Karrie Webb worried that her career is tough act to follow for youngsters Karrie Webb tees off in the Ladies Masters pro-am at the RACV Royal Pines resort. Picture: Glenn Hampson Source: Supplied SEVEN-TIMES major winner Karrie Webb fears the shadow she casts across women's golf in Australia is so large that it is stunting the growth of the next generation of female players. Just as Greg Norman's legend makes it hard for any of his potential successors to shine, Webb believes constant comparisons with her stellar career are making it more difficult for younger Australian women to succeed. "As soon as they show promise they get compared to my career and I think that's just too tough," Webb said on the eve of the Australian Ladies Masters on the Gold Coast, where tournament chairman Bob Tuohy described her yesterday as Australia's greatest player (male or female). "I could never have imagined the career that I've had and if I was just starting out and someone was putting that on me to be someone else ... (it) tends to make those players feel like that's the only way to be successful, if their career compares to mine," Webb said. Webb pleaded for patience in judging the careers of younger players such as Stacey Keating, who won twice on the Ladies European tour last year, and US LPGA rookie Julia Boland. "There are a lot of young girls just starting out," she said. I feel that if we encourage them in the right way ... success as a professional golfer could come 10 years in for them and they could have a purple patch of five or six years where they are a top-10 player in the world. I think with the rare exceptions of maybe five or six players in the last five years that have been under 20 and been successful, that doesn't happen very often. Stacey Keating is a perfect example. She turned pro when she was 24. It's not a race when you start off in professional golf. I'm not the example because I did start off straight out of the gates, but more often than not there's such a learning curve from amateur golf to professional golf and I think that takes different amounts of time for different individuals. Webb has played a key role in Keating's development, taking her to the US as a teenager to show her the demands of a professional player. They have been paired in today's first round of the Masters, along with British Open winner Jihai Shin of South Korea, and both are excited by the prospect. "I think (Keating's) quote was she's died and gone to heaven at 26 ... about playing with me tomorrow," Webb said. Stacey's probably the most excitable person that I have ever met and the most enthusiastic person. I don't think I have ever loved golf as much as she loves golf. Webb thinks Keating has the grit and the game to succeed, recalling her reaction after she was disqualified from last year's British Open for signing an incorrect scorecard. "She was bawling her eyes out - I haven't seen anyone so devastated," Webb said. It just shows the mental strength that she had, she went next week ... and won the event, and then won the week after that. She's a very gritty and determined player and gets the most out of her game. Webb, who went without a tournament win for first time in her career last year, is also confident her own game is in good shape. "It was probably one of my most consistent years for the last four or five," she said. Webb remains intent on adding to her major titles before she hits retirement age after the Rio Olympics, where golf will return to the program. "I know I still have the game to do that," she said.