Top 20 Taylor

And for York's LET professional Kirsty Taylor, it was also an eventful year with a debut appearance at the US Open alongside Sorenstam, and an 18th-place finish on the European Order of Merit.

Taylor, 32, has now completed nine years on the European Tour but the York Golf Club member is still eager to carry on playing.

She said: "You are always pleased to finish in the top 20 on the tour but I probably feel I played a bit better than that and did not score as well as I should have done. I missed out on the Solheim Cup, which I have never played in, but I was never in the top seven qualifying spots so that never really entered my mind.

"I just wanted a good set of results and have now finished in the top 25 five times. I was second in 2000 but did not make the Solheim Cup because of my results in the other qualifying year.

"This year has been tough, especially when I did not do too well at the end of the season but, as long as I keep enjoying it, I will definitely carry on."

The highlight of Taylor's 2003 campaign was unquestionably her appearance in the US Open at Pumpkin Ridge in Portland, finishing 35th with rounds of 71, 75, 73 and 78.

Her efforts earned her a cheque for $20,360 and she enjoyed the whole experience, saying: "I had to qualify three weeks before in Florida and then go back out there. I've always watched the men's US Open and thought 'God, that looks difficult' and it really was during the women's equivalent. The course was fantastic and the greens were incredible.

"At times I had putts when it was just a case of keeping the ball on the green and it was the toughest test I have ever faced. I probably putted better than I have all year, which I needed to do, but I did not strike the ball as well as I had during the season.

"Having said that, I went out there for my first US Open to make the cut so I was very pleased to finish 35th. The whole event was very special with amazing locker-rooms and a courtesy car that was waiting for me at the airport and available for use all week.

"I have not decided whether I will go back yet. It just depends whether there is a gap in the European Tour schedule again."

The US Open must seem a lifetime away from the Lancashire pitch and putt sites that Taylor first swung a golf club with her grandmother - an enthusiastic golfer who enjoyed her first hole in one at the age of 70.

Taylor, who has three aces to her name, comes from a golfing family in which her grandmother's father was also a professional.

She joined Clitheroe Golf Club at the age of eight and became a scratch golfer three weeks after her 16th birthday.

"I was gutted because I wanted to do it before," she said.

After studying for a PE, Sports and Recreation Management degree at Loughborough University, Taylor then played amateur golf for two years, winning the British Strokeplay Championship and the English Intermediate title, as well as representing Europe in the Curtis Cup and Great Britain and Ireland in the World Team Championship.

She turned professional in 1994 and joined the tour a year later.

Her best performance, to date, is a second-place finish after shooting a final round of six under in the 2000 Weetabix Open at Royal Birkdale.

That display earned Taylor £50,000 in prize money - her biggest pay day in golf.

She has now been a member at York GC for eight years and is pleased with her Strensall surroundings, saying: "I get a lot of support from the members and the practice grounds are great.

"If you play off the back tees, the course is also about the same length as we have to play on the tour."

Taylor is still searching for that elusive first tour win but is not setting herself any future goals and targets in the sport.

Nor does she believe she will be joining Sorenstam in taking on the likes of Tiger Woods on the men's tour.

The Swedish star shot rounds of 71 and 74 before missing the cut at the Bank of America Colonial in May but Taylor said: "I don't think men and women should play together although I think Annika did women's golf a great favour in showing that lady golfers can compete.

"I think the men professionals sat up and thought 'bloody hell, she can play'. I also think that if she had played five or six events, instead of one with all the circus going on around her, then she may well have proved she can play at that level.

"But the main difference between men and women is the distance they can hit the ball. We just can't compete."

KIRSTY TAYLOR FACT-FILE

Born: 18/06/1971 in Clitheroe

Club: York GC

Turned professional: 1994

Joined tour: 1995

Top-10 finishes: 22

Professional honours: 2nd in the Weetabix British Open 2000, 2nd in the Ladies European LET Order of Merit 2000, 35th in the US Open 2003

Amateur honours: English Intermediate champion 1992 & 1993, British Strokeplay champion 1994, a team member at the 1994 Curtis Cup and World Team Championship.

Updated: 11:11 Saturday, October 04, 2003