Can you believe it! It's already the middle of August! The Olympics are in full swing and it feels like time has flown by so fast since I started playing on tour in May. Since my last blog, I've had some disappointing results. I missed the cut in both Rochester and Battle Creek. And I was getting antsy because that had been 4 missed cuts in a row. The other reason I was getting antsy is because I was trying to solidify my top 150 spot on the Symetra Tour Money List. If you follow the Symetra Tour closely, you might know that finishing in the top 150 by the end of the Decatur-Forsyth Classic means that you get to skip Stage 1 of LPGA Q-School and get a direct pass to Stage 2. And missing cuts does not help the cause. To be fair, I was working on some vital swing and putting changes that I knew would work out if I just kept persisting with them. So at The Kansas City Championship, I felt like things were falling into place. To my dismay, my first round had a few hiccups thanks to the challenging and undulating greens at Staley Farms Golf Club. After figuring out that you could actually attack the pins the best by just going straight at them, I managed to shoot my best round on tour so far this year with a 2-under 70 and made the cut. Finally! Even though the 3rd round got cancelled due to damage on the course from one of the most massive thunderstorms I've ever witnessed (that's Kansas City for ya!), I was able to get up to #135 on the money list. Even though there's still one tournament to go, a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. I was no longer right on the edge. I had a little breathing room. So wish me luck!
Besides golfing on the Symetra Tour, one thing you might not know is that rookies have to complete 2 "Outside the Ropes" (i.e. volunteering) activities during the course of the season. And for me, I was excited to get involved with the community. Sometimes you just get so caught up in competing and focusing during tournament weeks (especially consecutive weeks) that you need to step away for a second. But more importantly, I wanted to be able to give back a little after how much all the sponsors and communities support us each and every week. So my first experience was at S.A.F.E. Place in Battle Creek, Michigan which is a shelter for victims of domestic violence. It was very eye opening and I learned so much about how critical it is for these types of community services to exist. My second experience was a First Tee Junior Clinic in Kansas City. The kids were so awesome and there was so much potential for all of them. It reminded me of how fun golf should be. Also, the two themes of the clinic were perseverance and confidence and that's what I used to motivate me that week in Kansas City. After both these experiences, I found that I really enjoyed doing them! So I did a third one! Another junior clinic in Decatur. And I found myself being in complete awe again at the love of the game these little ones were showing. This is just another reason why I love being on tour!
And apparently being a professional athlete doesn’t make you immune from Olympic fever! It's been all the talk this week on the course, range, putting green, everywhere! The Olympics are just so inspiring and with golf being added to the Olympics, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want to be in Tokyo in 2020. As I write this right now, Penny Oleksiak (a Canadian swimmer from Toronto) has made Canadian swimming history by winning the most medals by any swimmer in the Olympics for Canada and has just won Canada's first GOLD medal in Rio in the 100m freestyle! That's just so amazing! It's incredible! Good luck to all the athletes in Rio! Inspiration is the key word that defines the Olympics and this one is no exception!
P.S. Go Team CANADA!!!!
G.O.L.F.
Besides golfing on the Symetra Tour, one thing you might not know is that rookies have to complete 2 "Outside the Ropes" (i.e. volunteering) activities during the course of the season. And for me, I was excited to get involved with the community. Sometimes you just get so caught up in competing and focusing during tournament weeks (especially consecutive weeks) that you need to step away for a second. But more importantly, I wanted to be able to give back a little after how much all the sponsors and communities support us each and every week. So my first experience was at S.A.F.E. Place in Battle Creek, Michigan which is a shelter for victims of domestic violence. It was very eye opening and I learned so much about how critical it is for these types of community services to exist. My second experience was a First Tee Junior Clinic in Kansas City. The kids were so awesome and there was so much potential for all of them. It reminded me of how fun golf should be. Also, the two themes of the clinic were perseverance and confidence and that's what I used to motivate me that week in Kansas City. After both these experiences, I found that I really enjoyed doing them! So I did a third one! Another junior clinic in Decatur. And I found myself being in complete awe again at the love of the game these little ones were showing. This is just another reason why I love being on tour!
And apparently being a professional athlete doesn’t make you immune from Olympic fever! It's been all the talk this week on the course, range, putting green, everywhere! The Olympics are just so inspiring and with golf being added to the Olympics, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want to be in Tokyo in 2020. As I write this right now, Penny Oleksiak (a Canadian swimmer from Toronto) has made Canadian swimming history by winning the most medals by any swimmer in the Olympics for Canada and has just won Canada's first GOLD medal in Rio in the 100m freestyle! That's just so amazing! It's incredible! Good luck to all the athletes in Rio! Inspiration is the key word that defines the Olympics and this one is no exception!
P.S. Go Team CANADA!!!!
G.O.L.F.