Golfer Shai Pearce to defend Qld ladies sand green title at Mt Morgan

Despite spending three months in hospital with premature twins, this amazing mum won an incredible state title in 2024. She’s now aiming to repeat the dose in Mt Morgan this weekend.

Shai Pearce (centre) celebrates her 2024 victory with B grade winner Di Skinner and C grade winner Tanya Beck.

Gracemere’s Shai Pearce doesn’t take her golf too seriously and maintains that winning is a bonus.

Despite her relaxed approach, she’s managed to bag a number of those bonuses, including twice winning the Queensland Ladies Sand Green Championships.

The mother-of-four will be out to defend that title this weekend on her home course of Mount Morgan, 40km west of Rockhampton, as one of 76 amateurs contesting the 36-hole event.

Shai Pearce celebrates after winning her second title at the Queensland Ladies Sand Green Championships, this time at Richmond in 2014.

Pearce rates her sand green victories very highly, particularly last year’s success in Richmond which followed one of the most traumatic and stressful times of her life.

“Our twins were born at 28 weeks in February and we spent three months in hospital in Brisbane,” she revealed.

“To then travel away in June and bring a title like that home was a massive achievement.”

Pearce broke through for her first win in Boulia in 2021 in what was her third year at the championships.

She will play off a handicap of five this weekend on the par 70-course with which she is all too familiar.

Shai Pearce will be looking for a strong showing on her home course this weekend.

It is the first time Mount Morgan has hosted the championships, something Pearce said was a coup for a club which has a membership of about 25.

“To have this event at home and hold it locally is really amazing,” she said.

“The course is looking great; it’s in really good condition and the volunteers have put in the hard yards to get it ready.

“While I’d love to defend the title, top of the list for me will be catching up with a fantastic bunch of ladies who I only get to see once a year and for this to be a successful event for the club.”

Central Queensland golfer Shai Pearce receives her trophy from Golf Australia events manager Aaron Goggin after her win in Boulia in 2021.

Pearce said it would be great if Central Queensland golfers could continue their domination of the event, having won it for the past four years after Wowan’s Kylie Miles took the honours in 2022 and 2023.

Pearce said the sand greens presented a challenge unlike grass.

Once players get to the putting surface, they use a rake to smooth a path from their ball to the hole.

“There’s a little bit of prep work involved on the sand as compared to grass where you just stand up and hit,” she said.

Shai Pearce will tee off in the Queensland Sand Green Ladies Championships on her home course of Mt Morgan this weekend.

“The consistency of the ground is also a lot softer so you have to hit the ball harder.”

Pearce was introduced to golf by her grandfather John Weber, who was a long-serving greenkeeper at Wowan.

She started playing at that club when she was six or seven and got into competitive golf at age 13.

“Golf is very much a social thing for me,” she said.

“I really enjoy the company and it’s a fantastic environment to be in.

“You have your good days and your bad days on the course but if you play good golf and get a win, it’s a bonus.”

Originally published as Golfer Shai Pearce to defend Qld ladies sand green title at Mt Morgan