Golfer who is allergic to grass – Despite breaking out in rashes and suffering from asthma, Kristle dreams of US circuit

HER legs are covered in patchy rashes from an allergy to grass, and she is never without her inhaler.

Kristle Koh, who suffers from asthma, is one unlikely golfer.

Wrong. Even more remarkable, the Raffles Junior College student has a handicap of just two.

She said: ‘I still break out in rashes, even though I wear slacks on the greens. It helps that golf is rather sedentary because strenuous activities can trigger asthmatic attacks in me.’

But she perseveres. Her love for the game has become ‘an integral part’ of her.

It keeps the 16-year-old going despite itching, bleeding skin, and the occasional asthmatic attacks.

At age 11, barely a year after her father Koh Song Chuang had introduced her to the sport, Kristle represented Singapore in the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships.

It is the same tournament that Tiger Woods had previously won three straight times.

Then came her first taste of victory in the 2002 Schools National Golf Championships, followed by another title in the C Division of the Singapore Junior Golf Invitational Championships.

Now, Kristle is hoping to make her South-east Asia Games debut in Thailand at the end of the year after emerging as the individual runner-up in the recent Asean Schools Championships in Manila.

She lost to Thailand’s Dolnapa Phudthitipinj in the play-off. Both had finished on one-over 289 after four rounds.

She also teamed up with Kok Jo Ee, Stephanie Loi and Koh Sock Hwee to give the Republic another silver behind champions Thailand.

Lamented Kristle: ‘I was disappointed with my individual performance. I could have won had I not miscalculated my putt and hit it with insufficient force.

‘I was affected by the crowd and succumbed to nerves and self-inflicted pressure.’

It was not a first for the bubbly teen. She has had to make emergency toilet excursions before tee-offs owing to sudden bouts of diarrhoea induced by anxiety.

Neither does it help that she is somewhat clumsy. A lamp in her family’s Dairy Farm apartment is missing two glass panes after she smashed it while practising her swing.

She also once spent 10 minutes on the ground, winded after being hit in the stomach by a golf ball despite hearing a ‘fore!’ warning.

During the interview, she brandished Robert K. Winters’ book on The Commandments Of Mindpower Golf. It is her new aid in sharpening her concentration and building nerves of steel.

Said Kristle: ‘I’m working on being mentally stronger and more focused. I want to be in the SEA Games team and be the first female golfer to bring back a medal since Kee Bee Khim’s silver in 1991.

‘I’m also considering turning professional. My ultimate dream is to play on the United States Ladies Professional Golf Association circuit.

‘I give myself another six years or so to achieve that.’

Her coach, Skye Neal, director of instruction at David Leadbetter Golf Academy, is confident that his charge will achieve her targets.

‘Her shots are accurate, she’s got a good swing, and she just keeps getting better. I’ve every faith in her.’

Source:
Paper: Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Date: June 29, 2007