Pamela Pretswell, a member of Great Britain and Ireland’s winning Curtis Cup team at Nairn last month, will make her professional debut at the Ladies Norwegian Challenge on the Ladies European Tour Access Series (LETAS) from Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Bothwell Castle player has appeared in six events on the circuit already this season and became the first amateur to win a LETAS event when she won the Ljunbyhed Park PGA Ladies Open in Sweden by two shots in May after a final round of four under par 67.
Currently sitting in second on the order of merit, Pretswell needs to end the year in the top three positions to earn a place on the Ladies European Tour next season and she said: “I really want to play on the main tour.
“I’ve really enjoyed playing on this tour and this felt like the right time for me to turn pro. I stayed amateur this year because I wanted to gain experience on the Access Series and also have the chance to play in the Curtis Cup.
“That was one of the best weeks: to get the Cup back after a 16 year wait was unbelievable and to do it in Scotland in front of a home crowd was fantastic as well. It was a great team and we all really got on well, so it was a great week.
“I gained a lot of experience from playing on the Access Series as an amateur. I learned a lot from the other girls who took me on board and gave me a lot of advice. Having the cut at 25 players, I really started to learn the importance of every shot. I’ve recommended it to a few girls at home and I think they are going to try it next year because it’s a great stepping stone between amateur and professional golf. The fact that all the girls have been so helpful has made it a lot easier as well.”
Her first event as a professional will be played at Hauger Golf Club, Oslo and it is the first LETAS event to be played in Norway since the tour was launched in 2010.
Pretswell described the course as hilly and in good condition despite heavy rainfall over the weekend, which has now cleared making way for ‘T-shirt weather’.
She added: “I’m just excited to get out there really because I had a couple of weeks off after the Curtis Cup because I wasn’t well, so I’m looking forward to getting out there again.”
Pretswell will play the first two rounds with Finland’s Sohvi Harkonen and Norwegian Cecilie Lundgreen, winner of the recent Kristianstad Åhus Ladies Open.
The tournament gets underway from Wednesday through to Friday, with a cut to the leading 25 players and ties after 36 holes.
