The lone Australian in this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur field has come a long way from the toddler who watched golf on TV to stop crying
She owns a name that guarantees a degree of individuality on leaderboards and the fairways of the world, yet Justice Bosio carries herself with a humbleness that perhaps disguises her talent. She will become the fifth Australian to contest the Augusta National Women’s Amateur when she journeys to Georgia in late March (Melbourne-based Jeneath Wong will also compete, but for her native Malaysia). Preparation for Bosio – who won the national women’s Order of Merit in 2022 and was runner-up at the Australian Amateur in January for the second straight year – included a summer full of big events at home, playing alongside some of Australian golf’s biggest names.
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My parents always told me that when I would cry and they put golf on the TV, I would instantly stop crying. I thought that was really strange when they told me, but apparently it’s just something I’ve been drawn to since I was really little.
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Dad used to take me out on the golf course in my pram while Mum was working during the day. He wanted to play golf so he would pull his cart and push the pram. They eventually got me a little set of plastic clubs and they always say that I would be really upset when I had to go inside for dinner. I just wouldn’t want to stop hitting the plastic golf ball around the yard.
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We moved to Caboolture Golf Club and I started getting into junior lessons. I stopped playing for a year-and-a-bit. I just found it boring. I was like, “I don’t want to play this anymore. It’s not very fun.” About a year after I came back, I got my 18-hole handicap. I was 10, and my handicap was 27 – I think that was pretty solid for a start. Soon I began playing in Glasshouse Mountains junior tournaments, the Invincibles tournaments and Junior Golf Queensland events. Eventually I got into bigger tournaments.
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It’s been great being able to pick people’s brains. The TPS Victoria event at Rosebud was a particularly good tournament, as I was paired with Geoff Ogilvy and Karrie Webb for the first two days, then I played with Sarah Jane Smith on the last day. They’re all such nice people and being able to see what they did and to have them as a point of contact to help me if I ever need anything is always really nice.
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The day after being paired with Karrie and Geoff, I shot nine-under. It was exciting to see that I could do it in a professional tournament setup. That was cool.
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I felt like I did belong in the fields of the professional tournaments I have played in this year and the end of last year. Previously, I struggled with wondering if I was good enough to be playing against these people. But I think my performances recently have shown me that I can play in professional tournaments and compete.
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I’m pretty consistent off the tee, but I am sometimes a little too conservative. Sometimes I just need to get out of my comfort zone and believe I can hit some shots that I don’t actually think I can, but I can.
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I came home for two days after playing the Avondale Amateur in Sydney. I had received an e-mail that week saying that I was a possible participant in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur field. They asked for my information and I thought they were asking in case anyone pulled out, so I wasn’t getting my hopes up. I flew out on the Monday, and I received another e-mail saying I had a UPS package from Augusta National arriving the next day. I phoned everyone saying, “My invitation is coming in the mail!” My dad opened it and FaceTimed me.
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I have spoken to Kirsten Rudgeley, who played in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur last year. She was very helpful with helping me figure out certain things that I needed to figure out and getting an understanding for what the vibe of everything will be like, as well as the schedule and some little tips and tricks. She told me to make sure I go into the merchandise store before everyone else, otherwise I won’t get anything I want because everyone else will be in there and it’ll be really busy.
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I’m really driven to make sure I’m there for the final round, but not everything goes your way sometimes, so you’ve just got to play as well as you can. If it doesn’t work out, at least you still get to play Augusta for a practice round and say you’ve been there.
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I’ve had a little bit of a look at the Champions Retreat course where the first two rounds are played, but not too in depth yet. I’ll definitely be going more into depth with my coach and my team, just trying to figure out some things. Kirsten said that it is very tough, which I wouldn’t expect anything less.
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Beyond the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, I’m not 100 percent sure what my plan is. I’m hoping to go back over to America for their summer and do the same schedule I did last year there. I’ll work on getting my Rolex Ranking up as well in hopes of being able to skip a stage of Q-School.
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I really like to read. I’ve been getting into reading so far in 2023. I recently read Verity by Colleen Hoover. It’s a viral book on the internet, but it was actually really, really good. It was probably my favourite book that I’ve read so far.
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I’ve always loved travelling. I don’t think it’s a chore at all. Being home is always really nice, but I love to travel and I’m looking forward to hopefully doing it for the rest of my career.
[TOP/MAIN PHOTO: Courtesy of Australian Golf Media]
