Hello LPGA Fans and Readers!
I'm writing this blog from a charter plane while traveling from Springfield to Atlantic City in the beginning of my third week of six weeks on the road. A lot has happened since the Tres Marias Championship in Morelia, Mexico, over a month and a half ago. The area and community in Morelia was amazing. Everyone from the fans to the volunteers were great to have around that week. Seeing all the little kids running around asking for autographs and trying in broken English to communicate with players and players trying to communicate back in broken Spanish was a neat thing. If you told them you spoke a little Spanish their faces would light up and they'd start speaking so quickly I could only catch a few words here and there. Once I returned home from a 21-hour day of travel, I took a day or so off and got right back at it for the Bell Micro LPGA Classic held in Mobile, AL.
Mobile was a lot of fun. The course was tough, the greens were firm, and the golf was great. I picked up a caddy, David Stone, the week of Mobile and he and I clicked really well. He will be on the bag for the foreseen future! I made my first cut in Mobile only to have the tournament shortened to 54 holes due to rain. A poor 3rd round moved me down instead of up the leaderboard, but, hey - it felt good to get the first one under my belt! I think the funniest thing I saw at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic were the signs the ushers held during play. Instead of the typical, "Quiet Please," they said "Hush Y'all." I found that very entertaining...nice to see some humor out there on the course! As I've been out here the last few months, I've learned that a lot of it is experience. It's just getting out there, being comfortable, and trusting what you're doing. My golf feels as good as ever - it's just learning to attack the course when I can and lay back when that may be the better option. Basically, fitting my game into the course.
I went straight from Mobile to Memphis, TN, where I participated in the PRO (Pink Ribbon) Pro-Am. It was an amazing time and for a great cause. I hope to make it an annual event; it is too good not to return year after year. Since we had around three weeks between events, I went out to the Women's NCAA Championships in Wilmington, NC, to watch a few friends. I was hoping DU would get in, but they missed it by one. However, Kimberly Kim played as an individual so I got to see a few Pioneers out there that week. My best friend and former teammate, Dawn Shockley, was out there that week as well, so we got to spend some quality time together. Much needed for the both of us! I don't think either one of us stopped laughing from the moment I picked her up at the airport to the time we said goodbye five days later!
After NC, I headed home for a little R&R and preparation for the U.S. Open qualifier and CO Open. The Broadmoor was a great course, a great challenge, and was a superb test for the 2011 U.S. Women's Open. There were three spots for 57 women and I finished 4th. I missed the Open by one shot, but have the 1st alternate spot and will head out to Oakmont after the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic Presented by Kroger in Ohio, just in case I get thrown in at the last minute. I hope that's the case! The CO Open was fantastic as always and my Amateur partner and founder of the Colorado Golf Foundation, Pat Hamill, and I did pretty well. We finished T 3rd over the three days. We left a few out there, but had a great time together. I got to play with my best friend all three rounds too - recently graduated Duke Blue Devil Alison Whitaker. Getting to stay in my home in Denver with my best buds and roommates was so good. It made me really miss Colorado and the friendships I've fostered there.
Straight from Denver to Springfield with a 12-hour stop in Albuquerque to do some laundry and repack, and the six weeks on the road continued. My best friend and recently graduated UNM golfer, Britney Choy, is making the swing from Albuquerque to Springfield to Atlantic City with me the next two weeks for some added company. It's been nice to have a friend alongside! She was going to hoof the bag both tournaments, but because David and I are working so well together, she's a good enough friend to remind me I need to take care of myself every once and a while and put Dave on the bag. So, maybe she'll grab another player's bag this week at the ShopRite.
We stayed with an amazing host family in Springfield - Theresa and Gary Boley. They are members at Panther Creek Country Club and Theresa is in line to become the first female president of the club. They are both avid golfers with a passion for the game. They were so welcoming. Both Brit and I had an amazing time staying with them. Oh, and they had a "fun freezer" which was stocked with ice cream (it's usually for their grandchildren, but they were nice enough to let us have some too!). Thank you, Theresa and Gary!!!!! We also spent a good hour and a half Saturday afternoon out in front of the house playing frisbee (three of them going at once) with six neighborhood kids between four and 10. It was fun to feel like a kid again, and funny enough, it was the two of us who had to go inside because it was dinner time, not the little kids!
I'm looking forward to what the next few weeks have in store for me. I'll be playing in my first Pro-Am this week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic, and I'm excited to have that opportunity. I also get to see my mom in the next couple weeks in Rochester and Sylvania, as well as my dad in Sylvania. I'll be missing Father's Day with my family this coming Sunday, but I can't wait to see them soon!
Enjoy the day!
Katie
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Topics: Rookie Blog, Kempter, Katie
