in one day after rain ruined day one.
She had painful cramps midway through her first round, but powered through and sought the tour physio in a frenetic hour before round two.
“I saw my parents and said, `I don’t even know if I could play the second 18’,” Kemp said.
“I had some physio, heaps of salt, electrolytes, three bananas and thank goodness I didn’t have cramps in the second (round).
“That was really random, just out of nowhere started cramping and it was bad. So that was all credit to Jasmine, the massage therapist in there.”
Kemp, normally a complete stranger to self-praise, justifiably took great pride in her spectacular second-round 64 to reach nine under in total, just two off Donegan’s lead.
The round was blemish-free and featured four birdies in nine holes from the ninth, but it was more than just numbers for Kemp, especially given her recent 40th birthday.
“Yeah, considering my only expectation was to finish. So sometimes it’s a nice place to be because you’re not even focused on golf,” she said.
“I was just focused on, `I’ve got 18 more holes to walk, come on’, so yeah, I’m pretty proud right now.
“My first (tournament day) back after surgery in December, I was not expecting to have to walk 36 holes my first go, but no, I made it. I’m very happy.”
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