Golfer Karen Stupples begins her 14th consecutive season on the LPGA Tour next week in the Honda Championship in Thailand.

Stupples (pictured), who spent some of her close-season break back home in Deal over Christmas, is ranked 60 in the world.

When she first turned pro, the world rankings were dominated by players from the USA and Europe, but of the 59 players now above Stupples in the current rankings, more than half are from Asia including the world number 1, Yani Tseng from Taiwan.

Tseng is coached by South African Gary Gilchrist and Stupples also joined Gilchrist’s stable last year, which in money terms was one of her most successful since moving to America.

Stupples finished 29th on the LPGA money list with earnings of $397,081 and revealed the part that Gilchrist had played, saying: "Gary is a great coach and he’s really simplified things for me in practice and that makes it a lot easier for me to get it right out on the course."

Stupples’ total career earnings on the LPGA Tour now stand at $3,826,294 and if you add in the £500,000 that she has won on her brief appearances in Europe since 1999, including winning the Women’s British Open title in 2004, it means her total earnings from tournaments alone is now in the region of £3 million.

But her one regret is that, apart from her British Open triumph, she has only won two other professional tournaments, and she is determined to increase that number.

She said: "In terms of consistency I think I played better last year than I have ever done."