Winning the battle

Just three spots remain available in the final field for the Women's Australian Open and they will be decided during the Qualifying event at Grange Golf Club played on Tuesday.

The top three will automatically take their place in Thursday's Championship proper field at Kooyonga.

Queenslander Victoria Fricot will be one of the 104 players competing in the Qualifying event.

Yesterday Fricot placed T52 (tied for 52nd) at the ALPG Canberra Classic an event played over 54 holes.

During her early years Fricot enjoyed Tennis, Horse Riding and Ballet before finally concentrating on golf.

"We lived across from a course and I began going to weekend clinics because I liked talking to all the kids," she said.

"There was no running involved like there was in tennis.”

Having had the courage to turn professional last month, the 22-year-old admits it's been a tough journey already in her young career.

During her last year of school in 2012 she was competing in National Golf events, going to the gym everyday, was school captain and trying to get a good OP (overall position) to get into University, all whilst trying to be a teenager at the same time.

In early 2013, Fricot remembers always being tired and frequently falling asleep.

"It wasn’t until I began falling asleep next to the putting green sitting down or going to sit down in the restaurant at the club and I would fall asleep on a chair that I realised something was wrong," she said.

"This was not a fun time in my life. I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue in March 2013 (my first year out of school).

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a condition that has no cure, the extreme fatigue may worsen with physical or mental activity, but doesn't improve with rest.

Fricot says her day consisted of waking up, then helping her mum with a few house jobs, then go back to sleep for a few hours. She would then wake up and study for a bit in bed (University online) and then sleep, then she would help her mum make dinner and then eat and go to sleep, this was a normal day for the then 18-year-old.

"I went and visited a doctor and got blood tests and I had got Bahma Forest Virus in late 2012, but because I hadn’t rested I got Chronic Fatigue," Fricot said.

"I then saw a Naturopath for a year and didn’t play golf.

The Noosa local eventually started playing golf again just 14 months after she was first diagnosed with the condition.

In 2015, she won a Gold Queensland event and up until this month is an eight-time club champion at Noosa Springs Golf Club.

In December Fricot played Q-School (Qualifying School) in Morocco for the Ladies European Tour and then went on to travel around Europe. 

"I went on a Holiday in Europe," she said. 

"I travelled around eating my way through France and Germany and surviving the freezing cold.

"I love to cook food and have dinner parties and I do love Red Wine, I am slowing becoming a red wine connoisseur,"

"When I’m not oncourse or in the gym, I am in the kitchen creating new dishes.

Its her first year on tour as a professional.

Fricot is endeavouring to improve her short game and is focused to win a tournament this season.

"My driving and long irons is my biggest strength and I would like to improve my shots around the green'" she concluded.

"I would like to win in my rookie season on the ALPG Tour."

Images- Andrew Frackowski