Blog Takeover
Florida Recap and Reflections on the Epson Tour
Ellie’s mom here. I am taking over the blog this week. Ellie’s dad, Doug, and I went out for the second of her two tournaments in the Orlando area and since I was there and took a ton of pictures and videos, I thought I would shake things up a little and share my experience from the perspective of a proud and nervous parent watching her daughter on the Epson Tour for the first time.
So…full disclosure, I was NOT present for the first tournament. But I have heard the recap firsthand and there were a lot of weather delays. In fact, of the 11 days Ellie played golf in Florida, there were weather delays for 9 of them.
There’s already a limited amount of time for players to get a full practice round in, so the weather made it even more challenging. In five tournaments, Ellie has yet to to get two full (18-hole) practice rounds in, despite arriving three or four days early. There’s always a Pro/Am on Wednesday and Thursday mornings; and she often has rookie meetings she has to attend, the course is closed on Mondays or, in this case, closed due to weather. Not getting a full practice round might not seem like a big deal, but an opportunity to play the full course a couple of times can make a difference. In a few of Ellie’s tournaments earlier this year, there were a couple of holes on which she had never even hit a drive until the tournament started. That’s not ideal.
But, you still gotta go out and give it everything, so here’s the recap.
IOA Golf Classic presented by LPT Realty
Alaqua Country Club
Longwood, Florida
Round 1
Ellie had an afternoon tee time for her first round and she started with three birdies in a row before the horn sounded on her 4th hole for a weather delay. After a couple hours and A LOT of rain, Ellie was back out on the course. Her first hole following the delay was a par 3 island green hole. Her tee back landed on the bank and rolled into the edge of the water hazard, but Ellie thought she could get a club on it if she took off her shoes and waded into the water. She did, however the ball came out too low and the ball skidded over the green into the water on the other side. Since it was a yellow hazard, she had to go back to the tee box, and hit again. Even with par on the second ball, she ended up with a triple on the hole.
She rallied with a birdie on the next hole, but had a few more bogeys on 7, 9 and 10 and doubled 12, where she found another water hazard. On her 16th hole the horn sounded again; this time it was for darkness. She made her way back to her host family which was 35 minutes away, just to turn around and head back to the course at 6:30am the next day to finish her last 2 holes and continue on to play her second round.
Round 2
Ellie needed a good round to make the cut, because the scores were pretty low. She was putting well, but the course was narrow and she needed to hit the ball well to stay in it. She told me the rest of the round was really a grind, because in spite of putting well the day before, she had several putts lip out. After a bit of a shaky start on her first nine, she rallied and was 2 under on the second half of round 2 to finish even par for the day. Several more weather delays on Saturday afternoon meant the afternoon tee times were unable to finish, so she had no idea where the cut would be. Those groups went out Sunday morning to finish, but were almost immediately pulled off the course due to more rain and lightning. Initially, tour staff said they would extend the tournament to Monday, but after another couple of hours, they canceled the final round. Ellie placed T79, so missed the “cut”, which in this case wasn’t really a cut, but was just top 60 and ties who got a paycheck.
Florida Swing – Part 2
Inova Mission Inn Resort Championship
El Campeon
Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida
Doug and I arrived Wednesday evening and Ellie met us at the airport. Thursday, Ellie and Doug headed to the course around 11, so she could warm up and then get in line for the first-come, first-served practice rounds, which started about 1:30, following that day’s Pro/Am. She had played the front on Wednesday and was hoping to play the back. They were only allowed to play 9 each day. Afterwards she practiced for another hour or so before heading back to the AirBNB.
Round 1
Ellie’s Round 1 tee time was 12:41. We got to the course at about 11. Ellie had lunch and was warmed up and ready to go when they blew the horn for weather at 12:15. We waited in the clubhouse for about an hour before they released the morning group to finish their rounds. Ellie’s tee time was bumped to 1:51 p.m.
There are two courses at Mission Inn Resort and Ellie’s tournament was on El Campeon, which is a par 73. It’s a good course, fair, with a lot of water. It was playing long, and it was windy both days, but the storms had blown away a lot of the humidity that Ellie said had been stifling the week before.
Ellie started on the back nine and she was playing super steady. She had good looks at birdies on the first few holes, but her putts just slipped by. Florida greens and fairways are Bermuda grass, which is very different than the Bent and Poana grass we’re used to playing on the west coast. It’s very grainy and hard to read the break if you’re not accustomed to it.
On 14, a par 5, Ellie made bogey after her drive hit a tree. She birdied the next hole, a par 3 144 yards to an island green, after hitting her tee ball to four feet. Another par on 16 and the round continued to feel really steady. An errant shot on 17 led to a bogey, but she made a long putt on 18 for birdie and turned at even par.
Ellie parred 1, 2 and 3. She had a bogey on 4 after missing the green. She saved par with an amazing bunker shot on 5.
On 6, her approach was long, hit the cart path behind the hole and ran under a row of 15 ft high shrubs. Her ball stopped on the other side and she couldn’t even see the hole. Doug had to show her the line before she chipped over the hedge. It was a great shot, but didn’t roll out like she thought it would, leaving her about 20 feet down a tier for par. She lagged it to a foot, and took bogey. A 3 putt on 7 led to another bogey.
Hole 8 is a 138 yard par three to a green surrounded by water on three sides. Ellie’s tee shot was right at the pin and the ball landed on the green. It spun backwards and came to rest against the wooden pylon at the edge of the green inside the yellow hazard. Ellie and her dad looked at all the options, but there was really no shot from there, so she had to take it back to the drop zone, which was still 100 yards out, over water. She landed it just left of the green, and ended up with double bogey.
On her final hole, she hit a great drive and second shot on 9 and had 6 feet for birdie, but settled for par and a first round score of 78 (5 over).
Round 2
Round 2 was a early tee time – 7:41 starting on #1. She had a couple bogeys on the front and then had a birdie on 10. Putts were not dropping, which led to a few more strokes than she really deserved and a plugged ball in the bunker led to double on 16. She bounced back with a great birdie on 17 and par on 18 to finish with another 78.
Reflections
It had been since Stage II of Q-School (last November) since I had seen Ellie play in a tournament. I was excited to be there to support her and that Doug was able to caddie for her. I always feel like she plays better when we’re there. (It’s a mom thing, I know.) I’m sorry she didn’t make the cut, but I’m still really happy we got to spend the time with her. It also gave me some insight into what her job is really like.
It sounds glamorous to be a professional golfer. People think you get to travel a lot, play golf every day and hang out with other people who love the game as much as you do. All that is true. But it’s only a small part of the reality of playing on the Epson Tour. These young women arrive on Monday or Tuesday, practice or play in the Pro/Am Wednesday and Thursday, compete Friday, Saturday (and hopefully Sunday) and then get up and do it all over again. They’re living out of a suitcase. They’re driving miles and miles between tournaments, or taking an Uber in the wee hours to catch a flight to the next site. Sometimes, they are lucky enough to stay with a host family so they don’t incur the cost of a hotel room. This is wonderful and generous. But at the same time, being a house guest with strangers can be a little awkward.
The Tour provides a “to go” breakfast and lunch on tournament days, but the players are on their own for other meals. Sometimes they eat with their host families, or find a Chipotle or other moderately healthy fast food. In spite of the fact that they are all together, there is a sense of loneliness from being on the road for 3, 4 or 5 weeks in a row. They are not going home at the end of their work day, having dinner with their family, walking their dog, or sleeping in their own bed.
And there is the pressure. It’s not “just golf” any more. It’s their career and their livelihood. Missed putts mean missed cuts. Missed cuts means no payout and also affect their status, or ability to play in future tournaments. Even when a player performs well enough to earn some money, it is rarely enough to cover their expenses. At the last tournament, those players who tied for 11th place earned just slightly over $3,000. But factor in the tournament entry fee, airfare, a rental car, hotel and food, there’s nothing left to pay rent, health insurance or set aside for savings.
And of course, the competition is fierce. Almost every golfer in the field could win on any given day if she has her A-game. It doesn’t matter how good you were in college, or your amateur career. Past accomplishments are just that – past – and what matters is how you play this week. That’s what determines whether you will get to play next week, next month, or next year. The field expands after the first few tournaments, which means more golfers get into the tournament, but the cut stays at 60 and ties. Next week, there will be 154 players in the field and 90+ of them will miss the cut. It’s brutal.
Most of these women are in their early 20’s. They don’t have a cadre of coaches, trainers, or teammates following them from tournament to tournament, remembering the rain gear, to check in for the next flight, or make sure there are healthy snacks in the bag. Very few have caddies or parents there. They are doing this alone.
I don’t want any of this to sound like I am ungrateful. I am very thankful the LPGA has made this developmental tour a priority, and appreciate the sponsors who make the tour a reality. As hard as it is, I know it’s also an amazing opportunity for Ellie and other young women, an opportunity that a lot of people would like to have. I also know that the chance to chase their dream is possible because of people like you, who provide emotional and financial support. Since this was my first time seeing Ellie at work in her new profession, I just wanted to share a perspective that many may not see. And I want to say how much admiration I have for these young women, who are so motivated and inspired to achieve greatness.
