Stage II Recap
Week before last I was in Venice, Florida for Stage II of Q- School. The tournament was originally set to happen in mid-October, however Hurricane Ian caused so much destruction that they postponed until mid November. The tournament was hosted by Plantation Golf and Country Club.
I got to Venice a few days before the tournament started and was able to get in a couple of practice rounds on the Panther Course and one on the Bobcat Course. Leading up to the tournament, Venice got a decent amount of rain which caused the course to play very long and wet. We played preferred lies (lift, clean and place) for all four rounds. There was also a significant amount of wind during the tournament causing the Florida 55 degrees to feel much chillier. I tried to look at these as a positive, where growing up in Oregon has prepared me for exactly these conditions. The cut was set to be top 45 and ties out of the 200 women playing in the event. This field was very strong, so I knew that I would need four solid rounds of golf to qualify.
Round 1
I played solid golf in Round 1 and scrambled hard to save pars. The Bobcat course was playing longer, so I had a lot of long irons and hybrids into the greens. My chipping was great and I made some good putts to keep myself steady. I struggled a little bit off the tee, which caused most of my bogeys and made for some deep Bermuda grass lies in the rough on my second shots.
Round 2
Round 2 was a tough day. I struggled again off the tee and had quite a few penalty strokes from bad tee shots. I fought back, but the putts weren’t dropping the way I needed. Days like these, you are reminded how difficult the game of golf is mentally. I felt defeated having no idea which way the ball would go off the tee and struggling to find the greens. After my second round, I went straight to the range and called my swing coach Al Cross. I spent a couple hours hitting shots, sending videos, chatting on the phone and tweaking little parts of my swing. I can’t begin to explain how grateful I am to have a coach that can know exactly what is going on in my swing over the phone.
Round 3 & 4
The next morning I was back playing the Bobcat course and did my absolute best to use those swing tips to help control my drives. I played well and scrambled well again. During round 3 I accomplished a stat that I have never had in my life – I hit the hole, or made every single putt for 18 holes. I didn’t even think of it while on the course, but afterward while talking over my round with my brother and dad, we realized it. I putted very well that day which helped me finish even par for round 3.
Going into the final round, I knew that I needed a low score to have any chance at making the cut. I woke up to some very dark clouds and 20 mph winds (gusting 30mph). The rain started while everyone was warming up and it did not stop for an hour. Florida rain is different than Oregon rain because it absolutely pours.
The rain let up for my front 9, but started again on the back with 5 holes to play. I struggled again this round, but not as much with my tee balls, more mentally. I was frustrated because I was playing good golf, but not scoring well. I finished the tournament in 110th place and missed the cut to go to Q-Series for LPGA Qualifying School.
I am disappointed with my rounds at the Panther course and frustrated at my results. I feel as if I trained very hard, put in the hard work and to not see it pay off is very frustrating. I know now that I need to continue to work hard and push myself even harder before the Epson season starts.
Now I wait for an email from the Epson/LPGA Committee with my 2023 Epson Tour Status. Because I didn’t advance out of Stage II, I won’t have any status on the LPGA tour for the 2023 season. Once Q-Series is over, the Committee determines priority for each of the players from Q-Series all the way down through Stage I. Once I know my status, I can sign up for and play in as many tournaments on the Epson Tour as my status allows. I can also play in Monday Qualifiers for the LPGA Tour and any other mini tour events.
After a visit back to Salem to spend Thanksgiving with my family, I am back in San Diego for the next month, working on my swing, short game and mental game. I am planning on playing a couple Cactus Tour events in January and February. In December I’ll be back in Oregon to teach a junior clinic at Bandon Dunes during the OGA Junior Winter Series. I am looking forward to my first tournaments coming up and all the progress to make before that.
Thank you all for following along and supporting me on this journey!
