Townsville,
Queensland — Mianne Bagger <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mianne_Bagger>
let her golf do the talking when she shot a fine opening
69 at the ANZ Ladies Masters on the Gold Coast
yesterday.
Bagger, 39, gained
notoriety around the world in late 2004 when she became
the first transsexual accepted to play women's
professional golf.
After struggling on the
European Tour last year, Bagger yesterday finally earned
recognition for her golf at Royal Pines.
"The story of my
circumstances has gone around the world two or three
times, and I decided to stop talking to the media on it,"
she said.
"I'm a good golfer and I
want to talk to the media about that.
"So much was going on
last year, and there was so much media focus, that I
wasn't allowed to play badly and then disappear. I was
the focus of attention."
Born in Denmark, Bagger
has spent most of her life in Adelaide, where she has
worked overtime on her game since November.
"I've practised five or
six hours a day and have really made some big changes to
my swing," she said.
"I'm happy with my start
here today. It will really help with my
confidence."
Bagger made a 9m putt on
the 18th hole yesterday to finish at three under after a
rounded that included five birdies and two
bogeys.
Bagger was born a male
but underwent a sex change operation in 1995 and
subsequently won the South Australian women's amateur
championship three times.
She turned pro in 2003
and became the first high-profile transsexual to qualify
for professional sports since US tennis player Renee
Richards <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renee_Richards>,
previously Richard Raskind, competed on the WTA Tour in
the 1970s.
She had a tough
initiation to professional golf, making only two cuts
from 13 starts on the Ladies European Tour
<http://www.ladieseuropeantour.com/>
last year.
Bagger finished the
season 145th on the money list and lost her playing
status, returning to the qualifying school where she
finished 47th to gain conditional exemption for
2006.
Bagger scraped into the
field this week, taking the second-last spot available to
62 European Tour players.
"The last 12 months have
been a struggle, especially financially," she
said.
"I thought the amount of
media coverage I received might generate some
sponsorship, but that was not to be. I don't look at the
credit card statements.
"My aim is to play well
in events early in the year, and hopefully improve my
ranking."
