Born and raised in Faulconbridge, Rachel Bailey (pictured) took a giant leap in her career by competing in the US Women’s Open held in Minnesota last weekend.

While she didn’t play as well as she had hoped, the experience was invaluable.

“It’s the biggest tournament I’ve ever played in,” 27-year-old Rachel said. “It was very different to what I’m used to which was great because it pushed me to make myself a better player.”

Scores of 80 and 79 in the first two rounds were not enough to make the cut. Though disappointed with the results, watching the world’s best in action was eye-opening for the former Springwood Country Club junior.

“I played a practice round with (2005 winner) Bertie Kim. Just watching her play and prepare . . . I was in awe,” Rachel said.

Simply making it through the arduous qualifying process for the tournament took what Rachel described as her best performance of the year.

She currently plies her trade on the Futures Tour, one level below the top women’s tour. With relatively modest prize money on offer she drives herself to most tournaments and relies on friends for accommodation.

Despite the many difficulties of life on the tour, her experience at the US Open has energised her for the future.

“There are days when you enjoy what you do and there are days when it’s a grind just to get through the day,” she said. “After this experience I’ve got a new drive, a new motivation and a new focus.”

There are eight tournaments left on the tour this year and Rachel intends to put into practice the valuable lessons she learned from watching the best players in the world.