Preparation Pays Kira Meixner Early Dividends

Named 2007 Canadian Women's Amateur of the Year and a member of Canada's National Women's Amateur Team, Kira seemingly ended her amateur career in her native province by winning the British Columbia Amateur championship, followed by outstanding performances in both the British and United States Amateurs and as a member of the Canadian team that finished fourth in the Women's World Amateur Team Championship a month ago in Australia.

However, somewhere along the line Meixner decided to delay her journey into the world of professional golf when she announced she would not go to the LPGA Qualifying School sectionals this year but instead remain as an amateur for one more season.

"I'm someone who really likes to be organized and prepared," said Meixner, who graduated Magna Cum Laude from KSU this past spring after being named 2008 MAC Player of the Year and an All-American Scholar by the National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) for the fourth time.

The three-time National Team member announced instead that she intended to go to the Duramed FUTURES Tour qualifying school, the LPGA's supplemental tour, to hopefully secure her playing card and spend a season preparing for her pro career by playing a combination of provincial, Canadian and international amateur tournaments together with as many events as she could on the pro FUTURES Tour and the CN Canadian Ladies Tour.

Competing in Lakeland, Florida against a field of more than 300 players from around the world, including a number she's already faced internationally and in college over the past four years, the 22-year-old Meixner shot four rounds of par or better (72-69-72-70) for a solid 5-under par 283---five shots behind the 72-hole leader---and tied for fifth place, good enough to guarantee her a full exemption when the FUTURES Tour begins in March, 2009.

The actual number of exempt FUTURES Tour players will be determined following the final stage of LPGA Qualifying School in early December.

Just hours after completing the tournament and and being indoctrinated by the LPGA and Duramed FUTURES Tour staff, BC Golf News spoke with the elated Meixner.

Kira Meixner Interview

In light of the outstanding season another amateur, 50-year-old Jackie Little of Port Albernie, enjoyed while winning the BC Mid-Amateur title for the third successive season and, in her first year of eligibility, winning the BC Senior, the Canadian Senior and the Pacific Northwest Senior Championships, it's unlikely Meixner will be named Canada's Outstanding Amateur for a second year in a row.

However, the preparation she's taking now for the future of her professional career may someday lead to Kira Meixner to being compared to the likes of Dawn Coe-Jones and Lisa Walters of BC, PEI's Lorie Kane and possibly Ontario's eight-time LPGA winner, Sandra Post.