ORLANDO, FLORIDA | “To be honest, it reminded me of being at home playing with the guys that I play with constantly.”
That was the assessment Ryann O’Toole made immediately after finishing her first round ever in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club. O’Toole won for the first time in her career last summer at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, qualifying for the season-opening event. And while every player, no matter where they stand in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, came into the week with a little dust around the edges of the game, O’Toole embraced the format and relished her time playing with a couple of celebrities.
“It's just a little different feel from playing with your fellow competitors,” she said. “It gave me that laid-back sense that I have when I'm just playing golf back at home on off weeks.”
The other two guys in her group were Ryan Longwell, a former NFL kicker, and country music singer/songwriter Colt Ford, who is a good enough player to have made a couple of starts on the Korn Ferry Tour.
“These guys are killer at what they have done in their professions,” O’Toole said. “I played with Colt in Phoenix in a pro-am. And then meeting Ryan for the first time was great. He has a good game. These guys have been very successful in their careers. To kind of talk to them about their sport, especially (Ryan’s) position, how it mentally relates to golf.
“I always felt like a kicker feels what we feel as golfers. You know, it's not reactionary. It's very methodical. You're stuck in between times of hitting (golf shots) or kicking (field goals) to think. We chatted about that.”
In between conversations about field goal psychology and carving a niche in country music, O’Toole put together five birdies and one birdie to be a shot out of the lead after the first round.
“You know, there are definitely times to grind and definitely times to have fun,” O’Toole said, reflecting on how she approaches the game these days. “I think just hanging out and playing with the guys, putting something on the line, is my version of having fun.”
Like everyone, she took a healthy and much-needed break after the end of last season. “As soon as we got done playing CME, I played probably two rounds of golf prior to (my) wedding; sponsor obligations. Sometimes it's hard to get away. I know that for the most part I wasn't going to play those weeks and then I wasn't going to practice when we went on our family-and-friend honeymoon, so I basically started back up when I got home.
“Then I got COVID again over Christmas, which was really no big deal. I was down for a couple days and pretty much just a small cold. It was fine. Literally, the start of the new year I was back up and running.”
Then she got some work done with her coach, enjoyed time with family, and came out swinging in the first round of 2022. That’s the sign of a veteran.
But it also helps to have fun early in the year. O’Toole’s group on Thursday certainly did that.
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