R.I.P. Kate Wright
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Knowing how heartbroken so many with the European Tour must be, I can only say that Kate Wright was one of the great friends to golf media members and players. Maybe you weren’t so sure upon meeting her but in time you quickly appreciated Kate’s wit, brains and efficiency at running what is, essentially an adult day care center. AKA a media center.
Her tragic passing at 36 from cancer was noted in this lovely European Tour write-up, and while nothing about losing such a young, valued member of the golf world and planet earth can be spun in a positive light, I did get a nice smile imaging her getting coaching from Poulter. What a scene that must have been:
As the Tour’s Media Relations Co-ordinator for the past 12 years, Kate was a hugely popular figure amongst staff and players, but also amongst the journalists and broadcasters she worked with in media centres around the world.
Known affectionately as ‘Wrighty’, Kate was an accomplished golfer at Leighton Buzzard Golf Club, in Bedfordshire, England, where she was coached as a youngster by future Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter.
After graduating from Staffordshire University with a BA Hons in Journalism, Kate initially worked in cricket, another sport she had a passion for, taking the role of Media Relations Assistant for England & Wales Cricket Board in 2006 before joining the European Tour’s Media Department in January 2008.
She quickly became a familiar and popular face in Media Centres as the main point of contact for all accredited international media and broadcasters and, through her role, helping to co-ordinate European Tour press conferences.
Kate passed away at her family home in Great Brickhill with parents Brian and Sue and her cat Frankie at her side.
She will be missed in so many ways and for those visiting from afar, the European Tour will never be quite the same without Kate. From her boss and friend, Scott Crockett:
“While we all feel a sense of loss right now, it is incomparable to what her dad Brian and mum Sue are going through. It goes without saying our hearts go out to them and that the thoughts of everyone at the European Tour who knew Kate and worked with her over the years are with them now. RIP Wrighty.”
Some of the tributes, starting with Tommy Fleetwood, naturally:
