Los Altos Golf Company

KARRIE Webb could prove the architect of her own undoing at the Australian Open after Rachel Hetherington said she was keen on making her own revival.

Hetherington, without a win in the US since taking out the Rochester LPGA event in 2003, has fallen to 62 in the world but believes she is ready to turn the corner after switching coaches midway through last year.

The eight-time winner on the US LPGA Tour parted ways with long-time mentor Ian Triggs, who coincidentally works with Webb, and formed an alliance with David Whelan, the director of golf at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Florida.

Hetherington is confident the move is ready to bear fruit, possibly as early as today, when she begins her Open assault at Royal Sydney alongside young compatriot Sarah Kemp and Korean hot-shot Ji Yai Shin.

“I think it will kick in this year,” Hetherington said.

“I feel like I have a bit more control. I feel fairly confident when I am hitting the ball. I know my game is at a much better level than when I won.

“My short game is at a much better level. I have a few more shots in my repertoire.”

And if she needs evidence of how quickly a career can get on the upswing, she need look no further than Webb, who by her own lofty standards was in a funk little more than a year ago.

Webb rebounded with an outstanding year in 2006, winning five tournaments, including her seventh major at the Nabisco Championship.

Asked whether Webb’s resurgence was inspirational, Hetherington replied: “I guess it is. Some hard work and you can turn your game around, your season around and your career around. She had a few lean years, (going by) her own expectations and everyone else’s.

“To turn it around and have an awesome year is pretty special.”

To do that, Hetherington will need to beat more than Webb, who has been installed at Tiger Woods-type odds of $3.50 by the bookmakers.

Hetherington, American Natalie Gulbis, Britain’s Laura Davies and Shin are on the next line of betting, while some of Australia’s emerging stars are expected to contend.

Much will depend on the weather conditions, although all players concede they expect to be challenged by the Royal Sydney layout.

The pristine setting in Sydney’s eastern suburbs could turn ugly if the wind picks up, something to which those who witnessed the opening round of the men’s Australian Open late last year can attest.

Some of the world’s best golfers were humbled in deplorable conditions, with wind howling and rain sheeting down.

No one is suggesting those conditions will be replicated today, although the wind is expected to make life difficult.

“It’s tough,” said 23-year-old Australian Nikki Garrett, last year’s rookie of the year on the European tour.

“You’ve got to really concentrate out there and think your way around.

“You can’t just get up there and say, ‘I’ll hit it down there’, because it’s not going to happen. It’s a really challenging course.”

Hetherington compared the course setup to that used for a British or US Open, where conditions are designed to punish players for wayward shots.

“Week in, week out, you don’t play that many courses (in the US) that are so testing,” she said.

“If you are a little bit off, you get punished so severely.”

While the course promises to intimidate, Garrett and the clutch of young players vying for the title made it clear they wouldn’t be intimidated by their more-credentialled rivals.

Lindsey Wright has spent the past two years on the US tour, where she has diced with the world’s best, including world No.1 Annika Sorenstam and Webb, on a weekly basis.

“There are some players in the US who are intimidating,” Wright said. “They try to use that as a tactic to scare you away. That’s golf, sport. That’s how it is.

“They’re just pretty harsh. Some don’t talk to you, they don’t make an effort to make you feel welcome. They’ll walk past you in the locker room and say hello one minute and not the next. You need to have a thick skin and deal with it. I have.”