Former pro Marnie McGuire a coup for Waikato Golf

Waikato Golf has registered an ace, with the appointment of Marnie McGuire as SportsForce golf development officer.

McGuire, who started her new role this month in conjunction with Sport Waikato, was an outstanding amateur and professional golfer in the 1980s and ‘90s before becoming a leading coach and administrator.

Waikato Golf Association chief executive Terry Booth said it was a real coup to have one of New Zealand’s golfing legends join their team.

“We believe the appointment of Marnie to this role will certainly complement the hugely successful Kiwisport Programme that has been running in the Waikato for a number of years,” Booth said.

“That was put in place by Waikato Golf and Sport Waikato to engage children of all ages in the game of golf.”

McGuire won five times as a professional on the Japan Tour and after her three wins in Japan in 1995, she was awarded the Sportswoman of the Year title at the 1996 Halberg Awards. She’s the only Kiwi to have won the Australian Open, and the British Open Amateur Championship – a feat achieved in 1986 as a 17-year-old and at the time the youngest champion in tournament history – while she was also the individual winner at the 1987 Queen Sirikit Cup.

A former High Performance national coach, McGuire “has plenty of experience to impart on the next generation of young golfers”, Booth said.

Click here for full golf story and golf news source