[PHOTO: Getty Images]
Karis Davidson has credited a refreshing, extended break from professional golf last year for catapulting the Queenslander into career-best form in time for her first major start in over a year at this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Davidson, 26 and from the Gold Coast, is one of nine Australians in the field at Fields Ranch East in Frisco, Texas. She’s feeling confident after T-7 result at last week’s Meijer LPGA Classic in Michigan ahead of her first major start since the 2024 Chevron some 14 months ago.
RELATED: Journeys – Karis Davidson
“It was really nice feeling, you know, in the mix to win the event,” Davidson told Australian reporters in a media call today. “I’m enjoying (golf) a lot more now, and when you enjoy it, you try harder in more difficult situations on the course.”
Last year, though, Davidson wasn’t enjoying the game in 2024 and took a six-month break to complete a TAFE course for aged care and disability services. “I really wanted to do something productive and just completely different to golf,” Davidson said. “It was the best thing I’ve ever done. I learned a lot over the six months. After that, I knew that I wanted to play golf for myself because before I felt like I was just doing it for other people, and I think that was unhealthy. I was just so wrapped up in my own mind. I just had to take time away from it. I’m out here because I want to be, not because it feels like the only option.”
Davidson said her only goal was to not be focused on the result and instead simply “commit to every shot”.
“That’s such an important thing. You need to be 100 per cent invested in the club and the shot you’ve chosen,” she said. “It’s going to be a hot week, so I need to be really good with pre, post and during round hydration and what I’m eating. “I’m trying not to make results-based goals. Obviously, everyone wants to win, if I do those little things well mentally, it’ll give me the best chance for the best result I can get.”
Davidson is joined in the field by fellow Australians including 2019 Women’s PGA champion Hannah Green, two-time major winner Minjee Lee, Sydney’s Steph Kyriacou, Gabi Ruffels, Grace Kim, Cassie Porter, Robyn Choi and Hira Naveed.
