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Don't call this a comeback: Karrie Webb

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Australian great Karrie Webb will play her first LPGA Tour event in two years in Florida this week
Camera IconAustralian great Karrie Webb will play her first LPGA Tour event in two years in Florida this week Credit: AAP

Australian great Karrie Webb says her return to the LPGA Tour this week is not the start of a comeback but rather a convenient chance to tee it up without hitting the road.

Seven-times major champion Webb lives in Boynton Beach, Florida, which means she only has to drive about 30 minutes to compete at the Gainbridge LPGA tournament in nearby Boca Raton.

"It's not necessarily a return, I don't think there is any full-time or even a big chunk of part-time golf in me," 47-year-old Webb told reporters at Boca Rio Golf Club on Tuesday.

"But when you're away from it for a long time there is lot of things that you do miss about it. I think it was great, very convenient that I could stay at home this week and play in a tournament for the first time in a while, and, you know, not feel like the rigours of having to travel with luggage."

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Webb will be part of a strong field this week featuring 16 of the top-25 players including world No.1 and defending champion Nelly Korda, plus countrywomen Su Oh and Katherine Kirk - although Minjee Lee and Hannah Green are yet to resume in 2022.

A World Golf Hall of Fame member who last played a full-time schedule on the LPGA Tour in 2017, Webb said she never enjoyed lugging her clubs around when on the road but does miss her fellow competitors and the banter on the range.

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Despite being a winner of 56 professional events and widely considered one of the most successful female golfers in history, Webb said she has zero desire to put in the effort it would take to challenge the game's current top players.

"That's another thing I don't really miss, is the grind of putting in the hours on the range and on the practice putting green, and I think that's why I don't really have the desire to play a lot," said Webb.

"I really don't have the desire to put the work in, and to even come close to competing out here you have to be able to put the work in to compete with these girls. The standard just gets better and better every year."

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