My 1st blog post is a little lengthy, but one I think you will find interesting. Enjoy :)
I was born and raised in and around the Toronto, Canada area. With no siblings, my parents were always looking for things to keep me occupied. I figure skated, swam, skied, did ballet, and played the piano. Many of which I still enjoy today. I started playing golf when I was around 4.5 years old. My mom, my grandmother and I decided we would try the so very popularized sport one Thanksgiving in the Muskokas – the year Tiger won his first Masters. My mom says that she teed up a ball on the 1st hole and said “hit it” and that’s how it all started. The only problem was I hated walking, waiting, pulling my golf bag and losing golf balls, but I got over it. My mom and I played at Uplands Golf and Ski Club in Thornhill until I was 10 and then I was able to join the Ladies' Golf Club of Toronto.
I went to North Toronto Christian School and The Yorkland School for elementary and secondary school. There wasn't much of a golf team in high school so most of my tournament play came during the summers. I started playing competitive golf at the age of 13. During my first tournament, I had a 12 because I didn't know what the unplayable lie rule was and kept whacking my ball that was at least 20 yards into the forest! But that didn't deter me. I played lots of tournaments and ended up winning the 2009 Ontario Juvenile Girl's, 2009 Ontario Junior Girl's Matchplay and 2011 Ontario Junior Girl's Spring Classic.
I didn't think I wanted to play college golf by the time 11th grade came around, but I decided to give it a shot since it was a once in a lifetime experience. Since I really enjoyed and did well at school, I focused my search on schools that offered excellent academic programs especially in the business area, but also had a decent golf program. Out of the many schools that I considered, I chose to go to Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business where I’ve now graduated with a B.Sc. in Business Marketing and a Minor in Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management. I knew it was the perfect school for me almost instantly and have never doubted my choice. As a Hoosier, I won 3 collegiate tournaments, had 5 perfect 4.0 GPA semesters, and earned Academic All-American status 4 years in a row.
My junior year at university proved to be a difficult one. I had taken summer school the whole summer prior and couldn’t play in any tournaments. As the school year began, I found myself in some of the most challenging but interesting classes I had ever taken. Needless to say, my brain was working overtime and my golf was not at its best. As I was standing on one of my last holes at the final tournament of the year – the BIG Ten Championship – I asked myself if I really wanted to pursue golf beyond university. And at that moment, the answer was a pretty big “NO”. But with time, all things are truly answered. The summer of 2014 was by far the most exciting and confidence boosting. I qualified and played in the CP Women’s Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Women's Amateur – all of which I had never played in before! That “no” was slowly turning back into a “maybe”.
My final year of university made me realize that time had flown by so tremendously fast and the real world was just over the horizon. I didn’t want to hold back and made sure that my last year would really count. Beyond doing well in golf and school, I wanted to make sure that I left IU fulfilling the first goal I had set when I decided to attend IU – to create a catalyst for change. Every day I woke up, I was determined to create change for good in some way or another – whether it was doing an extra 2 hours on a group project, spending an extra hour at practice, volunteering between class and practice, being involved in the student-athlete community or just supporting a friend or teammate. I wasn’t successful all the time, but I tried my best. It was the greatest honour to receive The Spirit of Indiana Director’s Award to end off my collegiate athletic career and I was truly blessed to have had the opportunity to go to such an amazing school and be surrounded by incredible friends, teammates, coaches, professors, and athletic staff.
The summer of 2015 was a pretty big whirlwind. Being on the Canadian National Women’s Amateur Team is not something you can do half-heartedly. From flying on my first ever cross-Atlantic trip for the British Ladies Amateur to LPGA Qualifying School to shooting 62 and everything else in between, this past summer was only a taste of what I hope is to come in the future. So if you were wondering, the “no” is no longer a “maybe”, it’s a “yes”. :)
I truly thank God for everything that has happened in my life. Both good and bad have made this journey one that has challenged me but also inspired me. Now that you know a little bit more about the person behind the name, the next greatest adventure is waiting for me just around the corner. G.O.L.F.
I was born and raised in and around the Toronto, Canada area. With no siblings, my parents were always looking for things to keep me occupied. I figure skated, swam, skied, did ballet, and played the piano. Many of which I still enjoy today. I started playing golf when I was around 4.5 years old. My mom, my grandmother and I decided we would try the so very popularized sport one Thanksgiving in the Muskokas – the year Tiger won his first Masters. My mom says that she teed up a ball on the 1st hole and said “hit it” and that’s how it all started. The only problem was I hated walking, waiting, pulling my golf bag and losing golf balls, but I got over it. My mom and I played at Uplands Golf and Ski Club in Thornhill until I was 10 and then I was able to join the Ladies' Golf Club of Toronto.
I went to North Toronto Christian School and The Yorkland School for elementary and secondary school. There wasn't much of a golf team in high school so most of my tournament play came during the summers. I started playing competitive golf at the age of 13. During my first tournament, I had a 12 because I didn't know what the unplayable lie rule was and kept whacking my ball that was at least 20 yards into the forest! But that didn't deter me. I played lots of tournaments and ended up winning the 2009 Ontario Juvenile Girl's, 2009 Ontario Junior Girl's Matchplay and 2011 Ontario Junior Girl's Spring Classic.
I didn't think I wanted to play college golf by the time 11th grade came around, but I decided to give it a shot since it was a once in a lifetime experience. Since I really enjoyed and did well at school, I focused my search on schools that offered excellent academic programs especially in the business area, but also had a decent golf program. Out of the many schools that I considered, I chose to go to Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business where I’ve now graduated with a B.Sc. in Business Marketing and a Minor in Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management. I knew it was the perfect school for me almost instantly and have never doubted my choice. As a Hoosier, I won 3 collegiate tournaments, had 5 perfect 4.0 GPA semesters, and earned Academic All-American status 4 years in a row.
My junior year at university proved to be a difficult one. I had taken summer school the whole summer prior and couldn’t play in any tournaments. As the school year began, I found myself in some of the most challenging but interesting classes I had ever taken. Needless to say, my brain was working overtime and my golf was not at its best. As I was standing on one of my last holes at the final tournament of the year – the BIG Ten Championship – I asked myself if I really wanted to pursue golf beyond university. And at that moment, the answer was a pretty big “NO”. But with time, all things are truly answered. The summer of 2014 was by far the most exciting and confidence boosting. I qualified and played in the CP Women’s Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Women's Amateur – all of which I had never played in before! That “no” was slowly turning back into a “maybe”.
My final year of university made me realize that time had flown by so tremendously fast and the real world was just over the horizon. I didn’t want to hold back and made sure that my last year would really count. Beyond doing well in golf and school, I wanted to make sure that I left IU fulfilling the first goal I had set when I decided to attend IU – to create a catalyst for change. Every day I woke up, I was determined to create change for good in some way or another – whether it was doing an extra 2 hours on a group project, spending an extra hour at practice, volunteering between class and practice, being involved in the student-athlete community or just supporting a friend or teammate. I wasn’t successful all the time, but I tried my best. It was the greatest honour to receive The Spirit of Indiana Director’s Award to end off my collegiate athletic career and I was truly blessed to have had the opportunity to go to such an amazing school and be surrounded by incredible friends, teammates, coaches, professors, and athletic staff.
The summer of 2015 was a pretty big whirlwind. Being on the Canadian National Women’s Amateur Team is not something you can do half-heartedly. From flying on my first ever cross-Atlantic trip for the British Ladies Amateur to LPGA Qualifying School to shooting 62 and everything else in between, this past summer was only a taste of what I hope is to come in the future. So if you were wondering, the “no” is no longer a “maybe”, it’s a “yes”. :)
I truly thank God for everything that has happened in my life. Both good and bad have made this journey one that has challenged me but also inspired me. Now that you know a little bit more about the person behind the name, the next greatest adventure is waiting for me just around the corner. G.O.L.F.