“It’s freaking craziness, madness.”
That’s daily life for Candy Hannemann, the mother of two young daughters trying to make a return to professional golf to represent her home country of Brazil in the 2016 Olympics, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro.
“It’s funny because I was talking to some of the girls at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic (last Epson Tour event) who didn’t know I had kids and they asked me what I did that day,” said Hannemann. “I was like, ‘I’ve been up since 4:30 with my two kids’ and they looked at me like I was some alien and said ‘You have kids?’”
Yes, Hannemann, who played on the LPGA Tour from 2004-2008 and posted six top-10 finishes, is returning to professional golf with the rare additional burden of raising not one, but two kids.
Her typical day is unlike 99 percent of golfers on the LPGA or Epson Tour. Her youngest daughter, Luiza, who was born in September of 2014, now sleeps through the night but her soon to be 4-year-old Stella (June birthday) is up every morning between 5:00 and 5:30 a.m. Hannemann generally spends most early mornings with the kids doing typical motherly duties like making breakfast and playing with the kids. She also is still nursing Luiza so there is that too.
At 8:00 a.m. it is off to the gym for an hour to get a workout in. Then, back home to nurse Luiza again and spend a little more time with Stella. Once Stella goes down for her midday nap, Hannemann is out the door to practice for about four hours.
“I usually try to time my practice around her naps,” said Hannemann, who structures every minute of her day.
After practice she goes home to make dinner and then puts the kids to bed. Luiza goes to bed around 6:30 p.m. while Stella is usually in bed by 7:30 p.m.
“I have a full-time nanny with me and my supportive husband (Adam Grossman),” said Hannemann. “Whatever I need, he kind of bends his schedule to help me so I am very lucky.”
You might be reading this wondering why a 34-year-old woman with two young kids, who hasn’t played competitive golf since 2008 on the LPGA Tour and had two right wrist surgeries, is attempting a comeback. It’s actually pretty simple.
“I want to play in the Olympics in 2016 because it is in my hometown (Rio de Janeiro) and my home country (Brazil),” said Hannemann. “It is the only reason why I am coming back. I was happy being home with the kids and working here and there, but this is the one main goal that has brought me back to golf.”
Home means the world to Hannemann, who came to the United States from Brazil in high school to attend the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
It was a trip to her home course, Gavea Golf and Country Club, while she was pregnant with Luiza that ultimately convinced her to come back to golf. She played with a few childhood friends who were adamant she return. Two months before she gave birth to Luiza, she decided to go for it. In December, a mere two months after delivering her second child, she was back on the course practicing.
“I call Gavea (which is one of only two courses in Rio de Janeiro) my little sanctuary, I love it and every time I go back there I feel totally at home,” said Hannemann. “I am extremely proud of being Brazilian and extremely proud of being from Rio. I have dual citizenship (Germany) and it could have been advantageous for me to represent another country that has more resources for golf, but I have never chosen to do so because I truly identify myself with Brazilian culture and the Brazilian people.”
Hannemann retired from golf in essence because of two wrist surgeries. She had her final one in June of 2009 and didn’t play all year. In 2010, she played a total of three non-competitive rounds. In 2011, she was pregnant with Stella so she didn’t play much golf. After she had Stella late in the year, she didn’t play golf at all. She started playing a little bit just as she was pregnant with Luiza in January of 2014.
“In some ways it is like riding a bike where you don’t forget certain things, but in other ways like playing tournaments it is very difficult for me right now,” said Hannemann. “You have pressure in tournaments and situations where you have to be really on and things have to be automatic.”
The things that used to come easy to the 2001 NCAA Individual Medalist at Duke are now challenging.
“At the first hole in Lake Wales, I had my yardage book and my pin sheet and I haven’t had a yardage book and pin sheet in six years,” joked Hannemann. “I got nervous and I was like wait I have to do this (get my number) quickly and I was like ‘holy moly’. That’s the stuff you don’t think about but it is part of it.”
Although she missed the cut and was 11-over after two rounds, she feels like her game is not that far away from the form she once had.
The objective now for Hannemann is to earn points in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings in order to qualify for the one guaranteed and likely only spot that Brazil has as the home country. She knows of three other female professional golfers representing Brazil that are trying to qualify (Luciane Lee, Victoria Lovelady and Miriam Nagl). Nagl is currently the highest ranked Brazilian at No. 650 while Lee also is ranked at No. 765. There are 946 professionals from around the world that are ranked.
Hannemann, who is number 407 on the LPGA priority list, will play as many Epson Tour events as possible and is also trying to secure sponsor exemptions into LPGA Tour events. She has already secured one.
“I have one invite for an LPGA event and I’m trying to get more invites and I might play some more Monday qualifiers,” explained Hannemann. “I’m going to play in as many Epson Tour events as I can, I just can’t play a full schedule because of the kids. I’m OK with that and I’ll just make the best schedule I can.”
Hannemann will play in the next two Epson Tour events, the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial in Fort Myers and the Guardian Retirement Championship in Sarasota. Luiza, Stella and the nanny will all be in tow. She is also considering playing the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women’s Health Classic in Greenwood, S.C. and is currently looking into renting a house to accommodate the entire family.
In the end, this is a story of a woman chasing her dreams. Hannemann remembers the conversation she had with her husband when they were debating whether she should return to golf. He asked her what if this was your kid and they were in the same situation, what would you tell them?
“I would tell them to absolutely go for it,” said Hannemann. “This is as much my journey as it is to also show them that they should go after their dreams.”We should all follow and root for Candy Hannemann as she tries to achieve her ultimate dream in 2016.
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