PORTLAND, OREGON | One of the five American Solheim Cup rookies heading to Gleneagles might also be the hottest player on either side of the pond. Brittany Altomare has made 27 consecutive cuts going back to the 2018 Cambia Portland Classic. This week at Columbia Edgewater Country Club she was one of the best putters in the field, finishing alone in third, four shots behind the champion, Hannah Green.

“I think I’ve just been really consistent, which I think has been the key. I’ve hit the ball consistently well, I’ve putted consistently well,” Altomare explained outside of scoring on Sunday in Portland after a final round 69.

That consistency starts with the team around her. She’s worked with the same swing coach, Justin Sheehan, for five years, and the same putting coach, Mark Sweeney, since her junior year at the University of Virginia.

Those two got her to refocus in the midst of the year.

“At the beginning of the year, when I was just making cuts, I was a little stressed out,” Altomare said. “They both told me, ‘Ok, let’s not stress, let’s not beat balls, let’s relax.’”

Part of that stress was related to the Solheim Cup, which Altomare, like many, has hoped to make since she was a young girl. She listened to the wisdom many have doled out on making the team, “You just play good golf and it’ll take care of itself, and that’s what I did,” she said.

A stronger run of good golf took place after taking her coaches’ advice. Altomare relaxed for a few days and got her mind away after the U.S. Women’s Open in early June. She rolled into Grand Rapids on the Monday, and finished tied for second at the Meijer LPGA Classic, her best of the 2019 season.

The good play continued from there. She finished in the top 30 in all nine starts since the middle of June, including three top 10s.

Altomare qualified for the eighth and final spot on the U.S. team at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open after skipping the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open the previous week. While qualifying in Scotland may have been sweet, she missed the event for a college teammate’s wedding.

She walked away with a moment she’ll never forget the day after seeing her friend tie the knot, while strolling the campus of her alma mater with long-time boyfriend Steven Stanislawzyk.

Altomare beamingly explained that Stanislawzyk proposed to her on Sunday at the lawn and rotunda on campus. She doesn’t plan to take his last name, sparing those trying to pronounce it.

Right now, she wants to make a name for herself at the Solheim Cup in Scotland, letting the game that has been on a steady climb lead the way to fulfilling the dreams of her childhood.

Altomare Rides Consistent Hot Streak Into Scotland

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