Australian doesn’t shy away from rigorous competitive tournament schedule
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — For the last seven years she played full-time on the Ladies European Tour (LET), but in 2017, Rebecca Artis (Coonabarabran, Australia) made the switch to competing primarily on the Epson Tour.
Her husband, Geoff Artis, is also her caddy and they travel full-time together.
“A slightly different environment for me,” said Artis. “It certainly hasn’t been a hurdle, just a change.”
The transition has gone fairly smooth. Artis captured two top 10 finishes this year—the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge and Four Winds Invitational. She also finished at No. 41 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, earning $20,463.
As for her numbers on the LET, Artis currently ranks 64th on the 2017 Order of Merit, having only played four events this season. In 126 career starts she has two wins, 13 top 10 finishes and a low round of 64.
A proven golfer, Artis hasn’t backed down from competitive golf following the Epson Tour slate and Stage II of LPGA Qualifying School. In fact, there has never been a true break for the Australian.
“After the completion of the final round of Q2, I jumped on a plane to Australia to spend a whole two days at home and get a quick lesson from my coach,” Artis said. “Then it was straight back in the air to play two Ladies European Tour events.”
The first tournament was the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open in Abu Dhabi and the second was the Hero Women’s Indian Open in Gurgaon, India. Artis finished tied for 11th and tied for 13th, respectively.
From there, it was back to the air.
“Following those two events, home to Australia for eight days for some final preparations before heading back to the United States for Q3,” said Artis.
Through the extensive travel, Artis still has found some time for herself and practice.
“I have been fortunate enough to be able to continue to play competitive tournament golf,” Artis said. “I feel for myself, along with some time with my coach in Australia, that it is ideal prep. But it hasn’t been all golf. I always find time for some retail therapy.”
So to recap: Artis traveled from the United States to Australia, followed by Abu Dhabi then India, and back to Australia before landing once again in the United States, all since late October. That is absolutely remarkable.
How does she even know what time her body is functioning on, let alone put into perspective what Q3 has in store.
“I try not to treat the week any different than any other tournament or week on my schedule,” said Artis.
Once the Final Stage is complete, that’s not even the end of golf for Artis in 2017.
“Straight back on a plane headed for Dubai to play the final event on the LET schedule,” Artis said.
If her motto isn’t “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop,” I think now is a safe time to adopt it.
)
)
)
)
